best way.is go to the stealers and demo some or rent some and try it out.hard to tell what u like or looking for in a h-d.certain people like certain things.

 

I rode out to Sturgis last year on my 2005 FXDI, Stock seat and forward controls. We rode 4 days 400-500 miles a day. By the third day I did stop at HD and I bought a windshield.

I have done many 300-400 mile days without a problem.

However I also did close to 600 miles, in a day, on a 2004 Sportster.

I find the bike to be very comfortable but I will most likely be picking up a Mustang seat for my bike at Americade this summer.

All in all I am very happy with my FXDI.

 

Just got back from a 2,000 mile run to the tail of the dragon on my 05 FXDLI (Injected Low rider)...Sundowner seat, forward controls (kept the mid pegs to move my legs). Excellent cruiser and handled the twisties very well. They were mostly 12 hour days.

 

I traded a Gold Wing on my Wide Glide and although I have a lot of wind buffeting compared to the Wing, the ride is really comfortable. I have had the Glide for 3 weeks and have put 1200 miles on it with no ill effects.

I rented a Heritage Softail last year and put 1000 miles on it in 3 days. It was smooth, had plenty of power and was generally a very good ride. That is what clinched my trading to Harley.

Find one that you like the looks of and rent it for a day or two. Make sure you ride it the way that you are likely to ride the bike you buy. That is, if you make long trips, make sure you get some time in the saddle. If you commute on a bike, do that. If you cruise from one dealer to another and spend a lot of time standing and talking and looking at the bike, do that.

This way you will find out if the bike it right for the kind of riding that you are likely to do.

 

Go with the Wide Glide, no regrets here.

Scott

 

I have back problems too, and just about nothing fits me perfectly - but one great thing about Harleys is that absolutely everyone makes aftermarket seats, pegs, bars, you-name-it for them. I got a Mustang seat with driver backrest, pullback bars and forward controls with floorboards, and I can out-sit the bike's fuel supply now.

The Roadliner is an impressive bike and will leave even a fairly modified Harley in the dust. If you want to ride a cruiser but try to keep up with buddies on plastic sportbikes, it's a good choice, with the aluminum frame, kick-*** motor, etc. if you can stomach the styling (and the midnight looks best, because the black paint on the headlight makes it look less like a 20gallon chrome bucket). But if the 'Liner fits you comfortably, you must be one very large guy. To me it felt like the bars were about 10 feet wide, the tank forced a gynecological-exam posture, and the whole thing felt like it was designed for Shaq to put around on.

My '06 FXDI was the stripper loss-leader, but about $2k of extras later, it's very comfortable and functional. The new frame may not be light, but it's strong; the 6-speed shifts really well, the fork tubes are the size of tree trunks, and a few accessories later, there's not another bike in the country that's exactly like mine. Since the Roadliner is a new model and won't sell in nearly the numbers the Dyna does, you will be limited in the range of accessories and parts that work with it, just as you are with your Volusia. And the Dyna won't go out of style, because it already did 30 years ago. All the swoopy art-deco chrome stuff and Madonna-bra turnsignals and headlight-the-size-of-Idaho on the 'Liner may look different and cool now, but your resale value will depend in large part on people thinking it's cool 5 years from now. Reminds me of the Chrysler products of the 60's with their "rocket-ship" styling. They looked cool and innovative then. Now they just look hideous and overdone.

I have had more Yamahas than I have fingers, and of all the Jap cruiser makers, they come closest to "getting it" and their build quality is very, very good. But so is Harley's, and they are the original, genuine item. The Dyna is the screaming deal of the Harley line right now, with all the new stuff and a lower price than the other models that haven't been redesigned and don't function as well. You really can't go wrong with one, just don't challenge your sportbike buddies on canyon roads because the resale value does go down when you wrap a Dyna around a big ol' tree.

 

I couldn't have said it better myself, except the last sentence, todd you got it backwards!! I too came from a 2001 Yamaha V-Star and my 1996 Dyna Low Rider is like night and day difference even though it is a little older. Once you ride a Harley you won't go back. No more plastic covers, no more trying to look like a harley because it is a harley!! My advise to you, don't go ride one until you are ready to buy one because after that I doubt you will be satisfied with your current ride.

The cool dudes pick the wide glides.. but it's the coolest guys that own low riders![sm=shades.gif] See todd that's how it goes[sm=smarty.gif]

Good luck with your search!!

 

How about a Lowrider with a stretched wide glide front end and 19" wheel? Can you say ICE?

 

I think your height is an important factor. My friends that aren't as tall as me (6 ft.) are not comfortable with the forward controls or the distance to the ground on my wide glide. I wouldn't have it any other way. I love the forward controls. When I am stopped I can bend my knees slightly and reach the ground comfortably.

 

As an owner of a 2006 St Bob I will say as a driver the ride is ok. Had a 2002 sportster before and did not enjoy the ride at 65mph.
BUT my wife who has had back surgery could ride on the back of the sportster but can not last 10 miles on the back of the new St Bob which is a Dyna.(of course I have installed a two up sundowner seat on the 2006 dyna) she is not rideing the fender.

I have talked to other 2006 Dyna riders and the ones that have passangers say the same.

See the test ride fron NY to milwaukee in the Jan 2006 cycle world issue. The test rides wife commeted that the 2006 Dyna did not like me back there. (page 44) of Cycle World Jan 2006.
If you ride alone you will be OK.