Originally Posted by jpooch00

I'll be closing a deal on a Merlot and Cherry Red Ultra today,

Originally Posted by groupw

...... Merlot/Cherry Red? .....I understood you Boulderite's were required to do everything in Green ? ;-}

Originally Posted by jpooch00

I'm still waffling about a new Ultra in that If I get one, I will not be doing any mods to it at all and it will only be ridden solo. Also, if I buy a Harley at all, it will be an Ultra.

I'm not in any way trying to show any disrespect to the good folks on this forum, or anywhere else for that matter, who mod their bikes, and I respect the choices and the opinions of all of the individuals here.

I'm just trying to find out if these bikes are actually suitable for long distance touring and around town riding if they're left the way they come from the factory. From what I've read, they seem to be in a constant state of trying to melt themselves (and the rider) unless the fuel mixture is changed from the factory setting and a different intake and exhaust system is installed. Especially the 2010 models with the cats in the header pipe.

I've read many, many (100's) of posts relating to heat issues with the bigger engines, catalytic converters, exhaust pipe placement, several people proposing class action lawsuits because the bikes are considered un-ridable as they come from the factory, "$2000 in exhaust and ECU mods should be considered a normal expense of owning a new H-D", etc. and I've also noticed that essentially all of the sigs on all of the H-D forums include engine, ECU, intake and exhaust mods.

All I want is some real world advice on what's up for real when riding solo on a factory-stock Ultra on a daily basis and if there are any Ultra owners out there who have actually done it without any durability or maintenance issues as a result.

Thank you all very much in advance for any and all opinions and info.

Originally Posted by DukeofEarl

Put 4800 miles on our Limited before winter hit and it is still stock.
Two things I have noticed:
1. On longer trips the stock seat becomes very uncomfortable
2. In traffic, the heat on the right side gets to be almost unbearable

So, although I like to leave bikes mostly stock, I intend to get the seat modified by MCC. I also intend to get the 2-1-2 header from FM along with the PC-V tuner to reduce heat. I like the sound from the stock exhaust so will probably keep the stock exhaust except for the header. I am not sure yet what I will do about the air cleaner.

But to each his own.

Originally Posted by davessworks

If you couldn't leave the bike bone stock then Harley would be out of business (warranty, law suits etc). The fact that a lot of us like to mod actually also helps the MoCos bottom line. I would say that if you want a stock bike the Ltd is a good one - but out of your budget perhaps.