Best Dyna? FXDX vs FXDL
#12
12-05-2016, 10:23 AM
Road Master
#13
12-05-2016, 11:54 AM
Road Warrior
Each bike has its pros/cons I'd say. That being said I've never had the pleasure of trying out a DX, so I'm slightly biased when I say DL. Assuming we are talking about the more recent (2014 and newer) DL, it's hard to compare two bikes with a 10+ year age gap. Not to mention the aftermarket support is insane right now, so it's not too difficult to make the DL a great handling bike, and it was probably the one bike that Harley has on offer right now that is headed in the direction that I want to go as far as personalization...
Of course, like I said, I'm slightly biased...
Of course, like I said, I'm slightly biased...
#14
12-05-2016, 01:03 PM
Cruiser
There has been a LOT of talk on this forum about what handles better than what, and there is a whole lot of reading you can do to come to your own conclusions. With that being said, this is how I look at it: people seem to be asking a premium for FXR's and FXDX/T's lately, so it depends on what your budget is to buy the bike and then throw more money at it. If I'm not mistaken, the DX/T comes with dual disks up front, and longer suspension and fork tubes up front with a sort of cartridge setup. THIS CAN BE ADDED TO ANYTHING. I just saw someone post that he bought a stage 1 street bob with under 10k on the odometer for about 5 grand. That would leave some money to play with if your budget is higher.
I think the 2014+ low rider is a great platform to start with, but if you don't like chrome you're gonna have some work to do. It already comes with dual disks up and cast wheels, although your can add those to anything if you want to. Then suspension you could do something like put a swingarm lift and emulators + springs for the front if you wanna go the cheaper route, or go with something like longer shocks from ohlins, nitro, hagon, or works and put cartridge suspension in the front ($$$). Logic tells me that once you have the internals set up similarly, the beefier 49mm fork tubes from the new bikes are going to be more stable than the skinner ones that might have a tendency to flex and need a fork brace that you would find on the older bikes. I haven't ridden both though, so I can't give you more than that.
I think most of us can agree that the FXR developed by Buell is a better handling frame because it lets the motor more around less, thus avoiding the death wobble that Dynas can get. However I will say that adding better suspension (Ohlins in back and Andreani in front) helped my FXDF a LOT. I can cruise at 90 all day long and it feels totally planted even though long sweeping turns, which is where I used to get some wobbles at speed. You could also throw in new motor mounts to tighten things up even more.
As far as the fairing, I think any of them should be able to mount up to a dyna frame with the correct brackets. I think some guys mix and match one company's fairing with another's brackets. Plenty of options there like RWD, Vacant House Parts, Big Bear Choppers, Conely's, and I'm there there are others that I'm missing. This is a good thread on the topic: https://www.hdforums.com/forum/dyna-...ng-thread.html
Final thoughts- None of these bikes handle well from the factory, some just suck less. I think with premium suspension and motor mounts, you will be happy with the handling though. As far as the older bikes, I'm sure some of them are great but you just don't really know how they've been cared for and what they'll need mechanically. Plenty of people will try and sell you a basketcase saying something like "Oh it's been sitting for a few years it just needs a tuneup." I say just try to shop around and be patient, you may be able to find something close to what you already want for sale and then just go front there. Hope something in here helps.
I think the 2014+ low rider is a great platform to start with, but if you don't like chrome you're gonna have some work to do. It already comes with dual disks up and cast wheels, although your can add those to anything if you want to. Then suspension you could do something like put a swingarm lift and emulators + springs for the front if you wanna go the cheaper route, or go with something like longer shocks from ohlins, nitro, hagon, or works and put cartridge suspension in the front ($$$). Logic tells me that once you have the internals set up similarly, the beefier 49mm fork tubes from the new bikes are going to be more stable than the skinner ones that might have a tendency to flex and need a fork brace that you would find on the older bikes. I haven't ridden both though, so I can't give you more than that.
I think most of us can agree that the FXR developed by Buell is a better handling frame because it lets the motor more around less, thus avoiding the death wobble that Dynas can get. However I will say that adding better suspension (Ohlins in back and Andreani in front) helped my FXDF a LOT. I can cruise at 90 all day long and it feels totally planted even though long sweeping turns, which is where I used to get some wobbles at speed. You could also throw in new motor mounts to tighten things up even more.
As far as the fairing, I think any of them should be able to mount up to a dyna frame with the correct brackets. I think some guys mix and match one company's fairing with another's brackets. Plenty of options there like RWD, Vacant House Parts, Big Bear Choppers, Conely's, and I'm there there are others that I'm missing. This is a good thread on the topic: https://www.hdforums.com/forum/dyna-...ng-thread.html
Final thoughts- None of these bikes handle well from the factory, some just suck less. I think with premium suspension and motor mounts, you will be happy with the handling though. As far as the older bikes, I'm sure some of them are great but you just don't really know how they've been cared for and what they'll need mechanically. Plenty of people will try and sell you a basketcase saying something like "Oh it's been sitting for a few years it just needs a tuneup." I say just try to shop around and be patient, you may be able to find something close to what you already want for sale and then just go front there. Hope something in here helps.
#15
12-05-2016, 01:11 PM
Tourer
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#17
12-05-2016, 02:57 PM
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#18
12-05-2016, 03:30 PM
Road Warrior
#19
12-05-2016, 04:28 PM
Road Warrior
#20
12-05-2016, 05:24 PM
