I am about to laydown the cash for either of the two. Here's my dilema. I have been riding for over 35 years. My last 2 bikes have been Honda ST1300s which I loved for touring. I have never owned a Harley but I have a love for all motorcycles and the progress HD has made over the years has inticed me into a full blown touring machine. I refuse to buy a Goldwing or BMW. I am really partial to the fixed fairing on the RG. My wife travels with me and I am looking at comfort for her also. I don't mind putting the extra cash into the tour pack, cb add on etc. Are there any of you that have switched over from the Ultra to the RG. Is passenger comfort about the same? Does windshield type make a difference? Any touring set up suggestions for best results would be much appreciated. As I said, this will be my first Harley and my very first cruiser/tourer. I have been riding Sport touring motorcycles for years now and am looking forward to joining the ranks of HD.
Thanks

 

I'm partial to the RG > this is my third one .. I had one FLH batwing .. Was before radios , CB was the hightech thingie then ..

Here the Ultra is about $2800 more than the RG .. The standard TourPak and all the hardware can be had for a bit over a grand .. I had to wait two weeks for my TourPak , it's painted when ordered .. You may get a better deal ordering it at time of purchase , they knocked 10% off for me , and ended up charging me for the Ultra , so thats what I got the Ultra TourPak , which was abt $1400 with the mounting kit , backrest and luggage rack .. They put speaker boxes on with no speakers , cause the Ultra TP is predrilled for speakers , I can live with that myself .. But to make the RG an Ultra you will probably spend as much , maybe a bit more as you would for the Ultra EG..

The RG is a lot more stable to me , I had on my two previous , ( 84 FLTC and 88 FLTC ) over 500k between them ..

You should be able , here anyways to put the standard tourpak on the RG for about $12-1500 less than the Ultra on the floor .. You get on the Ultra CB , intercom , rear speakers , and thats about it , lots of money for that stuff ....

 

I've had my RG for a year. In that time, I've been turning it into a "Tour Glide." Basically a RG with all the Ultra bells and whistles. Now I realize that I probably should have just bought the Ultra. Next time I will.

 

Making a pitch for the Ultra here ( I bought 2 used ones this last year) while not adversed to the RG. The Ultra also has intercom capacity if you and your wife chose to wear helmets with speakers and a VOX microphone. Electronic cruise control,WBC,CB,AM,FM and cassette. Tons of storage space. We recently came back from our first trip together in awhile. Almost 1500miles. I thought the Ultra was a little awkward at slow speeds in town loaded down with 2 fat passengers(especially her,lol, she doesn't read the HDF) and clothes for a week and other stuff in a TBag attached to the luggae rack on the tour pack. On the hwy it was a dream. Cruised at 70+mph no sweat.

I would reccomend testing riding both.

 

If comfort for the wife and the communication devices are important to you go with the Ultra. You could convert the RG but the time you spend doing it and gathering all the parts isn't worth the effort AFAIC. Buy the Ultra and have everything you want from day one, minus the fixed fairing.

 

Having had both of those models, if you're looking to outfit a RG like an UC, then buy the UC outright. If you just want to add a tourpak and maybe a better seat, the RG is the way to go. The RG handles better, looks better without the tourpak, IMHO. The RG seat is better for the rider, but not for the passenger. So, you can buy the RG, install a detachable tourpak (that way you can snap on just a passenger backrest when carrying a passenger and no tourpak), get a better seat for the passenger (I used the wider Mustang seat when carrying a passenger), and you're good to go. I never installed any lowers or a useless CB on my RG.

If you want all the goodies all the time, just buy the UC up front.

 

Had a ultra and sold it and bought a Road glide. Both nice bikes. I put a Ultra king TP on the roadie, I put plastic plugs in the speaker holes. The better half says they ride the same but misses the rear speakers. Its a trade off, I didn't like the weight on the handlebars on the ultra at low speeds. Don't have that now but don't have near as much protection from the elements as the batwing had. More head buffeting on the roadie at hiway speeds but more stable in high winds or from semi's at hiway speeds. but still get blown around with a strong crosswind at hiway speeds at 55 its very stable, not at 70 but it don't get the handlebars getting blown around. like the ultra did. The Ultra's a better deal. Depends on how many long mileage trips you'll do? The it's alot I'd get a Ultra and be done with it. Me not so many, The Roadie is better around town and on the twisties and will still put down big miles when ask to. Best bet is to rent both for a day and see what's right for you. Either way get ABS, on a big bike its cheap insurance.

 

Just bought my first Ultra an 08.* Traded my Roadglide and have owned two others.* Everythng written here is pretty much accurate but I would add two points:* I bought the Ultra because of the superior ventilation (the lowers are so much better than those available for the RG) and the flip open deflectors on the unserside of the batwing are the cats a$$.* I agree the low speed handling is a little trickier on the Ultra but I don't agree with the stability from oncoming semi blast etc.* In fact, for me I believe I am getting lest blast on hte Ultra because of being closer to the fairing.* Also*better hand protection and less bugs on the mirrors.

 

Well, I love my RG!!! This is also my first Harley. I have had mine for 2 years in Oct. and I would by another one If I ever replaced it. I just put on a tourpac last week, I had around $1400.00 in it, and I installed it myself. With some help some help from a couple of buds. It was pretty easy, just took some time. I put on the relocation hardware and it moved it back a couple more inchs, and it works great. I'd say the best thing for you to do is test ride them both, and see what ya like the best. I dont think you'll go wrong with what ever you buy, Good luck.

 

I'm all about the Road King, but if it were between those two, I'd go for RG. It's a pretty smooth bike.