lowest possible seat height on a 2003 Dyna? : V-Twin Forum: Harley Davidson Forums

04ctd · 03-05-2008, 11:33 PM

wife has a 07 883 Low, it was at 26.5, we got it to 25.5 with lowering blocks

she rode it to daytona this week, it beat her to death,

and the girls on Dyna's say they had Sporty's, and they were beat to death also, and the dyna is WAAAY more comfortable than the sporty.

buddy has a 03 Dyna i can probably get cheap.

the newer dyna's have wide tires, which makes the primary housing for the clutch stick way out, and she can't get her leg to the ground without hitting the clutch cover.

??

dr dave · 03-06-2008, 12:17 AM

what model of dyna are you looking at?
my wife has a short inseam at 30" and rode a 883 hugger that had been lowered as far as possible in the rear. she liked it a lot but it was not for longer rides. the problem as you say is that when you go to the dynas or softails, the seat height is not as accurate because your legs if really short can not be placed straight down as the bikes are wider - so your legs go outward some, so you lose at least an inch or more irregardless of the seat height.

my wife bought a 01 fxdl (low rider) and put the shortest progressive rear shocks on it immediately. that was not enough even with a seat that was lowered and moved her forward 1 1/2" and thinned in the thigh area. she could still only get the front 1/2 of her feet on the ground which was allright, but not good for pushing the bike forward or especially backward if trying to maneuver. we put the racetech front suspension kit on the bike and lowered the front 1" (2" was available but did not ride as well) and now she can reach the ground easily enough that she could use a stock hd seat if it is not the heavily thick padded style. the ride was vastly superior after the front suspension kit upgrade. that may have been the single best improvement made to the bike - good enough that i put the kit on my own bike also (just did not lower it).

i know there is a softail model that has a short seat height of around 25.5" listed, but again that means little since the bike is much wider than a sportster. it is great if your legs are normal in length, but terrible if you are short. i believe the lowrider has the lowest seat height of all the dyna models if you look at the factory specs.

i will try to measure seat height tomorrow on her fxdl as it currently rides which is as low as it can be (without dropping the front the other 1" - which would lower the seat about 1/2" perhaps). perhaps that will help some.

OldMsocko · 03-06-2008, 05:42 AM

I certainly wouldn't consider a 30" inseam short.

txmike · 03-06-2008, 12:59 PM

My wife is 5' and has an '07 XL883L also. I installed 10" shocks to give her more confidence that she could handle a HD as she had only ridden a 250 cc before getting the XL. By coincidence I ride an '03 FXD, so I appreciate the versatility of Dynas. Needless to say, I get to carry most of the gear when we go on long trips, which usually involves taking camping gear along.

As her personal 'mechanic', I got to break her new bike in. After 600 miles, including the last 200 in one ride, I have an appreciation for how badly the stock XL Low can beat you up. In fact I was sore for two days after that last ride.

Here are a couple of suggestions from things we tried that work well for her both on day trips and also on long trips.

Airhawk seat cover (J&P cycles P/N 820-118). Will raise her up about 1/2" but can easily be compensated for by new riding boots with a higher heel. It comes on and off easily and she generally leaves it off for day trips. I even use it for long car trips.

Forward pegs - even short legs need a stretch from the mid pegs on the highway.

Better grips or gloves with gel pads.

Throttle rocker - keeps right hand from cramping up on long highway trips

wind protection - She has the detachable HD quarter fairing in matching white gold paint. The QD hardware to mount the fairing can also be used for a HD windshield.

Storage - Motherwell solo rack with a small HD soft cooler attached. Handy to store extra gloves, goggles, snacks and 'lady stuff'.

She put 10,000 miles on her XL last riding season.

I am installing handlebar mounted speakers and an amp so she can have MP3 tunes for this year' riding season.

If you only plan on making one long motorcycle trip a year, keep the XL and consider renting a Road Glide and go 2-up for the trip. We did that for a week's ride in FL and we both enjoyed the big touring bike alot.

