A question many ask when they look at a "Harley" and are informed that it's something else. Answer: When it's a Big Dog, Titan, Classic or a bike built by one of the many manufacturers who are building big, custom Harley-Davidson type motorcycles.
The manufacturer who's product I evaluated recently is the Ultra Cycles Motorcycle Co. located in Riverside, CA. Ultra Cycles has been in the business of building motorcycles since about 1992 and builds some very interesting bikes. Prior to building motorcycles, Ultra was in the business of building limousines. I presume the logic was that if they could convert a luxury car to a limo, then why couldn't they cash in on the Harley craze by building Big V-Twin Motorcycles.
The line of motorcycles manufactured at Ultra Cycles is complete and extensive. The product line ranges from their rigid frame "Ground Pounder" and "Jack Hammer" up to their "Wide One" line of Softail style bikes with a 180 rear as standard equipment. In between these is the "QC 96" line with several bikes that resemble the Harley Fat Boy and Heritage styles.
When I first became aware of Ultra Cycles, in 1996, I heard horror stories of the bikes falling apart and just being problematic. But, along with those horror stories were the customers who had serious love / hate relationships with their Ultra Custom Cycles (company's name back then). They liked the looks, the power and enjoyed riding their bikes, but hated all the time they spend being repaired. As time progressed, it appears that most of these problems were worked out and the company evolved to what it is today - a manufacturer who builds great looking motorcycles.
All the Ultra Cycle bikes come standard with wild custom paint and, billet components (in most cases), high quality exhaust systems and a nice finish overall. I say "in most cases" because the Cruiser I rode seemed to have been an exception which I'll explain later on.
Having a connection with their Salt Lake City dealer, I had the opportunity to take several of their bikes for extended rides. The general impression I was left with is that the bikes are much better than they were in 1996. But, there are still a number of quality control problems with their product that they need to overcome.
I absolutely loved riding their "Ground Pounder" rigid frame custom. It's powered by a 113 c.i. S&S motor and does literally what it's name implies - pounds the pavement. For riding around town, bar hopping or short rides, it's a great bike. The rigid chassis is long enough and flexible enough to absorb much of the imperfections found in Utah's highways, but a good chuckhole will still slam your teeth together in a pretty sound fashion.
The handling seemed fairly good, but I was unable to put it to the full test because in left turns the kickstand would drag way before I ever reached the maximum lean angle. Power? Better say POWER. That's what this bike is all about. The power produced by the 113 cubic inch S&S is unbelievable. The phrase "Sit down, shut up and hold on" really applies here. With the twist of the throttle, regardless if it was from a stop light or at 80 mph on the freeway, this bike would rocket down the road. With only half throttle, I blew the doors off a nice '69 or so Camero with a blower scoop poking out of its hood. This bike just hauls ass and then looks great when it's parked at one of the local bars or restaurants.
The Ultra Cruiser in the QC Series was a bit of another story. It's basically Ultra's copy of the Fat Boy with nice aluminum wheels and a great custom paint job. But good looks don't do you a lot of good if you can't get from point A to point B without service needs. This bike was purchased by the dealer's daughter (she liked the purple paint scheme), but still had under 100 miles on it when I test drove it. I was warned to keep my rides below 10 miles because for some unknown reason, at around 10 miles the fuel system develops a severe starvation problem.
Even after they changed the petcock from the standard Harley style to a Pingle, the problem persisted. They were just preparing to tear into the S&S "E" carb when I asked to ride it. Their mechanic did say that excessive sediment in the tank, from the paint being buffed, was part of the original problem.
Now, for my continued evaluation of this model. Nice paint, but a good size gap between the seat and the tanks. For some reason the inner primary had the black finish while the rest of the 96 c.i. S&S was in natural finish. The forward controls were inexpensive stamped chromed steel. The floor boards sit far too low and are not the sort of quality you would expect from a $19,000 bike. Due to their positioning, these floorboards dragged in every single turn I took so I can't report on the handling.
The gunfighter style seat could not be changed to a solo seat since someone at the factory had drilled an off-center hold in the fender, secured an attaching bolt and after they realized they screwed up, drilled another hold to which the current seat is mounted. The power from the S&S engine is acceptable, but nothing to write home about. My 20% smaller, 80 inch FXR has more guts and go than this bike, but this problem could be tied to the fuel system. The other thing I noticed about the Cruiser is that it seemed to leave a nice, clean puddle of oil where ever it was parked. Kind of reminded me of my old shovel or my old Triumph TT Racer. Thank God for Ultra's 4-year warranty.
So what's the final analysis? In my opinion, Ultra Cycles has overcome some of the quality control problems they were known for in the past. But, they still have a ways to go. The paint finish is very, very good. The components are generally, fairly high quality though the Cruiser did disappoint. Considering the rate with which parts vibrated loose on both bikes, I would recommend that the folks at Ultra invest in some major quantities of Loc-Tite™ - I lost the trip reset knob off both bikes. Seats were by major seat manufacturers, but on both bikes, there was an unacceptable size gap between the seat and tanks. I have heard that Ultra is now installing a better fitting seat on their Ground Pounder. Wheels and tires on both bikes were good quality and worked well with the design of the bikes.
In conclusion, Ultra Cycles has the ability to manufacture a good product. The Ground Pounder I rode proves that. They need to apply that quality to all the bikes they build. Their prices are extremely competitive with Titan and other manufacturers in this segment of the motorcycle industry. Ultra needs to get their own people out on these bikes to determine how low the bikes, kickstands or floorboards should be in order to allow purchasers to maximize their riding skills. Right now, on both bikes, everything was too low. And finally, in closing, I hope the rumor that Ultra Cycles is going to start selling their bikes at Costco is not true. Though I shop at Costco, I can't see buying a motorcycle (or car) from them.
The line of motorcycles manufactured at Ultra Cycles is complete and extensive. The product line ranges from their rigid frame "Ground Pounder" and "Jack Hammer" up to their "Wide One" line of Softail style bikes with a 180 rear as standard equipment. In between these is the "QC 96" line with several bikes that resemble the Harley Fat Boy and Heritage styles.
