[kwn306]

I took delivery of a Ultra last Wednesday and very nervously drove it home.

This is my 1st HD, been riding bikes for over 35 yrs, the last 2 yrs has been on a Sport Touring bike.

I purchased this bike as a daily commuter (150 a day) for the wife and I. We took it out yesterday and did some back roads around the Fredericksburg, VA area.

I am presently surprised has how nimble the bike is riding two up, it is also nice to know that I do not have to pay attention to VDOT's speed limit signs in the curves. It is not a Sport Touring bike by any means but for its size and weight it is very agile.

Since this is my 1st HD I am looking for some experienced advise.

I did notice over some ruff roads the forks were making noise (knocking). I would assume this is a fork spring issue or too light of weight fork oil. Any thoughts/suggestions? I weigh about 250, the wife 140, was running 15 psi in the rear shocks.

What type of air pressure should I be running in the tires for maximum mileage? This bike will probably get between 25 - 30K a year on it.

Granted the bike has just over 100 miles on it at present, it is know where close to be broken/worn in. But if coming to a stop I find it difficult to find neutral, but if rolling into a stop neutral is easy to find. Is this the norm with a new HD or HD in general? Will switching to 20W - 50 synthetic oil solve this problem?

Thanks for anyones time in advance for responding to my questions.

 

[JJsFLHX]

Hey I live down in your neck of the woods too. I can tell you I bought a new Street glide a few weeks ago and it was hard to find neutral at first but I have about 700 miles on it and neutral seems to be getting a little easier to find now. This is my first HD too and I love it. Makes me wish I could have afforded one earlier.

 

[ratmotortom]

Congrats on the new ride. Just took delivery of a classic about 3 weeks ago. Nuetral always seems to be a bit of a chore to find at first on a harley, but you'll get uses to it. Seems easiest to find while bike is still rolling a bit, just before you stop. I would say factory tire pressure spec should be fine for you. I think it's 36lbs for both tires for solo rider and 40 in the rear for 2 up !

 

[Fourcats]

Congrats on the Harley Davidson! Try not to become "famous" ignoring the VDOT signs...:chopper:

 

[joediver]

invest in a pump

Recommend you purchase the H-D air pump for the shocks, makes a huge difference in adjusting the ride quality.

Practice at slow speeds, and keep the shiny side up. Good luck and :welcome:

 

[Freddyack]

I took delivery of a Ultra last Wednesday and very nervously drove it home.

This is my 1st HD, been riding bikes for over 35 yrs, the last 2 yrs has been on a Sport Touring bike.

I purchased this bike as a daily commuter (150 a day) for the wife and I. We took it out yesterday and did some back roads around the Fredericksburg, VA area.

I am presently surprised has how nimble the bike is riding two up, it is also nice to know that I do not have to pay attention to VDOT's speed limit signs in the curves. It is not a Sport Touring bike by any means but for its size and weight it is very agile.

Since this is my 1st HD I am looking for some experienced advise.

I did notice over some ruff roads the forks were making noise (knocking). I would assume this is a fork spring issue or too light of weight fork oil. Any thoughts/suggestions? I weigh about 250, the wife 140, was running 15 psi in the rear shocks.

What type of air pressure should I be running in the tires for maximum mileage? This bike will probably get between 25 - 30K a year on it.

Granted the bike has just over 100 miles on it at present, it is know where close to be broken/worn in. But if coming to a stop I find it difficult to find neutral, but if rolling into a stop neutral is easy to find. Is this the norm with a new HD or HD in general? Will switching to 20W - 50 synthetic oil solve this problem?

Thanks for anyones time in advance for responding to my questions.

Congrats on the new FLH. I just bought a FLHT. I noticed a big difference after 300 miles or so: engine not as noisy, neutral easier to find, brakes perform better. Guess it's just part of the break in ritual. I changed to Syn3 for the crankcase and HD Formula+ for the tranny at 700 miles. I think the engine is more quiet now and shifting is better.

Are you thinking about any engine mods yet?

 

[kwn306]

Thanks for the insight.

I purchased the air pump for the shocks when I purchased the bike.

Also had the dealer install the stage 1 (?) air cleaner before taking delivery.

As far as any other mods....I would like to get a couple thousand miles on the bike before venturing into engine additions. The bike appears to have plenty of torque and enough HP at present.

Can anyone chime in about my fork oil/spring question (knocking)?

 

[GreatEscape]

Tire pressures

This is most likely not new information, but you should use the tire manufacturer's recommended pressures, not those shown in the bike owner's manual.

In my experience, messing with the stock airshocks is a waste of time and effort. There are many stories about them not holding pressure. That would make the extra $40 for the official pump a waste (although if you're determined to stick with the stock setup, then you need it).
I run with Progressive, heavy duty, 440's on my last two baggers and swear by them. They are pricey, but I've never looked back. -2$en#e-

 

[Sarge12R]

Congrats on the new ride! Shouldn't be any noise coming from there, it's a new ride. Double check all fasteners and bolts for tightness, could have something loose. Also get the service manuel, it's a great investment.

