Have never owned a Harley but am looking at late model used. My uses are around town and maybe light touring. Am not partial to any one model but am curious if any are smoother riding/running than others. In looking at various model reviews I see where several have such low floor boards that even on mildly aggressive turns they are scraping, is that much of an issue? Any remedy other than slowing down?

 

What's your riding history? What are you use to?
No shame in no experience,,

 

Have had several road bikes over the last 20 or so yrs but always Jap bikes as I could never afford a Harley. Last bike was a Vulcan 1600.

 

If I was looking for bike to ride as you have described, I think I'd be looking into a Dyna model.
They ride fairly good, handle fairly good have a very high lean angle (for taking curves), and they're easily accessorized with detachable bags and windshields.
With an engine guard, you can mount highway foot pegs, extra lighting, and of course, a pair of soft "lowers" to help keep your feet warm(er) and dry(er) in bad weather.


I own (and have owned) Ultras, Road Kings, Softails, and Sportsters but I somehow have just never had a need for a Dyna model but they are very versatile machines. I like the Dyna Wide Glide but the closest that I came to buying one was a Softail Custom Wide Glide.
They look very similar but the ride is definitely different and it's all a matter of choice.


JMHO....good luck.

 

 

I was going to write a long reply about the different families, but as I thought about it, I'd suggest either a Heritage Softail or a Road King. Imo, both offer the most bang for the buck out of the entire Harley line up. The Heritage may be a little bit easier to handle in town because of its lower center of gravity, and it vibrates less at low rpms. The Road King handles the highways and twisties better, and is smoother at higher rpms. Both are great bikes, can handle 2 up riding, and are probably all the bike that most riders really need.

 

I had an ex- Jersey city Police bike a few years ago and the floorboards were so sharp from being dragged, that you could have shaved with them. Didn't seem to hurt anything. It was rode hard and put away wet when the PD owned it, but it ran like a champ.,,,

 

I second the Road King or Dyna. Personally, I'd stay away from the Softail line because I hate the "B" motor. Too smooth for me, too un-Harleylike. I owned a Softail for exactly 6 weeks before I had to get rid of it, I hated it so much. JMHO, lotta guys love em, but not me. A Super Glide Custom will do everything you want, and do it well. I owned a FXDC with forward controls, and it (for me) was more comfortable than the Road King I had.

 

But the OP is concerned about dragging floorboards so the Heritage is NOT the way to go. They have a very restrictive lean angle, about 8 degrees less than the Road King, and that's alot. Don't take my word for it though, the MoCo publishes the lean angles on their website on the specs sheet under "Performance." I don't know what year you are looking at, OP, but using 2015 as an example, the Road King has lean angles of about 32 degrees to each side. The Heritage is 24 to the right and 25 to the left.

The Road King is heavier, but much more nimble. If scraping is a big issue for you and you don't want to go with a touring bike, I'd go with a Dyna.

 

OP doesn't seem overly concerned with scraping floorboards as much as asking if the scraping is much of an issue.

OP, as you can see by my sig pic, I ride a Softail. I love the Softail as I sit "in" the bike as opposed to "on" the bike like a Road King feels. Don't get me wrong, I'm not knocking the Road King. The first Harley I rode was a Road King (SWEET Ride by the way). I just prefer the feel of the way I sit in a Softail.

I do occasionally scrape the floorboards but it is pretty rare and isn't an issue when I do (doesn't hurt the bike and even though it kinda scares you the first couple of times it happens, you get used to it).

My recommendation is to test ride a Dyna, Road King and a Softail (Heritage if you want bags or Deluxe if you don't want bags, or there are other Softails as well...Fatboy, Slim, Standard, Breakout. Deluxe is the shortest seat to ground height, Harley makes.) Your stature will help you decide what feels best when you sit in the seat. If you are super tall (leggy), Dyna might not fit well and could frustrate you (Have a friend who really got tired of his Dyna for that reason...said he felt like a monkey f***ing a football). If your leg length isn't an issue that way, I hear that the Dyna is very nimble and good all around bike.