Well you could be right.. But no matter what eighter way its the center rods. Its not the shock like everyone thinks. The shocks themselves will perform nearly the same as far as ride quality!

 

I have a 2005 SE Fat Boy which comes stock with the low profile shocks just like the Deluxe.
I always assumed that the Fat Boy LO had the same setup.
You will get a harsher ride because of the low profile shocks. It is the same scenario as the shocks on the Street Guide will give a harsher ride compared to the other bagger models, with the regular shocks.
Tom

 

I thought the new shocks on the newer bikes are better. Thats why you hear alot of guys saying the Lo rides better then there old fatboy even dd! Anway im not a shock condasore but all i can say is i took both the Fatboy and the Fatboy Lo for a ride. Only difference was in the seat! And that was last year when the Fatboy had a different seat then the Lo. This year they both come with the same exact seats.. As far as rid quality i couldnt tell any difference at all. You just sit a tiny bit lower in the Lo and the bike is blacked out.

 

interesting. i had a 95FB, assuming not much diff between that and your old 96. so i ask, whats nite and day? and is it all good?

my only real issue with the 95 was after along hard ride at speed , i would be tingling from head to toe. i had the EVwhatever cam in it. and of course it could have used an overdrive gear. but it handled pretty well actually. the seat was a board, but it had room to squirm, and it was pretty easy to understand simple machine.

i am not really a fan of the fat tyres of the new ones , and even though i love the ease of closed loop EFI on my dyna, i still think a fuel pump is just one more thing to go wrong and strand you.
103 Cubic inches wouldnt be hard to take though.

 

HD website shows them to have difference seats for 2012.
if the rod length is diff, then i would assume shock travel is diff?
it sounds like the longer rod = less travel. the ride would be the same under most circumstances, but the larger the road irregularity, the more chance of bottoming for the longer rod shock.

and why does the Lo list over 700lbs and the regular model 695? those must be really heavy longer shock rods.

 

I like the way that seat starts, sort of, seperating the continuity of the bikes lines while keeping it together.

 

i thibk harley drop the ball this year. the stanard fatboy harley should of kept the stanard seat and tank patch it looked good to me. this is how harley saves money........it stinks

 

Ya i know the website shows different seats especially if you look at the side buy side comparison chart! but i have the 2012 book and they have the same seats and if you look at the big pictures in the softail section of the website you can see the seat is the same their too! Also i realize they have different size shocks and like i said the rod sizes are different and less travel and so on but im telling you when i took these 2 for a ride i felt no major noticable difference at all.. As far as the weight goes i would guess its a couple little things adding up like longer rods in the shocks and all that powder coating on the parts adds up to that extra small 5 pounds! Between the two bikes you cant go wrong with either, just pick the one you think looks better thats what i did, and i bought the Lo!

 

Night and day may have been a little exaggerated but the newer FB's seem to ride smoother and I feel the handling is better. Defiantly an improvement vibration wise with counter balanced motor. BTW I am pushing 280 and the 140 we ride 2 up a lot and I have not bottomed out yet.

 

My Lo rode like a dream all weekend in Sturgis. Put 1200 Miles on total in 3 days. Rode 400 Miles there and then 400 Miles back plus long rides all day in the black hills. rarely stopped but for fuel and food. The bike rode great, smooth and handles amazing in the corners. I wouldn't worry about ride quality compared to another softail. Just get the one you like and enjoy it!

After the trip, I have added lower heat shields to the wish list because the bike gets damn hot sitting in traffic!