I have been riding for 44 years and have had an assortment of Harleys including sportsters, Softails and currently ride both a Road King and a Dyna Superglide. Each bike has its positives and negatives. I ride the dyna around town and if I am going no more than 150 miles. The Road King is for hauls over 150 or riding with the wife. As the old saying goes, there is a perfect tool for every job. You can load the Dyna up for the road or 2 up but it is not as good as the road king. The road king strips down for around town in 5 minutes but is not quite as agile as the dyna. I suggest you do like other said and rent one of each. Plus, ask yourself which type of riding you will do most of the time and choose accordingly. And, most important, which one turns you on when you see it in the garage. Both are fine bikes and INMO the best Harley has to offer.

 

+1 street bob. Def a nice affordable intro to harleys

 

#1Thanks for your service.
Your cooments sound like mine. As an ex-road racer who still ground knees on the street I wanted something that would keep me out of trouble but not bore me to tears. I wanted, no insisted on handling. I choose the Fat Bob. Found I began to do longer rides including cold weather so became disappointed in availability of dual headlight fairing offerings. Problem solved Road Glide fairing with Cyclevisions mount. Same for hard saddlebags. Now I have a bike that handles and tours. Next came power, add cams and programmer (pipes were immediate) along with a 30T front pulley and that solved that.
Bob

 

I'm glad I found this forum. Everyone so far has been super helpful, and very knowledgeable! Thanks again for everyone's replies and all of the information.

 

Dyna is sporty and light for riding on the aggressive side...
Put the bags and a windshield and you can comfortably do the touring thing.

Joe

 

+1 on Renting

My friend was in love with a Sportster Iron 883. I looks pretty mean I have to admit. I tried to convince him that he wouldn't like it, so we rented. Good thing about renting, at least though a dealer, you can hot swap bikes. So, he put 50 miles on an Iron 883 and came back miserable. Went to the Sportster 48. Felt a lot better on it, but still beat him up and it's only got a ~2gal tank. So, I said, why don't you try a Street Bob. It's all blacked out and cool looking. Well, his vivid black Street Bob HD1 will be here March 3. Renting will let you put some real miles (over just a test ride) and let you try different models.

I test rode a fat bob with mids and was pretty surprised at it's agility. I don't have any miles on a sport bike, but could see this as the closest Harley's got.

Thanks for your service. I just retired from the Navy and know too well how the Military isn't giving second chances any more.
Good luck to you. Stay safe!

 

I have owned both a 2002 Deuce (Softail) & my 2011 Bob (Dyna) before the bob i rode a 2010 standard & being from New Zealand we have windy roads so i went the dyna which i think has better handling & for you coming from street bikes i would imagine you like to lean into corners? thats where the bob with the 29 degree rake comes in handy i think, Dyna all the way is my vote & a fatbob even better.

 

dyna for shure!!

 

I rode high revving crotch rockets for years. I rode my first hd in the late 70's and immediately fell in love with the low revving high torque engine. I also like the simplicity of the air cooled V twin.

 

test ride some bikes to get the feel of what you want