05 Electraglide Build
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Novice
Joined: Jan 2025
Posts: 17
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From: Arkansas
05 Electraglide Build
Good morning guys, so I have an 05 Ultra classic with some tasteful changes made but have been thinking about going with a 21" front spoke wheel and dirty air rear air shocks.
That being said, this bike is a bike that I do take on considerably longer rides and am worried what the rear air shocks and 21' front wheel will do to the reliability/ridability of the bike? Did it improve the ride from stock form or bring on alot of air leaks and flat tires?
Let me know if you have any experience and can share. Thanks!
That being said, this bike is a bike that I do take on considerably longer rides and am worried what the rear air shocks and 21' front wheel will do to the reliability/ridability of the bike? Did it improve the ride from stock form or bring on alot of air leaks and flat tires?
Let me know if you have any experience and can share. Thanks!
Stellar HDF Member
Joined: Apr 2009
Posts: 2,191
Likes: 843
Good morning guys, so I have an 05 Ultra classic with some tasteful changes made but have been thinking about going with a 21" front spoke wheel and dirty air rear air shocks.
That being said, this bike is a bike that I do take on considerably longer rides and am worried what the rear air shocks and 21' front wheel will do to the reliability/ridability of the bike? Did it improve the ride from stock form or bring on alot of air leaks and flat tires?
Let me know if you have any experience and can share. Thanks!
That being said, this bike is a bike that I do take on considerably longer rides and am worried what the rear air shocks and 21' front wheel will do to the reliability/ridability of the bike? Did it improve the ride from stock form or bring on alot of air leaks and flat tires?
Let me know if you have any experience and can share. Thanks!
Harsh ride.
Road Warrior
Joined: Dec 2006
Posts: 1,573
Likes: 138
From: StL, MO. USA
Good morning guys, so I have an 05 Ultra classic with some tasteful changes made but have been thinking about going with a 21" front spoke wheel and dirty air rear air shocks.
That being said, this bike is a bike that I do take on considerably longer rides and am worried what the rear air shocks and 21' front wheel will do to the reliability/ridability of the bike? Did it improve the ride from stock form or bring on alot of air leaks and flat tires?
Let me know if you have any experience and can share. Thanks!
That being said, this bike is a bike that I do take on considerably longer rides and am worried what the rear air shocks and 21' front wheel will do to the reliability/ridability of the bike? Did it improve the ride from stock form or bring on alot of air leaks and flat tires?
Let me know if you have any experience and can share. Thanks!
I have built several (6?) bikes from that era for myself, family & friends. All of them have had 21" front wheels...and four of them have had some version of Air Ride.
- As far as the 21-inch front wheel, there have been no issues. It changes the handling a bit, but not in a bad way...
- For Air Ride. Performance & reliability are going to be 100% based on how much effort & attention to detail you place on installation.
A few hints & suggestions I'd offer from personal experience.
- Use a quality Compressor.
- Use a stainless steel braided 'Leader Hose' from the Compressor to your first PTC connection - it will help dissipate heat and keep you from melting Poly tubing/lines.
- Use 1/4-inch (6mm) Poly lines everywhere...smaller diameter lines take too long to raise/lower the shocks.
- The Air Ride experience is SO much better (I cannot stress my opinion of this enough) if you have an Air Tank. Seriously, it's WAY worth the cost & effort.
- Plan out how your wiring & Air Lines are going to be routed before you begin.
- Uses Relays for ALL your components. Solenoids & Compressor need to also have Fuses for protection.
- Try to avoid pre-built 'kits'. Cheap 'kits' are garbage...and the Name Brand 'kits' are overpriced. You can find better quality components if you source the parts yourself.
- Dirty Air Shocks offer very good ride quality.
- Put thought & planning into where you decided to mount your UP/DOWN Switch. I went overboard with my Control Switch solution...but it's (arguably) the absolute best way to control Air Ride.
Hope this helps. Feel free to PM me if you have any specific questions.
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Novice
Joined: Jan 2025
Posts: 17
Likes: 5
From: Arkansas
So. Just my experience...
I have built several (6?) bikes from that era for myself, family & friends. All of them have had 21" front wheels...and four of them have had some version of Air Ride.
- As far as the 21-inch front wheel, there have been no issues. It changes the handling a bit, but not in a bad way...
- For Air Ride. Performance & reliability are going to be 100% based on how much effort & attention to detail you place on installation.
A few hints & suggestions I'd offer from personal experience.
- Use a quality Compressor.
- Use a stainless steel braided 'Leader Hose' from the Compressor to your first PTC connection - it will help dissipate heat and keep you from melting Poly tubing/lines.
- Use 1/4-inch (6mm) Poly lines everywhere...smaller diameter lines take too long to raise/lower the shocks.
- The Air Ride experience is SO much better (I cannot stress my opinion of this enough) if you have an Air Tank. Seriously, it's WAY worth the cost & effort.
- Plan out how your wiring & Air Lines are going to be routed before you begin.
- Uses Relays for ALL your components. Solenoids & Compressor need to also have Fuses for protection.
- Try to avoid pre-built 'kits'. Cheap 'kits' are garbage...and the Name Brand 'kits' are overpriced. You can find better quality components if you source the parts yourself.
- Dirty Air Shocks offer very good ride quality.
- Put thought & planning into where you decided to mount your UP/DOWN Switch. I went overboard with my Control Switch solution...but it's (arguably) the absolute best way to control Air Ride.
Hope this helps. Feel free to PM me if you have any specific questions.
I have built several (6?) bikes from that era for myself, family & friends. All of them have had 21" front wheels...and four of them have had some version of Air Ride.
- As far as the 21-inch front wheel, there have been no issues. It changes the handling a bit, but not in a bad way...
- For Air Ride. Performance & reliability are going to be 100% based on how much effort & attention to detail you place on installation.
A few hints & suggestions I'd offer from personal experience.
- Use a quality Compressor.
- Use a stainless steel braided 'Leader Hose' from the Compressor to your first PTC connection - it will help dissipate heat and keep you from melting Poly tubing/lines.
- Use 1/4-inch (6mm) Poly lines everywhere...smaller diameter lines take too long to raise/lower the shocks.
- The Air Ride experience is SO much better (I cannot stress my opinion of this enough) if you have an Air Tank. Seriously, it's WAY worth the cost & effort.
- Plan out how your wiring & Air Lines are going to be routed before you begin.
- Uses Relays for ALL your components. Solenoids & Compressor need to also have Fuses for protection.
- Try to avoid pre-built 'kits'. Cheap 'kits' are garbage...and the Name Brand 'kits' are overpriced. You can find better quality components if you source the parts yourself.
- Dirty Air Shocks offer very good ride quality.
- Put thought & planning into where you decided to mount your UP/DOWN Switch. I went overboard with my Control Switch solution...but it's (arguably) the absolute best way to control Air Ride.
Hope this helps. Feel free to PM me if you have any specific questions.
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