New bike, don't laugh

[Mike_Benzon]

Hi all, I sold my RT and the Rocket. I am now riding an 08 Harley Ultra Classic, the 105th Annv. model. I am loving it. One of the first farkles I added has been a Russell seat. Retirement is treating me well with lots of time for riding.

[RaffyK]

Congrats on the new bike. Great way to enjoy retirement.

[Lonewuff]

Congrats Mike!!!

Made the same move myself recently, but went with the pearl white instead of the anniversary colors. You are going to love her!!!

I hope your second Farkle will be a stage-one kit with some decent pipes? Not for the noise, but to help that big engine breath easier and cut down on a lot of heat. Third Farkle is the Kuryakyn Saddle Shields (make sure they are for the 08) to protect your thighs from the two nuclear reactors right under your legs. Then get a better horn. After that it's all chrome. ;)

[Dick]

Congrats Mike!!!

Made the same move myself recently, but went with the pearl white instead of the anniversary colors. You are going to love her!!!

I hope your second Farkle will be a stage-one kit with some decent pipes? Not for the noise, but to help that big engine breath easier and cut down on a lot of heat. Third Farkle is the Kuryakyn Saddle Shields (make sure they are for the 08) to protect your thighs from the two nuclear reactors right under your legs. Then get a better horn. After that it's all chrome. ;)
When do you buy the trailer??!?!? :p

[tlash]

Hi all, I sold my RT and the Rocket. I am now riding an 08 Harley Ultra Classic, the 105th Annv. model. I am loving it. One of the first farkles I added has been a Russell seat. Retirement is treating me well with lots of time for riding.
http://www.napanet.net/~tlash/laughing-on-ground.gif

Hi Mike, I'm kidding of course... ride what makes you smile. It's all good -- especially the retirement part. Congrats! 167 days to go for me, but who's counting? :)

[wsteinborn]

Sweet ride, and I like the copper/black.

The Ultra comes with the only stock H-D seat that is comfy.

Whenever I get a 2-up touring bike it will be an Ultra or a Goldwing....

[cali_beemer]

Nice bike and I love those colors. My dad just bought a 08 Street Glide. Its a nice bike. He spent some extra dought for the stage one kit and some Reinhardt duals out the back. The bike sounds great. One of the best I have heard. Its worth its weight in gold over stock. He hasnt complained about heat yet so I would just ride it and see if it bothers you. I was also able to talk him inot the ABS option. The harleys are becoming good bikes. My dads has electronic cruise, abs, alarm. It also has XM radio and heated grips he can add from the factory. Not too shabby. Nice bike, it would possibly be my pick of a harley.

[motorhead]

Congrats Mike !!

I'm still riding the LT you missed out on at A&S years ago ...
Enjoy your HD, you earned it :D

[LodiHal]

Mike,
Welcome to the "Dark Side" of motorcycling! I went from a LT to a Streetglide and am very pleased with the results. I added the Stage II kit and it runs very well... :D

[jorawro]

And yet another one who made the switch -- White Ultra SE --- but I won't rule out having another LT some day. I guess I will have to see what the next "generation" brings.

[82katana]

I, also, went from an LT to an Ultra Classic. I have an '07. My first farkle was going to the Stage II. Having the cam and extra 7 cubic inches REALLY woke the bike up. I put Rhinehart slip-ons on also. A little too loud for my taste, but it feels like it breathes better.

The best farkle, however, is the seat I put on. The stock seat just killed me after an hour or two. I tried the "Tallboy" seat and it got a little better, but I still suffered from burn and pain after a few hours.

I ride a bike at work, and I am able to sit all day with no pain. So I found the same air-sprung seat and put it on the UC. WOW, what a difference. I made a non-stop run from Phoenix to home after Bike Week and spent 12 hours in the saddle and was comfortable all the way.

Short story - do the Stage II and try the air-sprung seat. You will love them both.

JMHO - YMMV

Congrats and enjoy!!

p.s. I have the Tallboy and a backrest for sale. Make me an offer.

[Mike_Benzon]

Wow! I am surprised at the Harley owners here. The seat wasn't the only farkle I went for. I did the stage I with Vance and Hynes ovals, SE air cleaner and the SE race turner.
I have been researching the heat issue and the best advice I have found is to replace the cams with something other than the stock cams, something with overlap timing. The overlap timing allows a little cool air charge to reach the cylinder before finishing the exhaust stroke, which effectively lowers the exhaust temp form 1300 F to 900 F. So that is my next step.
The V & H slip ons have a very nice sound, not too loud until you pull hard on the throttle. They seem to have a deeper sound without getting too loud. The Annv models come stock with the ABS and Security system. By the way, new for 08 models is Brembo brakes and a six gallon tank.
Thanks all for the comments.

[Dan-A]

I am not laughing, as I ride a Harley. Congrats from me too. Look how many Harley riders are lurking. I am surprised too!

[82katana]

Oh yeah, the heat issue.

I wrapped the exhaust from head to slip-on with a perfomance exhaust wrap that is supposed to keep the heat in and provide more power. Something the racers and drag racers have been for years, I guess. I wrapped it up nice and tight, put the covers back on and you can hardly see that I have done it. In fact, if I didn't tell you it was there, you probably wouldn't notice - except for the fact that the heat from the pipes is down (with no scientific way of telling for sure except bun comfort) about 50%. Makes the bike totally rideable even the in the worst of the summer heat. And if I get an extra horse power or two - GREAT!

I think this the stuff I bought. (The wrap is under a ton of crap in my garage - but this looks right)

http://www.eastwoodco.com/shopping/product/detailmain.jsp?itemID=3367&itemType=PRODUCT&RS=1&keyword=exhaust%2Cwrap

[Mike_Benzon]

Thanks Daniel
I used the same stuff on my race car years ago. Also I might mention that the ceramic coating of the exhaust pipes does an equal job and adds more performance gain than the wrap. I may consider these options, though I still intend to replace the stock cams.
If the Harley people think thier motors are hot now, wait until the motor company goes to water cooled motors, which they say is coming soon.

[kapod2t]

The heat is caused by the extremely lean air/fuel mixture required to overcome EPA O2 emissions. A lot of the motors have been frying. The only real way to overcome it is to have someone that knows what they're doing install a Power Commander III with the correct map in it and block the O2 sensors. They will enrichen the A/F mix making the bike run cooler and better.

[Nathan]

Mike,
Welcome to the "Dark Side" of motorcycling! I went from a LT to a Streetglide and am very pleased with the results. I added the Stage II kit and it runs very well... :D

I did the same thing form a LT to Streetglide and loving it.

[bmwbagby]

Hi all, I sold my RT and the Rocket. I am now riding an 08 Harley Ultra Classic, the 105th Annv. model. I am loving it. One of the first farkles I added has been a Russell seat. Retirement is treating me well with lots of time for riding.

Congrats! That's a great bike! At my first service (1K) the fluids were changed to synthetic (Amsoil) and I noticed the engine heat seemed to drop. My legs were very happy!

Enjoy your retirement and the "new" rides!!

[Casaba]

This is a bizarre thread. I went from two Harleys to an LT in May, just sold it on e-bay and going back to an Ultra next week.

cool

[TheSnake]

Man oh man, one little ol' Harley sure generated a lotta posting.

Mike trust me, you will get accustomed to riding a bike that is not top heavy and you will likely not miss the joy of going to the dealership for a new rear drive every 15-20K miles.

Congrats.....