Lowering Seat Height on FLSTK
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Cruiser
Joined: Oct 2009
Posts: 125
Likes: 1
From: Tucson, AZ
Lowering Seat Height on FLHTK
Just got a 2010 Ultra Limited. Love the ride. The seat height is about 2 inches higher than my older Heritage Softail. The selling dealer suggested I have the seat "trimmed," which I did, so that I can flat foot. That worked, but the seating positions still makes it difficult to steady the bike when my wife gets on and when solo, I often find it hard to stop without nearly dropping bike when on an incline. I need t be able to spread legs far enough out to steady it. A friend suggested I lower the rear by either a) swap out shocks (expensive) or b) relocate shocks with a White Brothers lowering kit which moves shocks back and lowers overall height by about an inch. Anyone out there with similar problems and/or solutions or suggestions?
Last edited by Jtsantes; Jan 5, 2010 at 05:54 PM.
Road Captain
Joined: May 2007
Posts: 624
Likes: 2
From: northern Minnesota
lowering
I have an 04 EGC that I have lowered for the same reason, I bought the shorter rear shocks and had my dealer lower the front end and I modified the seat and it worked out perfect as I can put both feet FLAT on the ground when stopped. I'm sure you lose a little travel but it's not a real issue I ride double and loaded quite a bit and I like the safety and security of having both feet on the ground. And I actually think the bike handles better with the center of gravity a couple of inches lower ? ? ? ?
Cruiser
Joined: Dec 2009
Posts: 130
Likes: 1
I put the h-d lowering shocks on mine and it did drop it about 3/4 inch. I did lose some travel as my bike bottoms a little too easy for my taste. I have tried adjusting the pressure and i am currently up to 35#'s and still bottoming. As for the shock replacement kit, a friend of mine who bought my roadking put a set of these(not sure of the brand) on it and i can tell you that it does lower the bike without sacrificing ride quality. The problem he ended up with is the bags will not fit into the factory cutouts and he cannot latch the bags properly so the bags hang of the bike and not solidly into the bottom brackets. Good luck!
Another thought is to let your wife get on while the bike is on the kickstand. One less worry. Get some lowering shocks too. It really depends on how picky you are about your rear suspension. I am am extremely picky as an engineer, but not that tall either. I tried several air ride systems, and the lowering shocks too. I was not happy with any of them. I am still working on finding a satisfactory solution to this problem. I can't have my bike bottoming out on me. It is ridiculous as it should not do this.
Road Captain
Joined: Dec 2006
Posts: 516
Likes: 29
From: Fenton, MO
I am 5'8" with a 29" inseam. I ride a 2009 EGC. I put the Mustang 2 pc seat (they claim a1" drop and 1 1/2" narower nose) and the HD profile shocks. Between the 2 mods, I can now flat foot, back the bike up and spread wide enough to support the bike with the wife getting on and off. Did the ride quality go down? Yes, a little but without the changes I wuold not be able to comfortably ride the bike. Even with the mods, it rides much better than the Dyna I was on. I had to play with the air pressure to find the right settings (solo, solo with a load, 2 up and 2 up with a load) but once I did it will only bottom once in a while and only on large harsh bumps.
I hope this helps.
I hope this helps.
Thread Starter
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Cruiser
Joined: Oct 2009
Posts: 125
Likes: 1
From: Tucson, AZ
Lowering Seat Height on FLHTK
I am 5'8" with a 29" inseam. I ride a 2009 EGC. I put the Mustang 2 pc seat (they claim a1" drop and 1 1/2" narower nose) and the HD profile shocks. Between the 2 mods, I can now flat foot, back the bike up and spread wide enough to support the bike with the wife getting on and off. Did the ride quality go down? Yes, a little but without the changes I wuold not be able to comfortably ride the bike. Even with the mods, it rides much better than the Dyna I was on. I had to play with the air pressure to find the right settings (solo, solo with a load, 2 up and 2 up with a load) but once I did it will only bottom once in a while and only on large harsh bumps.
I hope this helps.
I hope this helps.
Road Captain
Joined: Dec 2006
Posts: 516
Likes: 29
From: Fenton, MO
I weigh 175 and my wife is 125. If your weights are different your pressures will also be different.
This is what I use.
Solo tour pak off bike = 22
solo w/tour pak on but empty = 25
Solo w/ loaded tour pak = 30
2 up w/tour pak empty = 35
2 up w/ tour pak loaded = 40
This should get you close. I hope it helps.
This is what I use.
Solo tour pak off bike = 22
solo w/tour pak on but empty = 25
Solo w/ loaded tour pak = 30
2 up w/tour pak empty = 35
2 up w/ tour pak loaded = 40
This should get you close. I hope it helps.
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