Softail vs. Dyna.
#11
Since Im posting this here, I'm pretty sure what the outcome is gonna be.
The thing is. I live in a small town, in a small expensive country, with a short ridingseason, so here's not much Harleys around.
I'm very happy with my Crossbones, and I really don't care that it handles like crap compared to "modern" bikes. But I guess the Dyna handles a bit better, and you sit more upright (?).
So a friend of mine who recently got his licence is looking for a first bike. He likes the Nightrain, but there's not many of them for sale. He found a new StreetBob for a good price, but it's on the other side of the country. He tried my bike and loved it. So if he buys ( get it shipped over here ) the StreetBob, is that gonna be a huge difference? Is he gonna be dissapointed/impressed? He's looking for a cruiser, I highly doubt he's gonna be riding it very hard anyways...
Any pointers?
The thing is. I live in a small town, in a small expensive country, with a short ridingseason, so here's not much Harleys around.
I'm very happy with my Crossbones, and I really don't care that it handles like crap compared to "modern" bikes. But I guess the Dyna handles a bit better, and you sit more upright (?).
So a friend of mine who recently got his licence is looking for a first bike. He likes the Nightrain, but there's not many of them for sale. He found a new StreetBob for a good price, but it's on the other side of the country. He tried my bike and loved it. So if he buys ( get it shipped over here ) the StreetBob, is that gonna be a huge difference? Is he gonna be dissapointed/impressed? He's looking for a cruiser, I highly doubt he's gonna be riding it very hard anyways...
Any pointers?
#12
#13
#14
Abouth the handling of the softail. When I said it handles like crap compared to modern bikes, I didn't mean a 2012 dyna. I ment bikes like my last bike, a ZX-R. Or bikes with proper suspension, brakes and "half" the weight of my bones.
If you red the first post. It's not even what I like. It's for a friend of mine. And I'm asking about the handling/riding position, since none of us have tried a dyna, and probably won't either, before he buys a bike. The Street Bob he's looking at is a 2 hour flight away. That's why I asked for YOUR opinions.
So far it looks like I was right, apart from some comments about the stock dyna-shocks.
City, short rides, twisties = Dyna.
Comfort, relaxed, touring = softail.
And yeah. I know you can ride twisties with the softail too, and I scrape my footboards as much as any other, but lets face it, that's not what the softail-frame was designed to do. It was designed too look cool, but with more comfort than a rigid....
So far it looks like I was right, apart from some comments about the stock dyna-shocks.
City, short rides, twisties = Dyna.
Comfort, relaxed, touring = softail.
And yeah. I know you can ride twisties with the softail too, and I scrape my footboards as much as any other, but lets face it, that's not what the softail-frame was designed to do. It was designed too look cool, but with more comfort than a rigid....
#15
Street bob is a great bike can be very fast and handle well but I love a softail and went with a Nighttrain. One big thing I didnt like on the Street Bob is they started making them with the lower bar clamps as part of the upper triple so this make risers out of the question and limits bar choices unless you replace the upper triple tree clamp. Also you have to get over the whole exposed shocks thing....like a throw back to 70's motorcross, before they came up with the monoshock.
#16
One big thing I didnt like on the Street Bob is they started making them with the lower bar clamps as part of the upper triple so this make risers out of the question and limits bar choices unless you replace the upper triple tree clamp. Also you have to get over the whole exposed shocks thing....like a throw back to 70's motorcross, before they came up with the monoshock.
I have changed it for a Heritage.
SB - handled a bit better and seemed a little more lively (possibly weight?) of the throttle. Cool looking bike. Engine vibes were a little annoying but you get used to them and it seemed to be getting smoother with more miles covered. Very smooth over about 45 - 50 mph. Put a screen on it and it was OK as a distance machine.
The Heritage has a much smoother engine but with the B motor the counter balances in the engine are mildly irritating (a constant rustling noise) - easlily sorted with a louder set of pipes. It's a much comfier bike for distance riding and comes with all the touring bits as standard. I like it! Also a cool looking bike!
Jules
#17
Agreed with others re: vibes- went from a softail (Deuce) to a dyna (Fat Bob) and found the low rpm vibrations so annoying that I went back to a softail after only 2000 miles. Although the dyna shook a lot a idle it was the low rpm vibes when riding that drove me crazy.
Maybe I had a bad dyna? The dealer was not too helpful in trying to resolve my issue- the classic response was "they all do that!"
Had a Road King for a while, which was not counterbalanced and although it shook at idle as soon as you started moving it was very smooth.
Maybe I had a bad dyna? The dealer was not too helpful in trying to resolve my issue- the classic response was "they all do that!"
Had a Road King for a while, which was not counterbalanced and although it shook at idle as soon as you started moving it was very smooth.
Last edited by TooManyToys; 09-18-2012 at 04:41 AM.
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