I think price is good in my opinion. Be sure to check to see what owner had done to modify it. Some people act like 14 year olds with a new Moped and when they are done, it's junk and only good for a show bike or garage queen.

Then they never run right or grenades before 30K and they invest another big $$ (more then you are paying for whole bike) and start again.

Not saying that is wrong and they have a loyal following if that floats your boat. If first man to the top of the hill does not interest you, be careful buying a used Harley.

 

I bought my 2013 last fall. I paid more than you did for a few reasons. One i'm in Canada and two i bought it used from a dealership.

Its a great bike for what you describe you need it for though. If all checks out and you dig the color, then go for it!!!

 

hell, I love va-dyna! Nothing like good power *****!

 

URGENT!

 

I've got the same bike, a 2014 Switchback in vivid black. I now have 37,000 miles on it with no repair issues. Price seems about right. Only issue is somehow one of the detachable saddlebags fell off while I was riding and destroyed itself. I'm getting another bag now and the lost one is covered by my comprehensive insurance. No buzzing handlebars on mine. For riding it around town, it's fine but it is still a "big" bike.

 

Greetings,

My wife and I both have Switchbacks that were bought new in 2013 ('13 models). We both love our bikes and they are excellent solo tourers. The price seems about right. Some Switchback specific things.....

Vibration - If the bike has the stock exhaust, chances are you'll experience heavy vibration in the 2,800rpm - 3,200rpm or so. This is not your normal Dyna vibration, but something specific to the Switchback. 2 ways to alleviate this. Google the "Clevis Pin mod for Switchback", which keeps the standard exhaust and uses about $5 in parts (yup, a clevis pin is among the parts). This takes the vibes down to normal levels. The other way to reduce the vibes is get an aftermarket full exhaust replacement. My wife's bike has the Clevis Pin mod and I have a full V&H Pro Pipe exhaust. Vibes are gone.

Heat - If the standard header/exhaust is on their, it will product A LOT of heat from the catalytic converter on the right side of the bike. This can be alleviated with an aftermarket full exhaust, or by getting HD's Heat Deflector. My wife has this on her bike since she has the stock exhaust. She said it reduces the heat by about 30+% or so. Previous to the install of this, I had witnessed her get blisters on the underside of her thigh from the heat. According to the wife, this has reduced the heat enough to not be an issue. Edited to add: I just looked at the link you provided and it looks like the stock exhaust.

Suspension / forks - The forks are 41mm and are from the Softails of the era. One side has a damper rod, and the other has a primitive cartridge. The travel length is just under 4". On both our bikes, I've changed the fork springs to Racetech single rate springs for our weights. Mine also the their Gold Valve Emulators. Makes a world of difference. The stock shocks are 12" in length and have 2.1" of travel (really short travel length). I've upgraded our bikes with aftermarket suspension using 13" shocks with travel over 3". Again, makes a world of difference.

Stuff - IIRC, the lean angle is around 29". I used to scrape the floorboards all the time. Now, with the 1" longer shocks, it's rare that I scrape the floorboards. Things like mounting brackets for the sissy bar and what not, are Switchback specific. Seats are generic Dyna fitment. Exhausts are Dyna specific with an additional spacer for the floorboards. There are some Switchback exhausts out there, but nowhere near the selection of generic Dynas. If you can find the floor board exhaust spacer, you can use just about any Dyna exhaust. Watch out though if go with a longer shock. You wind may wind up bumping the underside of the bags with the exhaust if the shock length gets above 13.5". Speaking of bags, make sure you lock them if you ever remove them. I lost a bag going over train tracks from not flipping the switch that locks them in. $745 mistake.

Seats - I'm 5'11" w/ 34" inseam and found the stock seat scrunched me up by being too low and too close to the tank. Not to mention, the padding was minimal...it sucked. I've experimented with a bunch of seats (HD Tall Boy, HD Sundowner both solo and dual, Corbin Classic Solo and pillion, and Mustang Wide Touring w/ backrest), and still haven't found "the one", but the Mustang w/ backrest gets me closest (lifts rider minimally, maybe 1/2" and back 1/2 - 1", still want more up and back though. The Tallboy is actually really good if you like being "on" the bike, but is a dramatic repositioning where the windscreen is then producing turbulence (lifts rider 2" and back 1.75"). If there was a backrest option for this seat, I would go with this and get a taller screen (already running an LRS 18" curve....stock screen height is 16") The Corbin is beautifully crafted and sits you "in" the bike, but is rock hard and transmits every ripple of the road (lowers rider by at least 1" and back by about 2"). It is the only seat I know that actually locks to the bike and the backrest locks to the underside of the seat, vs being able to pulled out without tools as on the Mustang. The HD Sundowner solo is what my wife runs and works very well for me also (lifts up 1" and back 1", not to be confused with the Sundowner Dual, which moves up 1" but forward 1"). One thing I really don't like about the Sundowner solo is how it attaches to the pillion. It uses a plastic tab that is really flimsy.

All in all, my fav' bike that I've had. It's like a Road King light, and I like that they aren't too common. I've upgraded cams, Stage 1, shocks, forks, seats, bars, etc. The best upgrade was the suspension. Longest ride was from Asheville, NC to Bergen County, NJ in 10.5 hours (710 miles) and the bike did well. I ride about 4-5k miles/year. Am at 22K now, and no issues.

Good luck!

 

Thanks for taking time to comment and provide a detailed write-up. Nice SB you have there too. My thing is, I'm really trying to avoid doing a lot of mods. This will be a secondary bike for me so I'm not interested in putting a bunch of money into it. A seat or shield here and there I don't mind but having to make extensive suspension and exhaust changes I'm really not interested in doing. Granted, the exhaust vibration fix sounds simple. And since this is secondary bike for me, it doesn't need to be set up for long hauls.

I went and looked at the bike. It wasn't as clean as the pics I saw (are they ever? ha...). Didn't ride it but it needed new tires right off the bat. And it hadn't been regularly ridden in 2-3 years. They say it was recently serviced but who knows. I didn't ask why but I thought it odd that they came down from their original asking price of $9640 to $7500. Just makes me wonder if there is something more they aren't telling me or I don't know. Seemed like nice people so I'm giving them the benefit of the doubt but I think my search continues.

 

I have a 13, no regrets on buying it. I did the clevis pin mod, no other problems. It's 700+ pounds but handles like it's 500.

 

Totally get ya in trying to minimize mods and what not. In reality, if the vibes are handled (clevis pin mod .....$5 / full exhaust ~$750), and arguably a heat shield/deflector ($90'ish), past that, it's bars, seat, shield. I would guess I'm an outlier in doing the suspension on the bike, but I'm coming for a sport bike with fully adjustable suspension and what not, and I like to push my bike hard in the turns, as well as liking to tinker.

Can you get a test ride? As pgrchaplain mentioned, it is a great handling bike. Having said that, if your gut is telling you "no", there is a reason for that.

 

They didn't want to let me ride without holding my driver's license. I get it but as a recent victim of identity theft, I wasn't doing that. Not saying they would do something but just as they want to protect themselves against someone riding their bike, I have to protect myself as well. But, as you said, in the end my gut was telling me "no" so there was no reason.