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Adjusting to 2009 Ultra Classic

Thanks Smitty, I'm going to talk to my parts guy about the bars tomorrow. I'll install them myself if I know the cables will reach....I was just concerned about the new cableless throttle and ABS cables on the '09's. I almost soiled my drawers when I was quoted $800 for the bars.......Thanks for the help, what part of Wisconsin are you from? I grew up in Pittsville, the exact center of the state, but now live in Rapid City , SD. Thanks again.
 
walleye said:
Merlynn:
How do you like these new bars? Would you recommend them? I am 5' 9", 30" inseam.
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I'm somewhat vertically challenged at 5'7", 30 inch inseam. Just went for a ride with my sweetie after lowereing the bike 1 inch front and back, pullback handlebars and rider backrest. It is a completely different bike. Was able to lean back into the backrest at a stoplight, feet flat on the ground while easily holding on to the hand grips. Most comfortable relaxed ride I've ever had on any bike. Short answer, the pullback handlebars work well for me. (and original cables worked fine, no extra cost, note bike has abs)

In short my bike is now perfect. Now how can I make it better, hmmn, maybe new mirrors? Chrome the lower forks? Lockable lower fairing doors? Cup holder? GPS? Help! I have a sickness!
 
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Merlynn...that is a sickness a lot of us have. I was at the Part counter the other day and a guy was buying a chrome dodad for his bike. I got talking to him and he told me that he quit smoking and now he spends all his smokes money on his bike. It is the one thing that keeps him from going back to smoking. So at least this sickness can have some positives.

Happy Riding (and accessorizing!!! LOL)
 
Wonder what all those poor metric riders do, For the most, they don't have the vast array of goodies to choose from that we do.
 
Merlynn said:
I'm somewhat vertically challenged at 5'7", 30 inch inseam. Just went for a ride with my sweetie after lowereing the bike 1 inch front and back, pullback handlebars and rider backrest. It is a completely different bike. Was able to lean back into the backrest at a stoplight, feet flat on the ground while easily holding on to the hand grips. Most comfortable relaxed ride I've ever had on any bike. Short answer, the pullback handlebars work well for me. (and original cables worked fine, no extra cost, note bike has abs)

In short my bike is now perfect. Now how can I make it better, hmmn, maybe new mirrors? Chrome the lower forks? Lockable lower fairing doors? Cup holder? GPS? Help! I have a sickness!
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Merlynn,

Did you do the maintenance yourself? My dealer is telling me that it will NOT work unless you don't route the cables properly. How much extra play did you have in the cables? Please let me know. thanks.

smitty901 said:
South East near Watertown
Research the self help here before doing thw work you will be fine do you have the service manual for your bike ?
Download it print out the pages you need so you have it to look at and read while working.
2009 HD Touring Service Manual - HD Talking Downloads Page - Harley Davidson Community
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Smitty,

How come I can't get the 09Touring service manual to download, every time I click on it it says "Slow down" you're trying to download too quickly....I've tried a dozen times...any ideas?
 
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B-1B_Guy said:
Merlynn,

Did you do the maintenance yourself? My dealer is telling me that it will NOT work unless you don't route the cables properly. How much extra play did you have in the cables? Please let me know. thanks.
Click to expand...

Well, I had the dealer do the work and I'm quite confident that if they could have charged me for cables they would have. Obviously one of these dealers is wrong. Bike runs great...

Added thought. when I had heritage softtail bars put on my RK I didn't need extra cables. The pullback on this bike feels about the same so don't understand why this is an issue for your dealer.
 
Merlynn,

I called my dealer (in also emailed him the link to this forum) and he said they would try to mount the bars with the stock cables but he didn't think it would work. I've known my dealer for a long time and I know that he wouldn't charge me extra just to charge me extra because we've built a fairly solid relationship. I guess what I'm nervous about is that they get it all tore apart and then decide that the stock cables won't reach and I'm then I'm in a tight spot....either for the now $1100 estimate or pay to have them put it back to stock (neither are great choices). So, I decided I'm going to order and install the pullback bars myself. If I end up buying a cable or ABS brake harness then so-be-it, I need those bars to eliminate back pain. It may be a few weeks before I get to it but I'll let you know how it goes.
 
Well yesterday was hte big day...first service.

I got them to rotate my bars back toward me and it made a big difference. On advice from the dealer I tried the reach seat and went for a 2 hour ride on an amazing widing road ... it was fantastic. The reach seat really helps with stopping and starting.

Then I added a back rest but it pushes me too far forward on the reach seat. Hard on the crotch.

So I am going to use the reach seat without the back rest when I have the wife aboard and the stock seat with the backrest when I am doing a long trip by myself.

Thanks for all the advice everyone...oh yeah I didn't get the heated grips just cool custom ones.

Happy riding!!!
 
smitty901 said:
have to agree 100% on this heated grips are not worth near the cost, they do not last and are not nearly as effective as heated gloves.
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A friend of mine has heated grips and it does a great job keeping his palms warm. It doesn't keep his fingers warm so he gets off the bike with red palms and blue fingers. Heated gloves are better at warming the entire hand. And if something goes wrong with the gloves, you don't lose use of the bike while the problem is being fixed.

(An external GPS is also better than a built-in GPS for the same reason. If something goes wrong with the unit, you don't lose use of the bike while the unit is being fixed. Also, external GPS's usually have bigger screens and more options.)
 
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