This is my personal experience comparison of my 2007 Street Bob with a 2004 Night Train.

2007 Street Bob Specs:
Forward Controls
Drag Bars
Harley Touring Seat
96 ci. Motor/ 6 speed
Cycle Shack Slipons
Fuel Injected
No windshield
Tall sissy bar with pad

2004 Night Train Specs:
Forward Controls
Harley Touring Seat
Drag Bars
88 ci. Motor/5 speed
Bassani Pro Street Pipes
Carbureted
Memphis Shade windshield
Short sissy bar with pad

Shifting:
The Street Bob is clunky when it comes to shifting. I am guessing this has to do with the forward controls. It takes quite a bit more effort to shift than the Night Train. Any thoughts?

Steering/Cornering:
With the Night Train, it feels like I can take my hands off the grips/bars and ride for miles. With my Street Bob it does not feel this way. I feel like I need to hold on or else. I appreciate any thoughts on this as well?? I liked the stiff steering on the Night Train, it made me more confident with stability but not with cornering.

Forward Controls:
On the Night Train, my legs were jacked 2-3 inches higher, even with forward controls. This made it more difficult to down-shift but for some damn reason ti was more comfortable at highway speeds. I am confused.

Speed/Torque:
The Night Train is touchier, like a Sportster. My Street Bob is smoother, more tame but feels more powerful in 2nd and 3rd gear.

Exhaust:
The Bassani pipes on the Night Train have a nice cackle when you get on it. The Cycle Shack slipons on my Street Bob sound a bit throatier but look nowhere near as cool. They were much cheaper of course. The Bassani's are louder but not by much.

Clutch:
The clutch on the Night Train is WAY stiff. It hurt for the first 10 miles in town. After I got used to it I found it easier to feather than the loose clutch on my Street Bob. My hand no longer hurt after 10-15 miles.

Throttle
My hand went numb off and on all day riding the Night Train. I attribute this to nerves being it is not my bike but I also think it was due to the bars. The bars are much more narrow and further away from the seat. My arms were stretched!

Braking:
The braking on the Night Train is nowhere close to as good as my Street Bob. I actually was a bit nervous coming to several stop lights. I also came into a tight curve on an off ramp and had some trouble with the rear brake. Even though the Street Bob is not dual disc like the Fat Bob I feel the front brake is quite adequate for handling the weight of the bike.

Night Train Windshield:
I know they aren't always favored but man was it easy to do 65 mph on the highway with a windshield. I highly recommend a detachable shield.

Sissy Bars: Tall vs. Short
The wife was scared sh#tless with the short bar on the Night Train. On my Street Bob, with the tall bar, there are times I forget she is back there when puttin' around town. She hated the short bar and missed my bike.

Overall Handling:
The weight of these two bikes is nearly the same however I felt the Night Train felt more balanced at a stop, especially two up. I am not sure if the steering and balance have anything to do with the difference in fork rake and front tire size (Night Train rake: 32 degrees, tire size 21 inches - Street Bob rake: 29 degrees, front tire size: 19 inches) but it was noticeable. Any thoughts on this are appreciated.


Summary:
It was a great day of riding in Iowa yesterday! 65 degrees with a few clouds here and there. I am fortunate enough to have a friend who will lend me his Night Train now and then. I missed my Street Bob, however. The differences are somewhat major for me personally. If I can figure out how to get more stability with steering and more comfort with my pegs on the highway I can see no reason to ever get rid of the Street Bob until I trade up to to Touring in several years.

Again, I appreciate any insight you may have regarding my aforementioned concerns. I am still very new to riding.

Thanks all!

Matthew


2004 Night Train


2007 Street Bob

 

some of your comments seemed pretty subjective, as I think some of the components you mentioned are the same between the two bikes?

 

Ive put 1000 miles on my grandads fatboy in the last 6 months and ive put almost 30k on my street bob since i purchased it.

The softy is a smooth ride for straight-aways or hwy use. But id never own one & i cant get over the sloppy swing arm design on the softails.

When i ride the fatboy i feel like im sitting on top of it. Unlike my dyna i feel like im sitting in it...

For my its a dyna hands down.

 

Matthewmanuel
Good review.
I’ve put approx 18,000 miles on a 07 Street Bob and a 09 Night Train.
As a solo rider I enjoyed both of them. I now have a FLD with 500 miles
on it, yep back to a Dyna. Without going into all the particulars the FLD
seems to give me the best of both worlds between my two previous HD’s.
JMO.

 

I did a side by side comparison of my 08 fxd to my buddy's 08 night train this summer.

FXD
96 w/ xieds (stock pipes/ac at the time)
C&C sport tour seat
2" extended forwards
santee bonanza II ape hangers
night train
96 w/ big radius 2in2/heavy breather/fuel pack
badlander seat
stock forwards
drag bars (he now has the same hangers as I do)

Power/Speed
FXD in every gear

Handling
FXD in every situation

Stability
Night train at low speed (probably rake/200 rear tire)
FXD anything over 40 mph

Braking
Seemed fairly even

Comfort
FXD all the way! Probably the C&C/bars/extended forwards. But I was cramped bad on the night train.

After the tests. He wanted a c&c seat, extended forwards, & hangers (he has the santee as well now). I wanted a 200 rear and maybe(big MAYBE) some more rake, but mostly just wanted my fxd back!

I still think the night train is the best looking harley, But i will give up the better looks in my opinion for my dyna.

 

if you want your dyna to handle better there are many options. Better shocks and front end springs are a start. True-Track is a sponsor here and many forum users really like there stuff . Sputhe makes a similar setup that is slightly different. Different bars and correct tire pressure and neck bearing adjustment all help the handling. I love my streetbob but I always ride solo. harley stock suspension components will work for awhile but there are many far better products .

 

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Same here! I had my shov for 12 years until I just happened to get talked into a test ride on an '07 SB. Lol

 

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Real men ride Dynas!