After two years on my first bike (an '07 V-Star 1100 Silverado) I traded it in for my first Harley (an '09 Ultra Classic Electra Glide). I'm 5'7" and have a tough time riding because I have to "tippie-toe" when stopping. I am hesitant to modify the suspension, so what options do I have to drop the seat height 2-3 inches? I read several articles about the reach seat, and one said it drops an inch while the other article said it dropped 1/2 inch. Which is correct? Is there a better option than the reach seat? And my better half says the passenger seat better be as comfortable if not more comfortable than stock. Any advice would be greatly appreciated...

 

Send your seat to Mean City Cycles and have him mod it for you. He is in the vendor classified section.

 

I'm 5'7" and with boots I feel comfortable on the stock Ultra. My feet don't sit flat footed, but the ***** of my feet are just a little off the ground. I find this is the way I prefer it.

 

I e-mailed Mean City Cycle and he said in his response that the newer (09-10) seats are hard to modify to get what I want because of the way they are designed. I want 2-3 down and 1-2 forward. Maybe I'm just too picky. I am thinking about the reach seat and if it's not quite what I want I'll see if it can be modified for a bit more drop. And are your boots made to help with reach issues or are you just talking normal riding boots? Thanks for input...

 

I am 5'8" and have an 09 Street Glide. I do like having my feet flat on the ground at a stop. I got the reach seat which helped a bit. What I don't like about it is the looks, but it is comfortable and lowers and moves you forward. But I also dropped the rear an inch in addition to it's being lowered from the factory.

I was thinking about having the stock seat rebuilt but I guess that isn't such a good option from what you stated.

I am just used to very low bikes and the HD Touring bikes are not very low. If I keep the bike, I am going to give it to Motorcycle Metal who will install new suspension and make the front as low as the rear is now, while improving the ride at the same time.

I did get some great boots from the HD store that are super comfortable, waterproof and add at least 3/4" to my reach. Don't have them with me right now so I can't get you the name but they were not an HD brand. Laced with a side zipper.

Best of luck!

 

Would love to know what boots those were. I nicknamed my boots "frankenboots" for obvious reasons. They are great but weigh about 20 lbs. (exaggerating, of course, but you get the idea).