I have a 2016 48 and thinking about upgrading to sport glide. Been waiting for some threads to appear in here.

 

I had always been a sport bike guy - BMW R1100S, Triumph Sprint and now Aprilia RSV4. I bought a Low Rider S to cruise with my Harley buddies. Different but fun to cruise with friends. I test rode the 2018 Fat Bob and liked the handling and power of the M8 114. So - I traded the Low Rider S in on a 2018 Sport Glide. We are still buried in snow so it is at the dealer getting the Stage III upgrades. Jonesing bad to get it on the road. We will see......

 

Man I love the new Low Riders. If I hadn't bought my Slim I would be all over one.
kk

 

I'm with ya. This was the bike I always wanted Victory to make. The Hammer front end with a Vegas rear end. Should be a great handling cruiser. Love the cruise control too. The bags and windscreen are nice touches, but I could live without them for the extra cost.
Black Harleys are too cliche for me, but that's about all that's out locally so far.
Now if they could put out a nice maroon one in the $14-15k range ala Street Bob, I could get very interested. I rode the new Fat Bob and thought it was a barrel of monkeys. Prefer the bigger tank, non-balloon tires, and better coverage fenders on Sport Glide though.

 

Where did you get it from? Harv`s? Cycle Stop?

 

I will say I'm completely satisfied with my 18 Lowrider. The sport Glide probably would not have been in my budget anyway. Still love the way it looks though!

 

So why the Sport Glide over the Fat Bob?

 

1 - larger fuel tank - 5 gallons compared to 3.6
2 - detachable saddlebags
3 - cruise control
4 - I didn’t like the fat front tire

I’m still wondering about the single front brake though

 

All valid points! I really like the Fat Bob but torn between other models.

 

For those deciding between the two like abadley, there may be ways to address the shortcomings:
1) Cruise Control is available as an option for the Fat Bob; I got it from Surdyke for about $200. You have to have it enabled by the dealer, so if you install it yourself that'll add a half hour of dealer labor.

2) The larger fuel tank is definitely a factor. I get about 140 miles before having to refill on the Fat Bob, I sure wish I had an extra 1.4 gallons! I have a Gasflask for longer trips, but definitely wish I had the larger tank. If you think you're going to be doing a LOT of touring, you could always consider something like a TourTank. That extends the size of your gas tank by three gallons, and it feeds directly into your bike's tank so you have a usable long range of 6.6 gallons.

3) You can get detachable saddlebags on the Fat Bob, but the exhaust does complicate it a bit. You can get a variety of detachable left-side bags, ends cuoio and LeatherPros both offer options including some downright big ones. But on the right side, you're pretty limited because the upswept exhaust leaves limited space. Ends cuoio makes a very little bag called the "beat", probably only about big enough to fit a sweatshirt in. One of the members on this forum has it. My solution was to mount a swingarm bag for daily stuff, but for big luggage I decided to just forget saddlebags, I got the Harley Premium Rolling bag. It slips over the sissy bar, and it has 50 liters of capacity. That's as big as the top trunk on a Gold Wing. Obviously not as clean and every-day appropriate as saddlebags, but I use it as an option on a long trip -- lots of luggage space, but don't have to clutter up the Fat Bob's lines with saddlebags. It's more luggage space than a set of saddlebags, it's less expensive than a single saddlebag, and it's rolling for hauling into the hotel. May not fit everyone's needs, but it seemed like a good choice for mine.

4) Fat front tire -- yeah, that's a divisive factor. It's one of the reasons I love the Fat Bob's styling, so for me it was a big plus.

I like the concept behind the Sport Glide a lot. It's exactly the kind of bike I want -- dress it up for touring, strip it down once you get there. But the Sport Glide itself didn't speak to me, whereas the Fat Bob possessed me, so I'm taking efforts to build it into a similar style bike -- the same touring capability as a Heritage or Sport Glide, but the ability to strip it down in just a couple of minutes and return it to its asphalt-shredding, Mad Max roots.

Seriously though -- all the '18 Softails are unique and a huge step forward for Harley. If the Fat Bob didn't exist I think I'd still be torn between the Heritage, the Deluxe, Sport Glide and the Fat Boy.