I had a ultra and went to a street glide. A year to the day later I traded the street glide to another ultra. The street glide was a blast to ride on the short runs but just didn't do long distance well, at least for me. Also my wife rides with me every time the bike is fired up. I could put shocks tour pak ect. on the street glide and made it more long distance friendly, but then it would have been a street glide ultra. Might as well have an ultra. My problem is I can't have both so considering how I ride and mostly two up, I went back to an ultra.

 

I went the other way.

 

The Limited also has upgraded bag liners...

 

Flyingace, so are you saying that you got rid of your Ultra and got a SG, or that you turned your Ultra into a SG? Either way, that's a gorgeous ride! Are those aux lights on the crash bars? Those are the wheels that come on the Ultra aren't they? Did I mention that looks sweet?!

Bill

 

We preferred the more modern, cleaner lines of the SG. Then we have the choice of tourpaks (got a bag), and decided on Ohlins anyway. Depends what you want. 13" take-off air shocks are about $125 on eBay anyway.

 

I actually never had an Ultra. My first two bikes were EG Classics, followed by 2 Street Glides. Never went the Ultra route because I had no desire for:

Fairing lowers
Intercom
CB

I have also never really cared for the brake lights in the tourpak.

So, beings as there was about a $2000 difference between the Ultra and Classic, I came out $1400 ahead by just adding the rear speakers to the Classics. (never had cruise on either of them) I also always preferred the way the paint/pinstripes were laid out on the Classic vs Ultra.

I later went the SG route because of the cosmetic differences, primary the clean fenders, extended rear fender, bullet turn signals, wheels, tank console. and the white/silver gauges. Also the lack of passing lamps. And the big one for me is that I've never cared for pinstripes. ESPECIALLY the gold that they always use on Red bikes. I really just like the clean, single color paint with no pinstripes on the SG. At the time I actually looked at a buying another classic and having it repainted, but that far exceeded the cost of adding the tourpak to the SG, and I would still have the pancake turn signals, bag rails, fender trim, etc. FUNCTIONALLY, the only parts I would want from an Ultra are the Tourpak, rear speakers, and Cruise, all of which I just added to my SG. Money wise, by that point your about breaking even with the cost of an Ultra, but if the other Ultra stuff doesn't matter to you and you like the looks of the SG better....

Seat wise, either way I went (Ultra/Classic vs SG) the stock seat was gonna get replaced. Same with the windshields. So that kind of a non factor in the Ultra/Classic and SG decision.

I did change the SG floorboards to the traditional shape, partly cause I got the rear ones so cheap, and partly cause I put on the extended reach driver boards, which were not available in the swept shape at the time (they are now) The wife also preferred the wider boards on the back. But I sold the swept floorboards for more than the cost of the others, so I came out ahead.

The lights on the crash bar are the Harley ones.

http://www.harley-davidson.com/gma/g...bmLocale=en_US



I wanted additional light up front for visibility to oncoming traffic, but wanted to keep the single headlight look of the SG. I've also seen enough of them coming at me to see that the lights on the crash bars stand out more than the lights on either side of the headlight, and it was about 1/3 the cost of adding the more traditional lights on either side of the headlight.

The wheels are the stock SG wheels that have been chromed. I really love the Agitator and Anarchy wheels, and may have them one day, but chroming the stock wheels was half the cost or less, and has the advantage of retaining the stock tire sizes. At some point soon Im going to change from the stock polished rotors to something that matches the wheel a bit better, and chrome the front brake calipers.



Its all about what you want. I could have saved a lot of money by going with another Classic but I would not be as happy with the end result. If I were buying today, and wanted to go fully loaded, I would take a hard look at the Limited, as I like the paint/pinstripe layout a lot more than the Classic and Ultra, but again, I would be paying for a lot of stuff I really don't want, and the end result would still not be what I really WANT. If It were all about money & function, Id be riding a Yamaha. When your playing at the $20,000 level, Id rather spend a bit more and have what really speaks to me, even if other options are more cost effective. I need to be able to go out to the garage and LOVE whats sitting there. Not just LIKE whats sitting there and justify it by telling myself I got the better value. But thats me. I realize others may feel differently.

To some people, taking the trunk off an Ultra/Classic/Limited makes it the same as a Street Glide, but not to me. Too many other differences in my book. Details.

The one thing I would say about the SG, is that the shorter rear shocks kinda suck. Very hard to get the air pressure dialed in to where your not bottoming out, and yet not getting launched off the seat when you hit a bump. The 09-later versions are better than prior years, but still not great. I replaced mine with the CVO version, and its NIGHT AND DAY difference. Well worth the money. As good as the 12" version rides, Ill bet the 13" version is like a cloud. When I did it I used my yearly 30% off coupon my dealer sends me every year, so mine were only about $350.

http://www.harley-davidson.com/gma/g...bmLocale=en_US

But as stated above, take-off 13" air shocks go for around $100 on ebay all the time, so I would not let the shocks be a deciding factor in which bike to choose. Personally, I think if your gonna change them, go with something better than the stock air shocks, but there is the option to just put on 13" air shocks for next to nothing if you really want a Street Glide and are concerned about the ride quality. Dispite the misconception, the front is NOT lowered on a Street Glide BTW, only the rear.

One last thing, I read a lot about the ride quality not being as good on the SG. It boils down to 2 things: The shocks ($100 fix) and the seat. The seats on the other bikes have a lot more padding, and it DOES make a difference when you hit a bump. I've put the stock seat back on mine and ridden it, and its a noticeably harsher ride over bumps just due to the lack of padding in the seat. There are NO other factors that affect the ride quality among the touring bikes. So if you want a SG or a Road Glide custom, but are concerned about the ride, just swap the stupid shocks and get a better seat. If you carry a passenger at all, your gonna want a different seat anyway. (and frankly, I think the stock Ultra/Classic/Limited seat is garbage anyway, something that a LOT of people seem to agree with, considering the number of threads with people who have those bikes posting about wanting a better seat. Just don't be bullshitted into thinking there is anything other than those two factors that magically make the other touring bikes ride better than the SG or RGC. There isn't.

 

None of my business. But. Since you put it on the internet for the whole world to see. I would keep the 2003 RK since "there is really nothing wrong with it". If you have that much cash to play with. Buy the Ultra. And. Be Happy.

 

I ride solo all the time like you.I also like the Street Glide,mostly the rear end treatment,but I figured that I would have a more unigue ride with a stripped down Classic,and have the tour pac when I need it once a year.I'd also probably add the driving lights to a street glide,so the Classic made the most sense yo me.

 

Flyingace -

Thanks for the info. Looks like you like the SG for the same reasons as I. I'm going to be buying a new bike within the next couple weeks, and I had been planning on a SG, but started mulling over getting an Ultra or EG Classic and stripping it down a bit, but I like the clean lines on the SG (clean fenders, no crash bars on the bags, etc). Figure I'd rather add a few things to the bike, like removeable tour pack, etc, than getting the Ultra and taking a bunch of stuff off. So I'll be going with the SG.

Btw, sorry about the thread-jack

Bill

 

Thanks for all the great information you guys have posted. I went through a very similar debate with myself and decided on the Street Glide.