While I love the looks of some of the Softails, I think that my next bike will be a Harley touring bike. Just better riding bikes all around, plus you get decent storage too.

In the touring line, I prefer the looks of the Road King but now with it's starting to get cold again up here in Canada, maybe I'd do better going with an ElectraGlide Classic or Ultra with a tall windshield. It might extend a guy's riding season by another month or two.

For what little bit of money I could get for my 2003 Vulcan 1600 Classic, I'm kind of toying with the idea of maybe keeping it and stripping it down for solo rides around town and then having a full-dressed touring bike like the Harley for everything else. I'm sure that my wife wouldn't mind being a little bit more comfortable.

Do you think that these big Batwing bikes with tall windshields greatly extend your riding season?

 

Yes they do

 

I rode a Dyna Super Glide for 6 years, and as my riding started to involve more touring and longer seasons (read cooler riding) I sold the Dyna and bought an ElectraGlide Classic. I am fine without the lowers as my riding gear takes care of me in that department. The batwing fairing is superb. I can wear lighter weight gloves and still my hands are comfortable, and dry. Rarely do I need to put on my waterproof gloves or the heavy duty warm ones.

I just completed a ful day ride to, through, and back from Muskoka this past Wednesday. 40 degrees F for the morning portion and low 50s for the afternoon and I was fine. I forgot to wear my dickie/neckcover that day and my throat was fine. No wind or cold got to it.

You will be happy if that is what you are looking for.

 

I think a batwing would be a good idea but I'd pair it with either heated grips or heated gloves. New windshields are fairly inexpensive too; so you could have a tall winter shield and a shorter one for the warm months

 

Absolutely! That batwing fairing works better than you would think. In fact, I don't ride mine much during the hottest summer months because the batwing works too good.

 

Of course, you could really be comfortable and warm and come over to the dark side on a Road Glide but then you wouldn't be able to look like all the other batmobiles.

 

Definitely helps. I would also recommend Gerbing's heated jacket liner and gloves, I ride anytime as long as there is no ice on the ground.

 

We had our coldest winter in a long time, this past year - temps under 30F, hard freezes and even what we call "snow" down here...

I had just bought my EG (with tall windshield), coming off a bike without a fairing, and managed to clock over 800 miles during our coldest winter month... definitely helps

 

When I was young, the panhead on a rigid jammer frame was cool... as I got older , I learned how to appreciate a more compliant suspension (swingarm/shocks) that was on my ironhread. Now that I am really old, I appreciate even more the batwing AND lowers that I have on my Electraglide Classic. On Nov. 30th at 0130, my daughter went into labor with my first grandchild- it was 28 degrees and clear when I climbed into my long johns, warmed up the bike and rolled 110 miles down the interstate to the hospital. I was pretty comfortable the entire trip. I ride with a half helmet, but I did use a neoprene type face/neck mask that day, and wore full-fingered medium weight gloves, and coveralls over my long johns and clothes. Spent the day with my daughter/son-in-law, and new born grandchild (a beautiful little girl, I might add), and finally at about midnight, I climbed back on the bike and rode home. I again arrived in relative comfort. I couldn't imagine doing that on any other bike but a dresser !

 

don't forget the ski on the front tire...........