Buying an Ultra
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Road Captain
Joined: Mar 2005
Posts: 567
Likes: 11
From: San Diego
Buying an Ultra
Went on a poker run and took the wife for her first long ride. It was only 170 miles but she didn't care for it too much after a couple of hours. The Low Rider is a nice bike but not the best for 2 up riding. Now she wants me to get a bigger bike thats more comfortable for her. I'm looking at the Ultra's. I am just curious as to what are some of the things I should look for and what some of the problems are. After reading this section it seems radio's and electrical items seem to be a slight problem. I am also concerned about the weight of the bike and handling, especially after riding the low rider.
Seasoned HDF Member
Joined: Dec 2004
Posts: 8,978
Likes: 34
From: Cedar Point, NC
RE: Buying an Ultra
Neither of those a problem that I know of. The radio problems I read about are for the guys like me that bought Standards or Police Editions. The news have the newer radio, I think...no matter what, you'll want Hogtunes speakers.
Electrical problems are no more prolific in the Ultras than any other model.
Mac
Electrical problems are no more prolific in the Ultras than any other model.
Mac
Road Master
Joined: Dec 2004
Posts: 1,135
Likes: 1
From: "Preskitt" Arizona, USA
RE: Buying an Ultra
Greetings!
Your best bet would be to rent some of the touring bikes from your local Harley dealer. The Ultra is indeed a great two up touring bike, but so is the Road Glide, just ask Tripper. I don't think you can go wrong with anything in the Electra Glide family. Good luck and keep us posted. I've not experienced any difficulties with our Ultra, we love it!
[IMG]local://upfiles/718/C36A3341C8E447FFB1AEE4B050CD7058.jpg[/IMG]
Your best bet would be to rent some of the touring bikes from your local Harley dealer. The Ultra is indeed a great two up touring bike, but so is the Road Glide, just ask Tripper. I don't think you can go wrong with anything in the Electra Glide family. Good luck and keep us posted. I've not experienced any difficulties with our Ultra, we love it!
[IMG]local://upfiles/718/C36A3341C8E447FFB1AEE4B050CD7058.jpg[/IMG]
Tourer
Joined: Mar 2005
Posts: 272
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From:
RE: Buying an Ultra
My 1st Harley was an 05 Ultra. The wife and I really like it. The wife says there is not as much room between her and i compared to our 04 Midnight Star Silverado. She likes the the backrest alot better and the seat is also bigger. now as far as problems, we have not had any yet. The stereo sounds great to us and plays with no problems. Love the cd player. I had the SE Big bore kit put in mine right from the start. And also it took me a little while to get used to the weight difference and handling of the bike when i am 2 up coming in for stops. But we really do like the bike and have no regrets buying one. I still am looking at changing my handlebars out on mine. I still can't get as comfortable on the ultra as i was on my other bike. I still get sore between my shoulders. I think new bars would help that. Any way good luck on your new purchase and hope you enjoy many many miles on it.
Outstanding HDF Member
Joined: Mar 2005
Posts: 2,322
Likes: 0
From: Somerset County
RE: Buying an Ultra
Rent an Ultra and my opinion is that you and her will be in riding heaven - I have an 05 EG Classic and I love it as does my wife - We could go to the moon on this bike and do it with style!
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Road Captain
Joined: Mar 2005
Posts: 567
Likes: 11
From: San Diego
RE: Buying an Ultra
Just back from one of the dealers and all he has is the road glides. Can't keep any of the Ultra's in. Says I can buy the tour pac with backrest for the wife for about 1400. I think I'll check out the other dealers first. If I buy a new bike I'm going to get what I want. I was curious with my first question as to what type of mods to do to the bike. It seems like hogtune speakers are a must. How hard would it be to do the stage one change on an ultra? Thanks for the input.
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Tourer
Joined: Jun 2005
Posts: 498
Likes: 1
From: Rhode Island
RE: Buying an Ultra
I recently purchased my first Harley, wanted a touring bike and looked at Yamaha Venture, Gold Wings and a BMW. I picked up the bike in June. I had a lot of cosmetic stuff done before I picked her up and have added since them.
As far as what you are asking: I have the hogtunes in front and back (a must). I've added an MP3 player, not the HD one, but it works and sounds great. As for the Stage 1, I had it done, Remap, Air kit and SE slip-ons. I had this done at my 1K service. It cost me around 900.00 to have the dealer to the Stage 1, I guess I could have saved some money if I did it myself, but wasn't comfortable doing that. Even if I did it myself, I'd still have to have the remap done. So in all I guess I could have saved maybee 100.00 in parts and 250.00 or so in labor.
There's a lot of info in the forums on exhaust so take a look at those.
As for the Ultra, great bike, I love it!
Joe
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Tourer
Joined: Mar 2005
Posts: 272
Likes: 0
From:
RE: Buying an Ultra
I had the SE Big Bore kit put in mine before I picked it up from the dealer. It saved me from having to do it later. Took about 2 weeks for mine to be ready because I had them send the jugs and heads to Nevada and have them diamond cut. And boy do they look great. Also had the SE mufflers put on mine as well.
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Road Captain
Joined: Mar 2005
Posts: 567
Likes: 11
From: San Diego
RE: Buying an Ultra
I bet that diamond cut looks good. I would love to get the big bore kit done also. Don't know if I can afford it. Went to my favorite dealer. They had an ultra classic they just put together. Out the door total is 22,800. Not sure if that is too much. Plus it's not the color I want. Got to sit on it and was really surprised. It looks like such a big bike but is pretty easy to stand up. It actually felt like a smaller bike then my lowrider. Just different seating position. Now I just have to convince myself to let the lowrider go. It's the first bike I ever worked on and I've put a lot of time into her. Wish I could have both but can't afford it. By the way, how are the touring bikes in day to day traffic ?