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New HD owner looking for basic mechanical advice ( long post)
Appreciate you taking the time to read this 😀,
I now own a 08 Ultra Classic FLHTCUI 6 speed with the 96 motor. Its all stock with 35K miles. Since owning now since Sept 2023 , I have had HD service on it and we took in October to first bike week In Pananma Fl, she rode great all the way there and back running 93 octane or non ethanol when around.
I was told by owner that he removed the shocks they kept leaking and he put regular shocks on and no more issues. The bike sit for about a year with no long term use, is what he said. The other thing was the yellow ABS light stays on, he says he was told $1300 to go away so he never fixed it, by ABS all work fine. However I now want to repair it.
First question , How would I go about finding the cause of this, I have ordered a HD shop oem service manual.
Second question , I am noticing when my self and wife ride which is about 450 pounds all together , not a lot but there are areas on the ride
where in the rear we bounce or bottom out kind of hard. Should I be looking at putting back on new shocks, or checking air PSI in them currently ?
Third question, I am at the moment would like to change exhaust , and air breather. But wondering should I buy a tuner first to see what it comes up with in the map codes or I guess I am trying to say running as should be. And what Tuner do you recommend I get.
appreciate all the help , just want to start making changes the right way to get the most from my Lucille now, thank you and ride safe and free 👊👊 This is Lucille Dublin Ga resident
I now own a 08 Ultra Classic FLHTCUI 6 speed with the 96 motor. It’s all stock with 35K miles. Since owning now since Sept 2023 , I have had HD service on it and we took in October to first bike week In Pananma Fl, she rode great all the way there and back running 93 octane or non ethanol when around.
I was told by owner that he removed the shocks they kept leaking and he put regular shocks on and no more issues.
The bike sit for about a year with no long term use, is what he said.
The other thing was the yellow ABS light stays on, he says he was told $1300 to go away so he never fixed it, by ABS all work fine. However I now want to repair it.
First question , How would I go about finding the cause of this, I have ordered a HD shop oem service manual.
Second question , I am noticing when my self and wife ride which is about 450 pounds all together , not a lot but there are areas on the ride
where in the rear we bounce or bottom out kind of hard. Should I be looking at putting back on new shocks, or checking air PSI in them currently ?
Third question, I am at the moment would like to change exhaust , and air breather. But wondering should I buy a tuner first to see what it comes up with in the map codes or I guess I am trying to say running as should be. And what Tuner do you recommend I get.
appreciate all the help , just want to start making changes the right way to get the most from my Lucille now, thank you and ride safe and free 👊👊
Nice bike.! Once you dial it in, you should love it...
First question, suggestion:
Check for codes.... If the ABS light is on, there is a problem with the ABS... it may be just a sensor, etc, but a code could point you in the right direction. The fact that he said it would take $1300 to fix it, suggests he has had it diagnosed and at that price point, sounds like the ABS unit is bad. A replacement ABS module for your bike (#48343-09A) costs $734.99. Add labor to replace it, along with incidentals, and that is why he got a $1300 repair estimate.. Depending on labor rate it could be more..
Second question, suggestion:
What are "regular shocks" that the PO installed..? Are they still air shocks...?? If you are bottoming out when heavily loaded, but not when solo, then there are one of two things going on. 1) you have not properly set the shock preload for the additional weight (yes, the preload will be different between solo and 2-up heavily loaded) and/or the shocks are too weak to properly handle the heavy load. I would first try to adjust the preload and see what happens, but realize it may be time for a new, better shock set up for your weight. If you currently have a version of HD air shocks, I would get rid of them and buy a quality coil over shock with at least a preload adjustment..
Third question, suggestion:
If you are going to increase the flow of air through both the air cleaner and the exhaust, I would strongly suggest a retune. There are several ways to do that. My preferred way would be with a PowerVision tuner from FuelMoto. They will give you lifetime MAP support, deliver the tuner with a MAP for your particular application, and depeneding on which tuner you get, you could flash the tune and then do a Basic AutoTune to dial that MAP into your bike's specific VE tables.
Good luck with the new bike, and your repair/modification decisions....
Last edited by hattitude; Mar 17, 2024 at 06:08 PM.
Nice bike.! Once you dial it in, you should love it...
First question, suggestion:
Check for codes.... If the ABS light is on, there is a problem with the ABS... it may be just a sensor, etc, but a code could point you in the right direction. The fact tthat he said it would take $1300 to fix it, suggests he has had it diagnosed and at that price point, sounds like the ABS unit is bad. A replacement ABS module for your bike (#48343-09A) costs $734.99. Add labor to replace it, along with incidentals, and that is why he got a $1300 repair estimate.. Depending on labor rate it could be more..
Second question, suggestion:
What are "regular shocks" that the PO installed..? Are they still air shocks...?? If you are bottoming out when heavily loaded, but not when solo, then there are one of two things going on. 1) you have not properly set the shock preload for the additional weight (yes, the preload will be different between solo and 2-up heavily loaded) and/or the shocks are too weak to properly handle the heavy load. I would first try to adjust the preload and see what happens, but realize it may be time for a new, better shock set up for your weight. If you currently have a version of HD air shocks, I would get rid of them and buy a quality coil over shock with at least a preload adjustment..
Third question, suggestion:
If you are going to increase the flow of air through both the air cleaner and the exhaust, I would strongly suggest a retune. There are several ways to do that. My preferred way would be with a PowerVision tuner from FuelMoto. They will give you lifetime MAP support, deliver the tuner with a MAP for your particular application, and depeneding on which tuner you get, you could flash the tune and then do a Basic AutoTune to dial that MAP into your bike's specific VE tables.
