Okay, this is for you short riders (5'7" and less) of which I am 5'6" that either own or want to own a Touring Bike. I use to have a 97' Roadking that was setup perfectly for me. Then, after 85K miles on her I decided to purchase a 2011 Electra Glide Ultra. Sitting on her at the dealership immediately told me that I was going to need to lower the bike alot.

So, before taking delivery I had the dealership put on the Front Fork Lowering Kit, the Lower Rear Shocks Kit, the Kickstand Extension Kit and finally the Reduced Reach Seat (part number 52619-08A) which works better than the other Reduced Reach Seat for Tourning Models (part number 54383-11).

Rode with this setup for over 3K miles and was not real comfy. The stock handlebars put my hands too high up in the air and gave me the feeling that the bike had a high center of gravity plus I didn't have alot of leverage with keeping the bike upright with my hands that high. Obviously the Bat Wing and Tour Pack created the high center of gravity feeling as compared to my RoadKing.

I had a set of Wild-One RoadKing extended reach touring bars on my RoadKing and they were great. Nice low bars with a wide spread that gave me plenty of control over the bike and a sense of low center of gravity. That's what I wanted to feel on my Ultra. I looked at alot of aftermarket bars and couldn't find anything that would work. Beach Bars wouldn't clear the tank and ape hangers were going in the wrong direction. I finally settled on getting the HD Tourning Pullback Bars, (part number 56176-08. I had the mechanic drop the bars so that the hand controls just cleared the tank when the forks were in their full lock position.

Well, bottom line is they did the trick. My hands are probably 2+ inches lower than the stock bars, I'm sitting further back in the bike and when I come up to a stop I don't feel like the bike is top heavy.

So, Short Rider's here's your parts list to get your Touring Bike to feel comfy.

Front Fork Lowering Kit 54564-09
Lowered Rear Shocks 54635-09
Touring Extended 2" Pullback Bars 56176-08 (you will need the recommended clutch and brake cables along with the Twist Grip Sensor Kit)
Reduced Reach Seat 52619-08A
Long Angled Highway Peg Mounting Kit 50500167 (avail in black or chrome)
Jiffy Stand Extension Kit 50233-00

I know this is alot of extra money but it's well worth it if it gives you more control of the bike which it did for me.

 

If I was 5-6 I would be tall.

 

http://store.fatbaggers.com/20drseco.html


another option

 

http://store.fatbaggers.com/20drseco.html


another option

 

I hear you bro. I'm 5'7" with a 30" inseam. The reach seat works for me. I ordered the one inch read shock drop thingy and I hope it will do the trick. The stock handlebars feel fine to me.

 

5'7"...here

 

if I was spending the money to replace the front fork suspension I'd go with the Progressive monotubes. It's another $200 in parts, but there's so much labor involved that you may as well put in good parts. Also, it's a good time to chrome your forks if you're going to do it - doesn't cost any more labor...just the extra parts cost.

 

5'8" and my RK is as tall as I can handle it but I'm still able to flat foot it stock. Any shorter and I would be in trouble!

 

%'7" with a 30" inseam..

My 2010 FLTRX already has the shorter rear shocks, I added the 2010 CVO Street Glide seat and Kromewerks +2 sweepers handlebars.
I'm on the ***** of my feet to almost flat foot and it feels comfy to me....

 

I was at the neighboring Harley shop last summer when I noticed a shorter guy messing around with his 2009 Police bike that he had purchased. After talking with him for awhile he said he had ridden his 02 softail for 280,000 miles and decided to buy the new framed tourer. Honest to god this guy was 5'2 at most. He had lowered the front and had just bought progressive shocks for the rear. He had shaved a seat down to nothing and still was on his tippy toes at rest. I like to ride the new touring bikes also but it seems to me that if it don't fit, then don't ride it.