Greetings all. I'm new to the forum and new to Harleys for that matter. I'm making the move from my metric bike to a HD and I'm hoping for some advise on which Electra Glide model would be best. Does the Ultra Classic seem underpowered with the 96 rather than the 103. As far as I can tell they are pretty similar except for the motor size and a few small things, heated grips and such. I plan on riding two up with the wife but probably only a few trips a year, nothing major. I would love to hear your opinion on the two models.

Thanks in advance.......

 

I guess that's really very subjective and you're going to get responses that support either. My personal opinion is that the touring bikes are heavy enough, adding the weight of a passenger it really doesn't hurt to have a larger displacement. Unfortunately H-D doesn't see fit to put a better cam in the Limited so you're stuck with needing to upgrade that whether you buy a 96 or 103.

If you're new to H-Ds as you say you are, I highly recommend budgetting for an exhaust system upgrade, cams and air cleaner followed by a tune (yes it gets expensive). If adding these components are going to put a Limited over your budget then get the 96 and use the savings for upgrading the 96 powertrain.

 

Welcome! I have an 07 so, it's a 96" but I have test riden the 103" & didnt think it was that much more powerful. Most guys who have them love 'em! They do have a bit more compression so when you change the cams (and if you hang out around here long you will change cams!) you'll have a little better selection. Another nice thing about the 103" is it comes with an oil cooler.
Good luck with a tough but fun decission!
Dave

 

I came from a Honda VTX1300R, and the ride on my 2010 Ultra is incredible compared to the honda. I wish I could have just got upgraded to the 103 for just the price difference in 2010, I would have done it . The 96 is still plenty of motor.

 

The power of stock Harley touring bikes are noticeably less than any metric of comparable size. You would probably be a little disappointed. I went from a GL1800 Goldwing to an Ultra Classic and there is a lot of difference in performance.

I would recommend you test ride the Harley bikes you are considering.

 

Notwithstanding all of the above, I find the stock Harley engine and power to be more than adequate for my riding....

 

Sure - just bear in mind that you won't get a particularly good feel for the difference once you "fix" all the short comings of a stock engine.

 

Coming from a rocket III they all felt slow..... they all were 10X more comfortable and a lot less work to ride which is what I wanted.

My first harley was a 2010 Electra glide classic with the 96...... between the cat in the head pipe and the 96" motor it did feel really slow.

I traded it after a month for a 2009 Electra Glide Police model and have never been so happy with a bike. The 103 and the lack of EPA garbage on the bike makes it a lot more fun.

Some things to think about though..... the 96 with a set of pipes, a stage 1 breather, and a good tune ( how my wife's Fat Boy is set up) is still plenty fast. The 96 vibrates less ( both on my FLHTC and especially on my wife's Fat Boy as it's mounted differently) and the clutch pull is easier. I'm sure that a set of cams would do wonders too ( haven't tried that yet)...... the 103 has a lot more bottom end though, and it still pulls harder even with just a set of slip-ons........

 

I've had my Limited for 3 weeks now and in my opinion the Limited is worth every penny of the price difference. I've had a couple of Ultra Classic owners tell me that they wished they would have spent the extra $$$ for the Limited.

 

I had an 07 Ultra Classic, I put cams in and various other mods. It ran very well, My new Limited in stock form ran OK,but not as well. THEN, I put a Fuel Moto PCV S/E ac and dresser duals, now it would pull away from my old bike.The extra dough for the limited is a lot cheaper than buying them and having them installed.

Mark