Thanks again for all the replies guys!

There's a dealer about an hour away that has rental bikes, so I think the next step for me is to see about renting a Slim for a day and seeing how it works with me. If I'm not totally enamored with it I'll branch out and see about some other bikes. I'll let y'all know how it shakes out!

 

I am 6'1'' and 240lbs and I have a sporty and a heritage. The sporty is very fast but I feel awkward riding it. If I am going to the drag strip it is my bike. If I am going for a ride I am taking the Heritage. If I didn't have a ole lady I would have a slim. You will need to put apes on it as one of your first mods.

 

Just to save some time you could give the dealer a call and see if the Slim is part of their rental bikes. My closest dealer is a little over an hr away and has 1 bike per family minus the v-rod, none available for rental, and touring bikes, almost all of them are available.

 

Just get a touring bike.
You will end up there anyway.
Try out a Road Glide, or maybe a Road King.
Trust me, don't mess around with a softail or a dyna.
You're ready to move on.
You won't regret it.

 

I think if he rides a Road King, he'll end up there.

I can't remember the name of the major company that makes forward controls for the baggers but they say if you aren't over 6'1", don't even think about it.

 

No offense, but this is a sad commentary on the Harley mindset. I've put 55,000 miles on my Dyna with no regrets. I ride it in town and in the hills. I've toured on it on several occasions. Would I ride it 1,500 miles to Sturgis? Probably not. But I can rent a touring bike for that and not be tied down to a bike that will never handle as nicely as my FXD. Yes, the touring frame is far superior - for touring. However, it's too heavy to be any real fun.

 

I've ridden them all. Don't understand why someone wouldn't log 1000 miles on a softail or dyna.

 

With the exception of the Wide Glide, Dyna's are built for people 5'9" or under.

Hell, when we rode to Sturgis (4k mile round trip), we had Dynas, Softails, Texas Chopper, Road Kings, Ultras, and one guy on a Vulcan 900. We all made it just fine but some of us were in better shape at the end of the day.

 

Mike, I'm 6' 1" 215 lbs. I added highway pegs and it's like resting in my favorite sofa. I have 3 seats that interchange depending on the type of riding ahead. Regardless, there's no denying that a touring model would be more comfortable on a long trip like Sturgis. I would argue that my Dyna is more comfortable and easier to maneuver for the majority of the riding that many (if not most) in this forum does.

I can't justify owning an Ultra for a couple of long trips per year. Do I really need an overstuffed beast for a 200 mile weekend hop? The one friend I ride with that can justify a touring model rides a sweet Road King 15-20,000 miles per year, every year. Except for an occasional Bike Night, he does nothing but pound miles. His last RK was an '05 with 150,000 miles. He would still have it if the dreaded Asian woman hadn't totaled it.

I understand the HD touring Kool-Aid won't kill you, but it does blur the logic.

 

I currently own and ride both a Road King Classic, and a Slim.

I ride the Road King when I need to go long distances, carry a bunch of crap, or have a passenger. On the off chance my Slim is down, I have another bike to ride. It's a GREAT bike... but it's not the riding experience I have with the Slim.

The Slim, on the other hand, is an absolute kick in the *** to ride. Rather than being ON the couch that is the RK, I'm IN the cockpit of the Slim. The RK takes me somewhere pretty much effortlessly. The Slim, I ride actively, and I feel it afterwards like I actually did something.

They are different bikes. They have different, uh, personalities. I ride the Slim probably 75% of the miles I ride.

If I had to sell one or the other, it'd be the RK.