Posted a loosely related post somewhere in the general forums but I thought I should post a thread in the Softail Forum to get some better opinions. When I heard the announcement of the 30th Anniversary Fat Boy, I like the all blacked out look and the 114 engine and naturally gravitated towards one. Now, being an Harley newbie and having never ridden a Fat Boy (but been always a fan of it since Arnold jumped off one into the LA viaducts in T2 ), I was hearing varying opinions on it and I thought I should test ride a new Fat Boy.

Went in to test ride after the Road King test ride, thinking I wouldn't like the Fat Boys ride or handling with its huge tires (front 160 and rear 240) but the ride turned out to be a pleasant surprise, where I enjoyed every bit of the ride. This one was a 2018 White 114 with Stage 1, and 2-to-1 exhaust upgrade.The seat, I felt was more comfortable than the Road Kings' and the handling was good at the speeds I was going and it had all the power available on taps when I wanted to push it.

Put a deposit on it with my local dealership for the 30th Anniversary one. But, now I am thinking at around $27-28k OTD for me , it might end up costing me about $10k more than 2018 Fat Boy 114 (with about 1500 miles) which I could get at $18 to $18.5k if I really wanted to. I am essentially paying about $10k for the limited edition blacked out powder coating (expensive though), paint work and badging, the exclusivity (??) etc. Will decide this week, if I want to pull my deposit on the 30th anniversary. Many factors to consider here including the real or perceived value of the 30th Anniversary Fat Boy. I mean I am ok for it, if it holds its value like a collectible, but going by HD's history of having anniversary for everything and loading up limited edition models, not sure on that aspect.

Any of you guys have 30th Anniversary Fat Boy yet and what do you think? Also, owners of 2018+ Fat Boy 114s what do you think? Just brainstorming ideas and opinions to help my mind settle.

Background / Purpose: Now, before you ask me the purpose of getting bike, I am looking for something that I could just get on and ride and enjoy the ride. Mostly around town, should be good to putter around in city speeds as well as should not shy away from the occasional highway day trip. I considered the Road King as well initially due to its excellent suspension but then I thought I might not be doing it justice, and if I ever get into long trip, the Street Glide or the Road Glide would the be better options. Not to detract from the above Fat Boy topic on hand, but on the side note though how is the 2018+ Softail Heritage Classic around town?

 

I like the white one better, love the chrome wheels, 2-1 exhaust and a/c, but what do I know. I ride a touring bikes. The Heritage should be a better long ride bike.

 

At Christmas, I bought a used 2018 Fatboy 114 with 510 miles on it for $15.3k. I added a 2-1 exhaust and did a Stage 1. Pretty much what the white one you looked at is. The 30th was not out at that point. That all said, the blacked out 30th really isn’t my thing, so it really isn’t worth the extra cash, to me. FWIW, that white one appears to have a Trask Assault AC and a different seat on it, as well as the engine guard. $18.5k seems a bit high for that bike tho - there should be room to negotiate it into the $17’s.

The Fatboy is a GREAT around town and day-ride bike. I’ve got about 3,500 on the clock so far and I’m riding it every day. It’s a ton of fun.

As for the Road King, that’s a different issue altogether. There are days that I wish I had gotten a RK or RKS instead. There are also days I’m glad I have a Softail. That’s a tough decision that you’ll need to make.

 

Good to hear from a Fat boy 114 owner. If what you say is OTD , you got a pretty good deal there. Yes, I too agree on the blacked out 30th anniversary. I think I will try to work on the 2018 if the dealer is willing to negotiate it down, defnitely not paying $18.5k OTD there.

Yeah, I do get the touring thing vs softail dilemma though, unfortunately, unless you get both (which I don't see happening) you have to make a choice. Now that I am not touring I guess I will stick with the softails. Worst come worst I might go for the Heritage but the heart is set on the Fat Boy. Oh boy, that style and town crusing is just cool for me. I do understand that it will come with added maintenance like tires that will wear out every 3.5k or so miles etc.

 

Personally not a fan of the blacked out look. I have a black 114 version of the white one that I couldn't be happier with. Paid $14k for it with 1580 miles, bassani road rage, dyno tuned, hd 15 inch shield.

 

Couple things to clarify for ya -

The bike itself was $15.3k. I added a Bassani Road Rage, the rest of the Stage 1 and labor and some other stuff into the sale price like a swingarm bag, sissy bar, etc. I would bet money that if you walked in there with 172 or so Benjamin’s that you’d get that bike as it is.

My front tire is almost down to the wear bar at 3,500. There’s no way it would pass inspection this fall so I just dropped the $$$ on a pair of Metzeler Cruisetecs today. It seriously bothers me that I had to buy new tires after 7 months of riding an all but brand new bike. The 160 front makes it a real PITA because there are very few options beyond the stock Scorcher. You’ll hafta deal with this sooner or later, but hopefully the Cruisetec is better than the Scorcher was. The only other real option is an ME 888 rear, mounted in reverse.

There are 2 things that really had me debating the Road King: 1) the only real luggage options for the Fatboy are the Onyx bags that strap to the sissy bar. I’ve heard terrible things about the Detachables bags not holding up at all. I have not explored any of the Viking options tho. 2) the many options for tires (see above). Honestly, I wish there was some option to buy a 3.5” wide version of the Lakester wheel because I’d drop that 160/60 in a heartbeat to put a 130/70 on there.

best of luck with your purchase!

 

Although I prefer the look of the black one, I am all about buying slightly used motorcycles. I just can’t fathom spending full price on a new motorcycle when there is tons of used ones available with very little miles for thousands less. My first motorcycle purchase was a 2006 model that was owned for 1 year and had only 90 miles on it and paid 5k less than the original owner!

 

I’ve got the 115th version, so my comments may seem a little contradictory... but I’d go for the 18.
If the only reason you like the 30th anniversary model is the blacked out look, then you can achieve this with powder coating (and maybe some engine trim parts if you want a Black out block) for a lot less than the 10k difference in price. IMO, unlike the 115th, the 30th isn’t “different” enough to warrant the extra spend. The paint work isn’t anything special, and the black our frame and block can be replicated fairly cheaply.

BUT... if you enjoy the little touches like the limited numbering, anniversary plaques etc, then that’s when you should consider the anniversary model. It’s kinda nice knowing your bike is a little unique, even if it’s not in any significant measure.

The only real difference between the 18 and 20 models is the oil pump and the thinner primary cover in regards to age related changes. Again though, if your looking to customise, your likely to alter those anyway.

And not that you need selling on a Fatboy, but personally I love the ride and handling of the bike. Yeah it’s not as agile as the heritage etc, but once you’ve got used to the way she works, you can easily throw her about in the curves.
M

 

Gotta tell you, that anniversary model is one of the best-looking HDs ever.

By the way, I have the 2020 Heritage 114 and it is the best bike I've ever had. I love the Fatboy -- I've had three of them -- but this Heritage is lighter with better suspension, cornering clearance and comes with windshield and bags. I would not hesitate to drive it cross country.

 

Knowing something of the collectible vehicle world, the only way it will truly hold its value is if A) you don't actually ride it and accumulate miles on it and B) if Harley builds them in sufficiently limited quantities that obtaining one is very, very difficult. That said, preceding A and B, I believe you would need to define what, exactly, "holds its value" actually means to you. It is safe to say that as soon as the 2020 is pushed out into the sun under your ownership it is going to loose value. It actually may loose more than the 2018 because the 2018 has already taken the depreciation hit. IOW, if you were to purchase the 2020 you're going to take a hit almost immediately. If you purchase the 2018, probably no immediate hit, the previous owner already took that for you.