I bought a set of matched black lowers for my SG from someone on here who them off his new Ultra the day he took delivery. They are a wonderful addition to the bike. They look cool, make the bike look lower and more "filled out" IMO, but more importantly they streamline the ride in a big way. The wind on the knees and lower legs is all but elmininated and ride becomes very smooth. I keep the vents open in the summer. Now, I do have the quick detach kit and have had them off on a whim for the last several weeks and have been enjoying the more open feel without them. No question more wind coming up and under the fairing, but the bike does feel a tad bit quicker with the less resistance. Not enough to keep them off permanently, but nice change of pace. Like mentioned above, I'll have them on every touring bike I own going forward however.

 

The HD factory hard lowers are great in winter months. Not only for the rider but for the engine. It blocks a lot of air and rain but allows the engine to run at a closer to normal in colder weather. The soft wrap around helps to. It depends which one you get. some have a opening close to the engine that allows water/air in. There are some that comes closer to the engine and does almost the same thing as the hard lowers do except no vent. In cooler/colder months the soft wrap arounds are also a good investment; not a cost.
jim

 

The soft lowers are definitely worth the change you spend on them. They will keep you warmer during winter months and drier when there is a heavy dew in the am. Do not run them when temps are over 75 degrees or so though. I have a pair of studded Desert Dawgs and love them on my Heritage.

 

best for touring does not help engine heat

 

Simple answer, nothing that blocks the full air flow will cool engine.

 

I rode for a year without the lowers on my RG. I guess my feet are big enough that they would catch the wind at hiway speeds and I always felt like they would lift off the floor boards. Which did happen a few times. ( Before I put the right hand floorboard extender on.) I put the Lowers on and my feet stay put. Much smoother ride with the lowers. They are on to stay.

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I just purchased vented lower fairings for my SG along with adjustable highway peg mounts, Streamliner pegs, fitted liner inserts and detachable mounting kit. The liners will need to be trimmed(two 1/2" holes)in order to use the 'stud bolts' that fasten the top of the fairing to the engine guard. I'm not a fanof the dull polished stainless steel clamp for the bottom as it attracts 'chromy' attention on a bike that I've added black forks too. At $89 it(detachable mounting kit)was not a good buy for me.

Once the fairings were installed, my rear cylinder exhaust pipes started to glow and for the first time I had an issue with heat. It was 72* in the evening with mild traffic. I was told that the 'air baffle' under the fairingNEEDS to be removed if you decide to keep the lowers on. Lower fairings are an interesting addition to a SG if I may say or agree with above comments.

 

hogwash now that you bought the detachable mounting kit how much time do you save taking fairings on and off? If you had it to do over again would you just use the factory mounting system? Does it feel as solid as the factory system?

 

Another issue with the lowers is that if you have installed a rear master cyl chrome cover (HD) the right hand lower will not fit. The instructions with the cover say not to use with the lowers as there are clearance problems. That can be readily fixed with a dremel, I "relieved" the bottom of the right lower to fit, just a little trimming.