After reading all I could find for weeks about after-market rear stabilizers I finally decided on the Ride Str8 over the other offerings available. I also considered True-Track and the Alloy Art TXR, but the Ride Str8 seemed to be the best-engineered of the three for these reasons:

1. The engine mount is flush against the case, not suspended on a box at the end of five or six long bolts. To me, this was a better arrangement, as it will stress the bolts and threads less.

2. The box on the True-Track is blocked on three sides, restricting airflow to the tranny oil pan. True-Track claims the box acts as a "heatsink," but I doubt if it works well to actually dissipate heat, and probably doesn't dissipate nearly as much as it traps by its box-like design. I'm not sure why they didn't drill some large holes toward the rear to allow better airflow, but it may have been to retain structural rigidity.

3. The Ride Str8 is positioned out of the way of any clearance issues during cornering. The True-Track has a spotty record of causing contact with the frame's mount during hard-right cornering. Some have trouble, some don't. Hard contact in corners is not a good thing, as the contact area won't give and may raise the tires in extreme cases causing loss of traction.

4. Because the TT and TXR mount on the jacking track under the bike forward of the rear wheel, it would make it difficult to use my lever-type jack, which is handy when washing the rear wheel. It fits in that track taken up by the other two stabilizers, although it might work directly on the frame. A full-bike jack should work okay with these.

5. The TXR has three heim joints instead of one used in the other two designs. It restricts lateral and longitudinal movement, which some say causes additional vibration. I can see how that might happen, as the only movement allowed by the TXR is vertical. It's design seems like major overkill and I don't think the multiple heim joints is a productive arrangement.

As a negative, the Ride Str8 is more difficult to install than the other two. The problem is the lower bolt holding the rear peg mounting bracket, which requires moving the exhaust system out about an inch. Unfortunately, just removing the muffler rear mounting bolts and center engine mount for the exhaust pipe was not enough, as evidenced by the instructions, which were excellent and included color photos. I had to loosen heat shields, nuts at the rear head about 1/4", and remove the exhaust bracket nut above the starter. What really slowed me down was discovering the bracket tab was broken, which meant a trip to the local dealer for a replacement. I'm not sure if I broke it loosening the nut or it was already broken, but it was a hassle replacing it. That required loosening the bracket itself, which meant removing the negative side of the battery and the 12V electrical connections on top the starter first. The Allen bolts were hard to access, and my next tool purchase will be long ball-type Allen sockets, which would've helped a lot in this case.

The whole job took about two hours, but about an hour was futzing around with the broken bracket tab, including the trip to the dealer. Overall, I think the installation complexity compared to the others is worth enduring for the engineering superiority (IMO) and lack of clearance problems. Some report installing the Ride Str8 in 30 min., but I'd say an hour would be more typical, about half of that dealing with moving the exhaust system out of the way.

Another negative about the Ride Str8 is the price, which was higher than the other contenders. For the '07 it was $440 plus $25 shipping, considerably less (~$300) for some earlier bikes. It arrived in a very flimsy box not befitting the quality of the hardware. A 40-mile test ride revealed that the Ride Str8 indeed works as advertised, and the tail wagging behavior is now gone.

 

great review. After reading some of the true-track shipping problems, and your comments on the quality of the ride Str8, I may have to go these.

One question, do u think you could still install one of those rear centerstands with the Ride-Str8? I know with the true track it uses the crossover beam under the frame, but the ride-str8 wouldn't seem to be affected.

 

I'm not sure, but I can't imagine how the Ride Str8 would affect installing the centerstand. It is nowhere near the crossover beam, but does take up some real estate under the bike. Which centerstand are you looking at? If I could see some clear photos of its installation I could probably give an intelligent guess on fitment.

 

Just finished installing my Ride Str8 his weekend, pretty straight forward. Have to agree hardest thing was moving the exhaust.I will be taking a trip this weekend so we will see if there is an improvement in handling.

 

I am running a Ride Str8 on my Ultra along with the Rivco Center Stand.

 

Paniolothats what I wanted to know because I'd love to have a center stand, and the Rivco was the one I was looking at, and I was also leaning toward the STR8 because I liked the way it was made. You just made my day!

 

ahh, that's good news on the centerstand. While not a necessity, I like the idea of parking straight sometimes, or heck even to wash the bike. I'm not getting any younger!!!

HD Centerstand

This is what i was leaning to buy, since you can adjust the feet to either raise the rear wheel or not. I'm wondering tho what the bracket on the side attaches to. Hopefully not the same thing the Ride Str8 does!!!

 

THANKS FOR THE GREAT REVEIW...I'M GOING TO GET ONE ALSO!

 

The nice thing about the center stand is that the bike takes up less space in the garage.
It also makes cleaning with wheels and tires easier. Working on the bike is easier too.

 

After reading this review among several others (including the Tech write up in American Bagger) I opted for the Ride Str8 as well. I installed it this past weekendalong with Vance and Hines Big Radius pipes. The install was simple, I had the exhaust off anyway so that was not an issue. I rode the bike prior to the install so I would have a fresh perspective on any differences. I noticed that the bike felt "tighter" right away, on the highway and in the corners it just feels stronger. I am very happy with the whole experience. I dealt with Dan at Ride Str8 directly and everything went smooth. They do not take credit cards at Ride Str8 (personal check was fine), but I like dealing with the source as long as the price is the same. I would recommend this product to everybody who has a bagger and is unconfortable with the "waggle" or "looseness" that you feel in the corners or the shimmy if you just shake the bike while riding straight.

Sam