Had the soft and sold them. Now have the vented hard and they are great. I may not remove in the summer, but we'll see.

 

I had the soft lowers on a road king and only used them when it was really cold or raining. Have an Ultra now with vented lowers and don't take them off even in summer.

 

I've never had the soft lowers but did install hard lowers last February. After riding with them through one full summer and in enough cold weather I can say they they are a winner. I bought the quick-release kit and should've saved my $80, as these things will likely never come off the bike. Even in our sweltering S. LA summers I've felt little inclination to remove them, even in slow-moving summer traffic. Besides, in summer they protect my boots from most exposure to water during those summer showers that pop-up with little notice. In winter it is obvious that they protect against cold air against your legs and feet, although your knees remain exposed even with fairing-mounted wind deflectors.

According to HD claims they actually improve cooling while moving because the wedge-shaped frontal area channels air toward the engine. OTOH they reportedly also hamper cooling when stopped because hot engine air becomes trapped to some degree, but I saw no greater oil temps last summer than I did the summer before without the lowers while stuck in slow-moving traffic. While moving I saw about a 5° decrease in oil temps this past summer compared to the previous.

The only downside I see to the hard lowers is the glove-box flaps, which are secured by very poorly designed snaps that make use nearly impossible while riding. Disengaging is easy enough, but engaging them even while stopped is often a hassle. HD and Eglidegoodies.com sell glove-box doors that would be much more useful, IMO. The latter have a non-lockable latch that would allow use while riding. I did add the liners, which are useless since I rarely use the glove boxes, and the pouches, which I do occasionally use.

Another option I considered is to abandon the glove-boxes altogether and install the Hogtunes speaker kit for lowers. I abandoned this idea because for $200 I didn't feel like there would be a major improvement in sound over what I have now (two HT speakers and the HT amp).

 

Question: Does anybody know if the Bar & Shield Soft Lowers fit an EG Classic? These lowers don't come up on the HD website as an accessory for the EG Classic (FLHTC), but they do come up as an accessory for the EG Standard. I always assumed that that the EG Standard and EG Classic had identical engine guards.
Has anyone tried to put the B&S soft lowers on a Classic?
thanks...

 

All of the Touring line use the same engine guard except for the Road Glide. I think that uses something from a Goldwing, LOL.

 

Thanks!

 

I have an 05 EGC with the B&S Soft Lowers, they fit fine.

 

I have the hard lowers for mine.I leave them on during the summer without any problems.

 

I had the soft lowers on my 2000 FLHT and put them on in the rain and cold. Then purchased hard lowers (without vents) and leave them on all year. Better protection, additional storage, but more heat on thighs. Saddle shields with non-vented hard lowers took care of the problem.

 

I've got a Road King and also only use my lowers when it's really cold or raining. What made you prefer to leave the hard lowers on the ultra even in summer?