Guys - I'm getting close to ordering my first Dayna and am looking at the FXD vs. the FXDC units. Can someone tell me what differences there are between these two bikes (other than some gauges and controls being tank mounted? Is there some benefit to having tank mounted controls that make the Custom a better all-around purchase?

 

Okay, first things first - it's Dyna, not Dayna

With that said, the differences are mainly cosmetic. If you are into chrome, the FXDC is a good buy because it comes with more. It also has the larger, fat bob tank as well as, as you noticed, the tank mounted console. The custom comes standard with a 2 up seat vs. a solo but I must admit you'd probably want to replace either in short order anyway. I'm not sure what else might be upgraded on the custom from the FXD but you could look at things like brake rotors, cables, etc and see of you notice a difference.

As far as a benefit to tank mounted speedo/console, 1 advantage is you potentially have more handlebar options if you choose to change them. You aren't limited as much as far as what bar or clamp you use to make room for the speedo. However, I'm betting the bar mounted speedo is easier to glance at without looking as far down.

 

lot of guys dont care for the speedo on the bars . i put 4 inch pullback risers on mine and the speedo stands stright up. dont praticularly care for that look. somo guys dont mind and some do. if yuor happy with the bars it wont matter. good luck in your choice. the custom does come with a lot of extra chrome. if you like the chrome its a good deal cheaper than adding it later.

 

If you are going to put a two up seat on your bike then just go with the custom. For a grand more, you get the tank mounted gauges, pass. pegs, two up seat and some chrome. I wish I had thought about the guages when I bought my FXD. I would much rather have the tank mounted and now am thinking of spending that 1000 just to move my guage down.

 

The differences are primarily cosmetic. I personally chose my 05 Custom over the standard model because it came with all of the chrome I wanted and had a slightly nicer paint treatment (pin striping on the tank). Both came with 2-up seats at that time, but now the standard doesn't. Frankly, if you decide to ride 2-up, you'll probably end up getting a different seat anyway so that may be a non-issue. The Custom does come with passenger pegs, a larger tank, a gauge package many find more attractive (I personally prefer the bar mounted setup) and more color choices. If the price difference is not much more than $1500, I'd definitely go for the Custom. You really can't go wrong either way, though.

 

I think it's safe to say that the FXD should only be bought if that's all you can afford. Any of the other Dynas will come with addons that would be much more to buy later than up-front... even just getting the FXD to ride two up is about $400 in parts plus labour if you do it yourself, of course you would not be putting the 2-up stuff on if you were not planning on using it, so then you need a sissy bar too, which will run you up a little more.

No offense to anyone, but I could never see myself buying an FXD...I don't really like the Silver powder-coated engine (even with crome over it I prefere the black or the chromed black, but that's just my opinion), it looks pretty much like a beefy sportster, without any finish.

If money were tight I would probably get one of the nicer 1200 Sporties. In my mind the FXD is just not an attractive bike.

This is a big purchase. If you are planning on keeping the bike for a while, all teh Dynas are about the same price, within a couple thousand of eachother, wait until you can afford the difference...

Don't end up with something you don't really want and regretting it later. In my mind I can't imagine owning an FXD for long without either selling and moving up, or blowig too much ca$h to make it something I could have bought in the first place for less...

 

I happen to like my silver engine, thank you very much. I could just as easily give you @#$% about your "sportie" looking mag wheels but I like you and your bike too much. Besides, nothing wrong with a Sportster or even a "beefed up Sportster".

Oh yeh, Khenders, that's another difference - the custom comes with laced chrome wheels vs. the mags on the FXD. Niether one is necessarily better - but if you prefer one over the other, that's a consideration because all the wheel companies are mighty damned proud of them ($$$).

The FXD is an entry level dyna, price wise. But some still do prefer the look and/or prefer to customize it themselves differently from what comes on a custom. I considered both bikes and the custom pretty much had the chrome I would want to add anyway and I couldn't have bought the pieces for the difference in price. Now that the prices have been reduced in 08, the custom is an even better deal if you like the bike.

 

Your Silver engine looks great, I was talking about all those OTHER silver engines. No, I think they look fine and nice chromed, I don't like the naked silver look though. Nothing wronge with the beefed up Sporty either, but, you could get, IMHO, a much nicer looking "Beefed up" sporty for that price, you could take an XL 1200 up to 1350 or whatever they do for that...

The FXD just does not seem like allot of bang for the buck... I just get the feeling most people buy them because they don't want to wait just a little longer till they can afford what they really want.

 

I hear ya buddy. Just taking an opportunity to give you some $%^&.

I'd still buy the dyna vs. the upgraded sporty just because of the handling and the bigger motor. Then again, I'm 6'4"/235 and would look like I was riding a scooter on a Sporty. Still some badass bikes though.

 

I jumped on my buddies little 1200 the other day and felt like a frog sittin on a match head. Felt way too small for me.

Everyone is right though so far, the dyna's are all pretty close to the same price. here is a way to look at it. Are you looking to pay cash or finance some of it? If you are going to finance some then the difference in payment form a base FXD to a Street Bob is only about 30 -40 a month. I personally bought the FXD because everything the FXDC came with I was planning on changing anyway. Just couldnt justify paying for these parts twice. (except for the tank mounted gauges that I wish I had)