 

[Forelanne]

It sounds like you are bottoming out. Look at the suggested psi for you and passenger weight and adjust accordingly. I adjust mine to 30psi with rider and 15psi when alone. Sometimes I forget to adjust when the wife hops on, usually get the knock you referenced.:cheers: Then again you said front forks, sorry

 

[Antonio Pendejo]

Don't worry about those strange noises you hear coming from the bike, after awhile you wont hear them anymore

 

[ratt]

This is most likely not new information, but you should use the tire manufacturer's recommended pressures, not those shown in the bike owner's manual.

In my experience, messing with the stock airshocks is a waste of time and effort. There are many stories about them not holding pressure. That would make the extra $40 for the official pump a waste (although if you're determined to stick with the stock setup, then you need it).
I run with Progressive, heavy duty, 440's on my last two baggers and swear by them. They are pricey, but I've never looked back. -2$en#e-

I have 53,000 miles on a set of stock airshocks .....even with all those miles i only end up pumping them up every 1000 miles or so......rat

 

[YankeeBob]

I did notice over some ruff roads the forks were making noise (knocking). I would assume this is a fork spring issue or too light of weight fork oil. Any thoughts/suggestions? I weigh about 250, the wife 140, was running 15 psi in the rear shocks.

What type of air pressure should I be running in the tires for maximum mileage? This bike will probably get between 25 - 30K a year on it.

Granted the bike has just over 100 miles on it at present, it is know where close to be broken/worn in. But if coming to a stop I find it difficult to find neutral, but if rolling into a stop neutral is easy to find. Is this the norm with a new HD or HD in general? Will switching to 20W - 50 synthetic oil solve this problem?

Thanks for anyones time in advance for responding to my questions.

Change your fork oil to SE fork oil. This will make a HUGE difference. It takes the "squishyness" out of the forks.

The neutral thing is consistent with HD. Don't sweat it. You will get used to it (as annoying as it is). Switching to synthetic will not solve it.

Good luck with your new ride!

YB

 

[kwn306]

Thanks for the additional thoughts & suggestions.

Had to make an appointment for the Ultra at the dealership well before the 1 st service. Went to the garage Saturday morning and there was a puddle under the bike. It appears to be the outer primary case gasket is leaking, I checked all the fasteners and they appear to be tight.

I checked the fluid level and it not leaked that much, but the bottom of the primary is covered in oil.

What the hell it was 60 deg. yesterday afternoon, took it out for a ride with the wife....its under warranty, let her blow. :yikes:

 

[06RedBaron]

I also picked up an 06 Ultra, but was in Aug. Have over 6,000 miles on it already. Rode it from Alabama up to your kneck of the woods (Ft Belvoir) in Sept and returned in Nov, beautiful ride. Also did a trip up onto Skyline Drive there in VA. The bike handled great on those windy roads.

Havent experienced the knocking you reference but have had issues keeping pressure in the rear shocks. May spring for the Progressives at some point. The neutral issue was annoying at first but have learned to live with it and have gotten better at finding it.

The best thing I like is that the stock seat is great. I picked up the pillow back rest to match and love the comfort.

Enjoy the bike and ride safe.

 

[Blue Glider]

I'm 255 lbs. and ride an '05 EG Classic. After a bit of trial and error, my stock rear shocks are generally kept at 25 psi when riding solo. Many others on here advocate switching to the Progressives, and they may be great, but I haven't had any problems yet with the stocks leaking oil or losing an unusual amount of air. As for the knocking or clunking in the forks, in my experience that is not normal and should be looked at right away by the tech at your stealership. If nothing else make them disassemble the forks/springs, etc. and reseat everything, and see if that solves it. Also have them replace the fork oil with some heavy duty stuff. I switched mine to heavy duty, and the front end no longer dives when downshifting or braking.

 

[fxrflh]

The knocking you hear is either the fork bottoming out on it's internal stops as the fork completly bottoms out. Or the fork springs rubbing against the dampner tube in the lower fork legs. Most likely it is the forks bottoming out, since it happens going over big bumps.

If you have air adjustable forks you can add up to 20 psi to firm up the ride and eliminate the bottoming. If you do not have air adjustable forks, then you have several options.

First, add 20w Bel Ray or 30W Bel Ray fork oil.

Second, you can add a small 3/4" PVC spacer on the top of each stock fork spring to increase the pre load on the factory springs. And replacing the fork oil with 20w or 30w Bel Ray fork oil will assist as well.

Heavier Fork oil helps minimally on the compression stroke but really helps alot on the rebound stroke.

Third, If you plan to do a lot of 2 up riding, replacing the fork springs with Progressive fork springs is worth it, they run about 70 bucks and are light years better than the factory springs. They also require a spacer to be used to pre load the springs and will benefit from heavier fork oil

 

[Boz]

Front end knock

Does the knock occur if you grab at the front brake? If it does it's likely to be the nut on the top of the steering stem. Harley have a wide torque range for this and if it's not at the upper end of the range then on a heavy bike like a 'glide then the top yoke can move. Has the same sound as a loose steering head adjustment, but isnt. (I think you people call the yokes triple trees).