No matter what bike, you are better off using the rear brake, the clutch and the throttle in slow speed maneuvering. Do a youtube search, with a little practice you can flip an Ultra around like a mini-bike.

Before popping for an Ultra, may I suggest you test ride the Heritage Softail? You may be pleasantly surprised.

 

Yep, find an empty parking lot and practice for 20-30 minutes just doing figure 8s, and different maneuvers. You will get the hang of it for sure. Once you figure it out, these bikes will do more than you would've ever thought

 

Ozzy...I went from a Vstar 650 to a Road King. Piece of cake, man....as others have said, practice is the key. Low speed maneuvering on the Harley tourers is a dream. BafflingBS, FX, MKguitar and the others all said some good stuff.

You SHOULD NOT be walking the bike from a stop. Don't do that. Get your feet off the ground and out of the way of the pegs, etc. Gipper can drag his if he wants (I doubt he duck walks forward, though), but most of us will get them up on the boards ASAP so there is no way for those feet to get caught, pinched, or trapped anywhere. Riding with your legs down is, no matter what someone may say, intrinsically less safe than getting them up on the boards.

You should be practicing a bit on your own before getting the passenger on and then practicing starts and stops in a parking lot with the passenger to get yourself best acquainted with low speed work.

lot of other differences in feel between a VStar and an Ultra, too...the weight, the seat height, higher perceived CG, the feeling of riding ON the bike not IN it. The closest feeling in a Harley to your Vstar is the Heritage Classic or Fat Boy, I think. Don't sweat it, you will easily get the hang of the Ultra with practice.

 

That would be a correct assumption. I do often let them hang for balance at slow speed, but I've been riding for a very long time and am comfortable with that. Duck walking? No. Nor would I ever try and hold my bike up if it were to ever fall...with one leg or two. In fact that did happen once. It just has to go in that case!

 

I would also add that once you are relatively comfortable riding two-up, it would pay to start adding weight to the tourpack to understand how the bike feels fully loaded.


I just returned from a nine-day trip to Maine, two-up, and I will tell you that I struggled a bit at certain times with the instability of a heavily top-loaded Electra Glide. I was happy when we got to the hotel and could unload the bike and do our exploring...


Practice is the key. Take your time and don't rush. When you ride two-up you have a tremendous amount of responsibility. I am very, very cautious with my wife on the back of my bike...and when we are fully loaded, I am even more so.


Good luck!

 

I have both the VStar 1100 and a 2013 Road King. The bigger bike felt overwhelming at first but after putting 50 miles on it or so ... it was so much easer to maneuver than the Star. I was amazed on how the King handles in parking lots ... like night and day for me. The tour pack might be adding into the mix that you were not used to on the Star.

 

this brings up loading the bike- get the weight as low as possible and balanced side to side.

i use a scale and weigh each saddlebag, shifting stuff back and forth until it;s right.

weight down by the axle ( like a tool roll in the bottom of the saddlebag) has little effect...that same 5 or 6 pounds in the tourpak can really be felt.

the "load limit" stickers on the tourpak are a good reminder not to make things harder than they need to be.
on a long trip, mine will have my computer, maybe camera, day snacks and jacket ( or space for if I am wearing), the rack will carry a sleeping bag and maybe maps

mike

 

Need lots confidence in your self and bike how do we get that just practice and tell your brain to relax, strength is really not as important as skill once you get over the fear of dropping the bike you can throw this bike around in the corners beyond belief. All I ever ridden back home was a 350 Royal Enfield and then no bike for 2 decades until my first Harley a full dresser sure it was hand full but 28K miles in first year bike felt small,light easy to manage. For me now I've hard time riding those Softails and Roadkings in the parking lots to help our female riders to move or park their bikes.

 

All good advice here. Especially buying the Ride Like a Pro video.
You'll see that the bike is not the limiting factor. It's capable of things you wouldn't believe. Practice and you'll feel better about it. I know how you feel. Most of us passed through that stage. Last year I took a week-long ride with a full load and my wife on the back. Even blew a tire at 70 mph and didn't lose my composure. You'll get it. It just takes time.

 

thanks for the tips. Will look ino the video and practice some new ways of riding.Thanks again