Hello Friends, I hope this is a help to you... Go up from a Street Glide or down from an Ultra? Not a simple as you might think:
I thought I could just dress up the Street Glide with a Tour Pack... This is my 7th Hawg in 40 years but first Street Glide, a CVO 2011, for the looks and performance a little lower and lighter that my last scooter an Ultra Classic.. . And I added the Passing Lights for the Old School look. You can buy both with the same engine, in my case the CVO 110 c.i. and both have the chrome and goodies and hydraulic clutch in my case... The normal Street Glide and Ultra are comparable as well, 103 c.i. and so on. But there is an important lesson here....
I thought I could just upgrade the Street Glide to Ultra Classis long range ride. Well, in a word, NO! My SESG is awesome, hangs into corners harder, handles better. I thought it was just a suspension thing, but no. It is bigger wheels, and lower profile tyres, that make it hang in there harder. The problem is that it is also harder on the bone, and being old school, that matters. It is a combination of skinny seat, harder suspension, and big wheels that make the SESG more of a hot rod.
The Ultra Classic, has air suspension that is adjustable, fatter tyres on smaller wheels, and a phatt seat. So my point, to be of help, you want a long range Tourer as the main emphasis? You can take an Ultra Classis and make the Tour Pack go on a docking station with plug ins and you have the Street Glide look around town. But if you want a Hot Rod, hanging tough in the corners with the Boys up in the Ranges, the Street Glide SESG is lowered in the back, bigger wheels, low profile tyres, and a harder suspension and skinny seat for looks. You cannot just buy a Tour Pack for it and make a long range Tourer OR IT WILL BEAT YOU UP A BIT...
Me? I am already in love with my SESG, and being a PIG definite HAWG, I have just ordered a FLHSECU6 as well, first Big Blue in the country... But my advice to you is local travel you can do up a Street Glide, but if you really want to go long range start with the phatty and take off the Tour Pack for local stuff.. Or spend the bucks and do both... I am trying to help if you are going to have just one scooter... If it works out with the new FLHTCUSE6 I may sell the CVO Street Glide next year, but I will wait and see.....
Cowboy
There is a major difference and I figured it out compared to my last Ultra per the above.. And the new 2011.5 coming in July for the long range Touring:
Hey Cowboy - I'm planning on riding my SG up your way from Melbourne in August - I know I'll cop a little pounding but cant wait to lay some miles in style.
Agree with your theory on the Ultra though - a better option for touring.
Good luck with it all mate
Cheers
Glen.
Glen,
If you get this far, call in...You have good tastes in scooters... I know...
Before I was deadly smitten by the Big Blue, I looked into making the Beaut SESG ride a little better for the long hauls... A fat seat is an option. It is only one bolt and it clips in. It is not so bad, I have done 500 km days... But leaning on 60 y.o. that is about the limit.. What got me was missing the top box of the ultra. I am used to putting in my helmet and pulling out a cowboy hat... All summer my face burned at bike events.
Pushing hard on the curves, I remember my last Ultra having a little wallow, a little drift in the curves. It will be interesting this time to see if I adapt to the "BIG BLUE" on the curves after having a Street Glide.
I think I have just realized that there is no reason for me not have both. I am going to do the curvy new windscreen, V&H extractors, race tuner, all the sort of performance of goodies I did on my CVO SG, on the CVO Ultra. I may just keep them both... But if I find I could live full time with the slightly less handling performance and more weight of the Ultra, after say six months probation, I will probably sell the O&B Street Glide. More room in the garage.. On the other hand, being a pig, I might just keep them both because I can. Nothing as exciting as switching bikes for a refresher... Ha! There is a Guy in America on the CVO Forum, that has both and he says it is fun to take out the lighter, harder cornering, solo Street Glide once in awhile.
On the other hand: If I can live with the cornering performance, I may just get the docking station to take off the Tour Pack, and wiring plugs, and make "BIG BLUE" a fat tyred CVO Street Glide when running local. It will be interesting to see...
Cowboy,
Having ridden mr FLHR across the country and back on both standard 17inch front 16inch rear as well as on 18inch agitator rims I can tell you it isn't the wheels or tyres making any difference.
Lowered suspension and seat would be wear it is at. I would just get a seat for travelling and leave the other for looking cool.
cheers Surly
Hello Surly,
My Ultra had fatter tyres and smaller wheels, and the ride was substantially different. Maybe you are right about the tyres not being as much of the deal, it might be in the air suspension. FLH RK has that air suspension as well doesn't it? I also want the top box and auto locking feature and I think this CVO Ultra comes with Blue Tooth, heated grips, heated seat and other Cadillac features.. It may be partly the seat, but the air ride suspension is probably more to blame, and I think tyres are in that equation as well. My Ultra was good for double the mileage that wears on me a bit with my CVO Street Glide. Thanks for your input on the fat seat, I had thought of just that before I was smitten by Big Blue... heh he
I am not going to sell the Cool Look CVO Street Glide until I have the real results and real answers by running them side by side.. I have Ordered Big Blue the 2011.5 and if I want the clean look of the Bagger, I can step down the Ultra with the docking station and remove the Tour Pack. One of them is going to win out, and it might take six months to tell... A Tour Pack upgrade of the Street Glide is possible, but I am inclined to think I am still right about the other factors to the ride. There is more clearance with the Ultra, right now I am bottoming out a bit on hard corners if there is any hump in the road, grinding on my V&H... heh he. It might not be all that much in the fat tyres, like I said it might be in the air suspension, and more with the fat seat, but ground clearance is an issue to. I appreciate your feed back, but I can afford to put them side by side and then we will know.
I think it still comes down to a choice on the Baggers: Round Town style and running on local trips hooning with the Boys and the Street Glide is your machine that you can always add a Tour Pack onto... Long distance Cadillac, Tourer emphasis, and the CVO Ultra will probably win hands down. If I want to lighten up for local runs, Tour pack off is the answer. It comes down to which way your emphasis is headed, and that was the help I was trying to give.
I had an 103 Ultra and wanted more engine to keep up with the boys riding in formation and pulling out to pass together. I got bit by the CVO chrome, grips and controls chrome, diamond cut instruments, 110 motor, hydraulic clutch, custom billet shift and brake linkage and pedals, and all the rest of the style and goodies that come with a CVO. And at the time, there was no CVO Ultra available in Australia so I took the first option that came up with this CVO Street Glide. Or I probably would have the CVO Ultra now.. No regrets, been fun, just want to help others that make the same choice with the right emphasis.
Best regards, Cowboy
I appreciate that, and it that was all there was to it I would certainly do that... But it is bone jarring chit roads, and I want the phatt tyres and air suspension as well as UHF and the rest... And most of all I want the top box and AUTO LOCKING beep beep as I walk away.. I miss the top boxes of my Ultra to stay helmet and jacket and pull out Cowboy hat..
NOW DON'T TALK ME OUT OF MY NEW BIG BLUE ORDERED, AS THE LORD HAS BLESSED ME RICHLY AND I CAN AFFORD BOTH BIKES,
THE HOT ROD AND THE CADILLAC..