Gulfstream · 03-06-2008, 01:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 04ctd

wife has a 07 883 Low, it was at 26.5, we got it to 25.5 with lowering blocks

she rode it to daytona this week, it beat her to death,

and the girls on Dyna's say they had Sporty's, and they were beat to death also, and the dyna is WAAAY more comfortable than the sporty.

buddy has a 03 Dyna i can probably get cheap.

the newer dyna's have wide tires, which makes the primary housing for the clutch stick way out, and she can't get her leg to the ground without hitting the clutch cover.

??

How's the Sporty set up? My wife has a 07 1200L and can ride it all day and it doesn't beat her up at all...we're going to Key West next month. What TXMike said is true, you NEED a good seat (wife has a Mustang Vintage Solo), some sort of windshield to battle wind fatigue, highway pegs to vary the leg position, and the wife (and I) use a throttle rocker. The rubber mounted sporty is just a smaller version of a Dyna IMO and capable of long distances if set up right.

Fourcats · 03-06-2008, 02:20 PM

The Dyna will give a better ride. Shocks from a LowRider and forward controls will work and are easy to install on the pre six speed bikes. You can retain the mid controls for a change of position.

chopper blue de · 03-06-2008, 02:53 PM

Hey everyone,
My wife is on a 07 lowrider and is only 5'1" in her riding boots. I put the progressive 2" lowering kit on the front and sent the rear shocks out to Skullman to have them shortened (like $90 shipped) and did a shorter kickstand on it. She rode a GZ250 before this. It is not unusual for us to ride 350-400 miles a day just to ride and she has no problems. She looked at a lot of bikes before deciding on the fxdl, including the Deluxe and sportsters.

jim

04ctd · 03-06-2008, 05:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by chopper blue de

Hey everyone,
My wife is on a 07 lowrider and is only 5'1" in her riding boots. I put the progressive 2" lowering kit on the front and sent the rear shocks out to Skullman to have them shortened (like $90 shipped) and did a shorter kickstand on it. She rode a GZ250 before this. It is not unusual for us to ride 350-400 miles a day just to ride and she has no problems. She looked at a lot of bikes before deciding on the fxdl, including the Deluxe and sportsters.

jim

Jim, how does she touch the ground over the clutch cover?
that would seem to be a problem area, if she had to back it up, or on uneven ground.

dave, good data.
10 shocks in rear.
2 inches in front.
that might work for my wife.

txMike, the stock Low seat is a crap, it's just Pleather over the seat pan, to me. i can't ride it to the HD shop for work without monkey butt.

instead of 10 inch shocks, we put on the Tamarack lowering blocks for $70
http://www.tamarackmw.com/tamarackmw_067.htm

the nightster seat was her biggest improvement.

she has wider pegs, good gloves,
and i dunno about the throttle rocker, might be worth a try.

she has a fairing on it.
and a luggage rack.

she's got 1500 on this bike, and she wants to move up now.

she's 5'0 (maybe 4'11?) and ~130 pounds or so.
the wind this weekend in florida was HORRIBLE.
it was blowing my 06 Road king all over.

a buddy was on a 06 dyna, and he was complaining too.

txmike · 03-07-2008, 12:21 PM

Try the throttle rocker, it is only $12 and no permanent attachment. It does take some getting used to, so be careful at first that you don't apply throttle when squeezing front brake. Those shock mounts are nice, and they maintain the suspension travel of the stock shock.

If she is ready to move up to Dyna, then let her go for it. I kept my stock handlebars on the FXD but put on pullback risers (4" up, 2" back) using the stock cables and brake line. I also mounted the speedo on the headlight brow. Eventually I will end up with a low rider.

SteveB · 03-08-2008, 01:48 PM

Those lowering blocks ruined any suspension that was there by changing the shock angle to the point that the only damping action was in the rubber bushings, I've seen 883L's with short shocks that lowered the bikes to rival hardtail chops for seat height. Another thing that helps is having enough power(1200cc) to relax. I know because Christi was soooo tense on her '05 883C and now is so cool with her '07 1200C. Our 7,777 mile ride out west this last Summer left us ready to go again when we got home, except for cash requirements.