Good luck with the new bike, and your repair/modification decisions....
thank you so much for the advice, 😀,
I have actually been reading about fuelmoto and how great their products are, do you have any shocks you recommend by name? Thanks again.
You have come to the right place. I suggest you deal with one issue at a time. The exhaust mods tuner pro's and con's the need of lack of will get a bit confusing.
If ABS light is on all the time it is not working. As mention by others it could be something simple like a speed sensor. But the last owner gave you a clue in the price he mentioned . ABS unit has failed. Down side of not dealing with can be total brake failure.
The ABS light maybe on also due to last owner bypassing the unit in some away. You need to get that figured out first.
When that is done pick up the the want list a make a plane for you mods.
that's a clean low mileage bike, congrats! ok, going to throw this out there just because I can't help it..in 2009 they changed the frame on the Touring models and it was a big improvement..I could not believe how nimble and sharp feeling my big heavy 2009 Electra Glide could carve through twisty river roads..if you plan on riding for a long time you 'might' look at a post 2008 before sinking too much money into this..the frame change is well recognized by the Touring community as significant from 2009 on..sorry I know that is NOT what you wanted to hear "you picked a fine time to leave me Lucille"
that's a clean low mileage bike, congrats! ok, going to throw this out there just because I can't help it..in 2009 they changed the frame on the Touring models and it was a big improvement..I could not believe how nimble and sharp feeling my big heavy 2009 Electra Glide could carve through twisty river roads..if you plan on riding for a long time you 'might' look at a post 2008 before sinking too much money into this..the frame change is well recognized by the Touring community as significant from 2009 on..sorry I know that is NOT what you wanted to hear
no I appreciate the input. I have been riding metric for so long now owning a HD the ride all ready for me is so smooth for the most part. It has taken me some time to adjust to a touring style ride though. I wanted a road glide, after all the models I tried out. But Lucille came with no payment lol, @ $6500 road ready so we rode off that day lol 😂,
thank you so much for the advice, 😀,
I have actually been reading about fuelmoto and how great their products are, do you have any shocks you recommend by name? Thanks again.
I like Ohlins or SuperShox... currently have Ohlins on my bagger. Bottom line, any aftermarket shock will be better than HD air shocks.... But just do some research on aftermarket shocks and you will find days of reading and various opinions.... Read what people say, but eventually set a budget, and get the best shocks within that price point...
As smitty901 suggests, I would also tackle each one of these issues one at a time...
The ABS issue is certainly the #1 priority on that list. As smitty901 also says, it is possible for that ABS unit to freeze up, causing you to lose your brakes.... IMHO.... tackle the ABS issue first.
My second job would be the shocks.... first, note where the preload is now (if air shocks, note psi), then based on the shocks (look up the owner's manual for the shocks) increase the preload. . See if you can find an acceptable preload to avoid bottoming when loaded 2-up.... IMHO, if you have HD air shocks, they will still probably suck..
NOTE:Adding a higher psi to air shocks is the same as increasing preload, but different year air shocks have different max psi limits. Don't blow up your air shocks
You may be able to dial in the ride enough to tackle the Stage I mods next, or if you are unable to stop the bottoming out of the shocks, (it's harder on the passenger than you) maybe tackle the shocks first...
Good luck...
FWIW... I am a long time customer of FuelMoto. I have used them for PowerVisoin tuners (I have purchased two PV tuners from them over the years), their map support is outstanding. I have also purchased their 124" crate engine for my bagger, tuned by Jaime.... it finished at 135HP & 151TQ... It is a very fun touring bike..!
Last edited by hattitude; Mar 17, 2024 at 06:50 PM.
Had my 08 ultra from Aug 07 until Jun 19 when I finally traded it. Was a great bike. I changed the gearing to fix the too tall gearing (HD changed gearing after 08), dropped in a 575 cam, and changed exhaust and AC. The rest of the mods were all non-engine related.
no I appreciate the input. I have been riding metric for so long now owning a HD the ride all ready for me is so smooth for the most part. It has taken me some time to adjust to a touring style ride though. I wanted a road glide, after all the models I tried out. But Lucille came with no payment lol, @ $6500 road ready so we rode off that day lol 😂,
I've owned 3 Electras now and he's right about the newer frame design,my first was a 1989 second a 2000 bought new and rode for 20 years/200,000 miles and now I have a 2019 which I'm loving.
The old 2000 was a great bike,obviously she served me well for 2 decades and your 2008 has some upgrades from my old 2000 like the 6 speed and stock 96" motor , mine was an 88" before a big bore kit was installed.
Even my 2019 had crap for shocks from the factory,I upgraded and spent big for Ohlins remote res. on the back and Ohlins cartridge up front.
I can't begin tell you what a difference it made in my bike,it was huge but you may not want to drop $3K on suspension.
The point is there are way better options out there some a lot less than I spent but still way better than an old set of air shocks.
I spent big because the wife and I do long trips loaded heavy and both being 68 this year we need comfort. lol
I'd talk with the folks at Fuel Moto about options,I'm sure they can guide you in the right direction,I was very pleased with working with them.
Getting back to the newer frame,I test rode a new bike in 2019 and I was hooked,not just the frame but the bigger better tires the better lean angle and the wonderful linear pull of the M8 engine so be forewarned if you don't want to spend big on a new bike don't test ride one ha ha ha!
My good buddy bought an '08 new and he's still loving it so I'm sure you'll get many miles of smiles out of her.
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New HD owner looking for basic mechanical advice ( long post)
