Changing handlebars & ditching the air ride front suspension on an FLHTCU

[Mark222]

I bought this 1991 FLHTCU from a friend last year and have now about 5K miles inthe saddle with her.  What I have concluded (right or maybe wrong) is that I am thinking there is little value that I can see to the front air suspension on this bike. It still dives under semi - hard to hard braking and feels mushy in general.  I am planning a few changes for this old girl this Spring.

First, I am replacing the rear shocks with 1" under progressives (eliminating the air shocks there too).  Part # 412-4050

I was also planning to use progressive's -1" front spring relacement kit in the front to balance the change in the rear.

Together this will lower the overall bike 1" front and rear.  Using all Progressive parts I was hoping to improve the overall ride and handling a bit too.  True?  Or am I fooling myself?

I also will change the handlebars to get the required reach from the seat to the bars shortened a bit. I think I need to move the position of the grips on the bars back about 3-4" farther back to be comfortable the way I want to sit.  Anybody have a set of bars (and part # maybe) that they couple recommend to accomplish this?

Well, tonight I was looking at how big a job this is going to be. I have removed the outer fairing and was checking out what lies underneath. (Plenty id wiring to go around isn't there, lol!) Having never owned a bagger before I see a little work ahead of me, mostly under the fairing.  Help and suggestions from those who have done this wold be appreciated.

I see swapping out the original bars (which have the air value in the LH grip) appears rather straightforward but will effectively "kill" the funtionality of the factory air setup to the front forks, right? So what parts do I need to remover and replace on the fork tubes / caps / whatever to make the fork system air tight again with the new springs? Will the standard FLH parts work, or do I need to source aftermarket stuff?

And how much length can I add to the factory handlebar "reach" before I have to change hand control wires and clutch / throttle cables / brake lines? I was hoping there is enough slack to gain the couple inches I am looking to gain.

Hoping I can hear some from the voice of experience here before I dive in.

Thanks,

Mark

[wingie]

I have a 91 FLHTP, has 140000 plus miles. Last winter I totally rebuilt the front end . All new stock parts and new washers on the air system.  I couldn't be happier with how it now handles. Rebulding the front forks straight forward. The air system was a pain in the butt.
End result well worth it. The air system makes changing fork oil easy. I'm not fond of opening and closing the front fairing.  wingie

[Mark222]

Interesting.  One vote for keeping the air ride.  I would have thought others would have done the removal and been able to comment?  Do you just buy new handlebars with the air rig in them if you change then, or it the air rig in the bars not part of the bars?  From what I see it appears to be integrated?

Mark

[Hossamania]

Is there some way you can see to change the valve away from the handle bars and remotely mount a valve? A new hose and fitting perhaps? Have you changed fork oil to see if that helps your handling, helping you decide to keep or eliminate air ride? You could still put in a lowerng kit with air ride. Then you could keep air ride and choose your handle bars as you like.
As far as the rear shocks, there have been some threads on here to replace the oil in the rear shocks. Then you could just go with an offset kit, saving $$!

[wingie]

The air ride bars have a nipple, left side, and a hose attaches to the air ride selenoid.
Pretty crowded for big hands.  wingie

[Sonny S.]

Same but not the same...
FWIW, I have an 01 Ultra, and I'm running BelRay 20wt fork oil, and no air..... bike handles great ! No more nose dive !
I did this after hitting a pot hole and running the front fender up into the crash bar...got a nice crease in the fender.
I didn't change any parts, just added 20wt & not running air.