04ctd · 03-09-2008, 08:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SteveB

Those lowering blocks ruined any suspension that was there by changing the shock angle to the point that the only damping action was in the rubber bushings, ....

Another thing that helps is having enough power(1200cc) to relax. I know because Christi was soooo tense on her '05 883C and now is so cool with her '07 1200C. Our 7,777 mile ride out west this last Summer left us ready to go again when we got home, except for cash requirements.

we got the smallest lowering blocks, the one inch, so it did not alter the geometry too much. i rode it to dealership saturday for the heat shield recall, it was fine to me, seemed same as before. (the winds were 30~50 mph - it was blowing me around all over)

i see what you are saying about the power.
with the SE 2 pipes & the AC back drilled out, it runs pretty peppy.
we don't drag race off the line, so she can usually keep up.

FWIW, we did re-adjust the fairing:
--it was laying back, in a line with the top of her helmet.
we were thinking we were using it just to "break the wind"
so the wind was not hitting her in the chest.

--we stood it up, nearer to flat, so that it should block wind off her head, also

i was thinking that standing it up flatter will make the wind get a better grip on the bike, and actually make it worse.

FWIW, we are looking for a Dyna Super Glide now - it has a very thin tank at the back, and you can buy the Dyna LowRider shocks cheap enough.
they are under $10000 if you look around, thats about cheaper than a new 1200 XL.

Gulfstream · 03-09-2008, 11:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 04ctd

FWIW, we are looking for a Dyna Super Glide now - it has a very thin tank at the back, and you can buy the Dyna LowRider shocks cheap enough.
they are under $10000 if you look around, thats about cheaper than a new 1200 XL.

Check out http://www.bikerbill.com/ they're in Virgina but worth the drive...bought the wife's 1200L from them, I couldn't touch their price around here. You can make it there and back in one day...the usual disclaimer, I don't work for them or am I affiliated in any sort of way...just a VERY happy customer.

dr dave · 03-10-2008, 10:07 PM

04ctd:
finally measured the wifes 01 fxdl (low rider) that has the shortest progressive shocks on rear and racetech front suspension kit that is lowered 1" (max is 2" - but that makes the ride less than ideal). seat height measured with bike upright is just over 25" - no rider weight on bike. that is with a mustang solo seat in place.

i also do not like the lowering blocks to lower the rear - they change the angle of the rear shock and dramatically affect the shock's ability to work effectively. it may not seem to look like much of a change, but the ride is significantly different from the same bike with a shorter shock without the lowering block used.

someone else may need to jump in here, but i do not think the frame of the super glide is exactly the same as the low rider. i do not have access to a super glide, but i think the frame right where the seat fits is slightly different, letting the seat fit slightly lower. i also think the angle of the triple tree on the low rider is different although specs from hd say the rake of the front is the same on both models. i know the lowrider has a slightly longer wheel base and has almost 1/2" lower seat height.

Kivaari · 03-11-2008, 06:52 PM

iirc, the frames aren't any different. For the older models, 32 degree rake on the fxdl and 28 degree rake on the fxd. I know the new fxd_s are 29

04ctd · 03-11-2008, 07:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dr dave

04ctd:
finally measured the wifes 01 fxdl (low rider) that has the shortest progressive shocks on rear and racetech front suspension kit that is lowered 1" (max is 2" - but that makes the ride less than ideal). seat height measured with bike upright is just over 25" - no rider weight on bike. that is with a mustang solo seat in place.

the ride is significantly different from the same bike with a shorter shock without the lowering block used.

Doc, can i get Part Numbers from your setup:
--Front Springs
--Rear Shocks
--Mustang Solo Seat.

makes it much easier to search ebay.

we applied for the loan for a Dyna Super today. pray for my credit to hold up...