I am having a small dilemma here and would love some opinions form the great people on hdforums.com. This might be long, sorry..

I just sold a 2010 Fat Boy Lo 2 months ago and bought a 2005 Road King Classic that same day from a private individual. It has 52k miles and is in great condition and I have had all the fluids changed already. It has aftermarket pipes and a stage 1 jet kit installed.

I am 53 and been riding motorcycles for 45 years so have lots of riding experience. The RK is great as a 2 up bike when me and my girlfriend go riding. I do not do any long distance 2 up riding, just occasional hour or 2 weekend riding. It is pretty much set up the way I want it. If I do keep it I would buy a new windshield ($117), new tires ($400 for both installed) and get the MCC seat mod done as I am only 5 foot 6 and feel like I'm on top of the bike and not in it. I am on the ***** of my feet with the stock seet. That has to change and I don't want to jack with the suspension. Hoping the MCC seat mod will put me in a better riding position. I actually have a time slot in March to get the seat done but I'm still wondering if the this mod will put me where I need to be to feel comfortable riding 2 up. I know they do great work..

OR sell the Road King and:

Buy a 2010 Heritage Softail Classic 1 owner bike with 13k miles, new tires and everything stock for $8500. I know the Heritage will fit me better as far as my height and such. It also has the 96 instead of the Road King 88 and is a 6 speed vs 5 on the RK..

I love the ride of the Road King but feel the 96 CI and 6 speed on the Heritage will make me happy as well.. I'm sure the Heritage will ride and handle pretty close to the Fat Boy Lo I sold. I am also thinking it will be better for 2 up riding than the Fat Boy Lo.

I know the RK is a touring bike and the Heritage is not, but I just can't figure out what to do. The RK is older with way more miles which kind of scares me compared to the newer 1 owner lower mileage Heritage. I don't want a major repair on the RK anytime soon. Trying to look at all points when making the decision which to have..

 

If the HST fits you better then get it. It's pretty obvious it is a better bike for your needs. You can travel quite well on a HST.

 

Heritage! First consideration is what size bike best plus you sit in a Heritage nit on it like road king. I'm 6'2" with a limited. Wish it was bit bigger.

 

jkiser, I'm about the same as you, 5'6" 145lbs. 65yo. I sold a FXSTC and bought a 05 King (without riding it with wife 1st) and proceeded in soaking a ton of money in it before our 1st ride together, bad life choice. I lowered it 2 1/2" back 2" front, bought a Corban fit to me seat $$$. With wife on the bike....its just too damn heavy for me. I got about a 4" to 5" lean angle and after that its going to be lowered to the bars. No issues by myself.
I think I'm going back to a Dyna or ST

 

I wouldn't buy shoes that didn't fit! Just saying
If you can't park without worrying about getting out because you can't move the bike on your own then the shoe doesn't fit! Right? I see this all the time lol ego over logic. Don't do that to your self. Ride the bike that fits you. The hell with everyone else! You might even try a superlow 1200T it is a great bike if it fits. Good luck with this and remember riding is what really matters

 

The answer to your question is YES. You know you'd rather have the Heritage.

 

My wife is about your size and put almost 100,000 miles between her Heritages and loved every minute of them. Now she has a 2014 SGS and loves that as much. 24,000 so far. Go with the Heritage.

 

From what you wrote, the Heritage sounds like a no brainer.

 

Thanks for all the comments..

 

I rode the Road King several times when I was deciding on moving up from my 1200C. Great, comfortable ride, but while it's only roughly 60 lbs heavier than the Heritage (which, I ultimately decided to buy) it "felt" MUCH bigger and bulkier. I'm a short guy as well...5'6".