Greetings All! I had my 1995 Fatboy out for a short ride the other day and I noticed there is not much if any difference in the ride quality of my 09 street glide. Both have mustang seats, both have progressive rear shocks, The fatboy has Michelin tires and the Streetglide has Dunlop D-407's. Motor and trans wise the Streetglide is light years better than the Fatboy. Are my expectations to high for the new touring bikes?

 

Ride quality is an individual thing, but you gotty be nuts. I had a softtail (2000 Deuce) with Progressive shocks. I have the "crappy" stock lowered shocks on my 10 Road King. There is no comparison between the two. I think the rear tires are about the same, the front is much different. My sig other wouldn't ride with me on the Deuce after I got the King, so I sold it. I don't like the heavier bike, but the ride is super comparitively speaking.

 

i own a 1996 Heritage and a 2009 Street Glide............I think there is a BIG difference. Ithink the 180 tire make a difference, Air ride, different frame........But what do I know. It's all what you want, and I love the 09 SG.

 

Big difference between my 99 and my 09...
If that's the case you'd better sell your 09 and be $ ahead.

 

I have been called nuts before! That is a argument I can't win. Maybe the roads here in South Joisey are so crappy it don't matter what you ride. My wife has a bad back and I do what I can to avoid the bad bumps but sometimes I can't. My Fatboy has a 130 michelin and the street glide has a 180 dunlap I thought that might be the difference? Just a thought!

 

Stock SG seat is a tad light on the padding for the passenger.
I went with an 08 RG seat for my wife as it has more padding and then had MCC tweak it for me..

 

The seat is the first thing I changed on the bike. I have a mustang 1 piece touring seat. Its a nice seat. Don't get me wrong I like this bike alot. It has the SE 103 stage 2 kit. This bike runs good. I was going to sell the fatboy because I don't ride it much. I put 85000 miles on the fatboy and its still a nice bike. I need more garage space!!

 

The problem is the lowered ride height. It looks good, but you only have like 2" to 2 1/2" of up-travel in the suspension before it bottoms. I have Road King 13" shocks on mine now (same as Electra Glide) and it *is* better, but it still is pretty rough. I run 22lbs riding solo, 35 two-up.

The '08 and earlier bikes sure had a softer ride, but also a flexier frame...