Picking a bike can be a journey, You can ask questions along the way but in the end, the only opinion that matters will be yours. Thats cause we all like different **** man.

 

Renting is indeed the way to compare. I rode a 2004 low rider for 10 years and was fine. This deluxe is my first softail and have had it for 6 months. I like the deluxe much better. I like the way you sit in it much better. Shocks are adjusted half way and I am very comfortable.

 

Thanks for the replies guys.... Seems like it's pretty much split down the middle in opinions regarding softail vs dyna properly set up for comfort. I'm going to take a good test ride on the low rider in the next few days, which should help me decide.

 

13bob wrote above:
[[ Seems like it's pretty much split down the middle in opinions regarding softail vs dyna properly set up for comfort ]]

Hmmm... I suggest that before you buy a Dyna, that you try a Road King for a ride or two!

 

My first Harley was an 03 Fat Boy, set it up for touring and really liked the ride out on the country roads 55-75 MPH. Around town, in parking lots and nose diving at red lights not so much. A lot of that was poor technique on my part coming from lighter bikes and some was an 11 year old bike but it still left an impression on me. I test rode a few Dynas and they felt a LOT lighter than they are, ended up on a Fat Bob and really enjoy it more. Confidence and ability at low speed and in confined spaces really increased. Vibrations at idle aren't unpleasant to me and they dissipate once you're rolling anyway. At highway speed and distance I'm comfortable and happy. I agree with the rental and set up advice but since you're thinking of going from Softail to Dyna thought you'd want to hear from someone that did recently and doesn't regret it. They're all great bikes, the one that puts a s*@t eating grin on your face is the right one.

 

In the Dyna family of bikes the Superglide is one bad rough ride without investing in better front and rear suspension. The Street Bob and others have a better begining ride but may still modify them.

Have two Softails and two Dyna's. A 2000 Deuce and a 2007 FXSTC. They all ride much better than my 10 Dyna Superglide ever could so I traded it on a 13 Street Bob which is much better. I have less than 100 miles on my 14 Low Rider but it seems to be a good riding bike.

Changing for a from a Heritage to a Dyna does not in my opinion seems like a good use of the extra money it would cost.

I have all the families of HD's in my garage and ride them 30K/yr. Since I started riding in 1956 I have had many different bikes and developed a butt sensor for ride and feel of a bike. I take each of my bikes and do at least one 1K ride in one day on them. From a Sportster, Dyna, Softail or touring. This year I will do it on a Street 750. The absolute best ride on an HD that I ever had was when I rode it to Sturgis for a 2K round trip. I could almost fall asleep on it.

I must comment on the one poster's ignorant remark about HD's being "Slugs". In 2012 at least two MC magazines ran a comparison of the new Honda FB6 against the 12 Roadglide CVO. Both topped out at 126 mph and the HD was within two tenths of a second in the 1/4 and only 2 mph of the speed. Not bad for a air cooled 1800cc push rod V twin against a water cooled 1832cc water cooled 4 cylinder motor.

A Vrod ( an HD you know) will best that time, a XR1200 will beat that time as will the 14 Low rider. Many current models of HD are in the low 12's which match muscle car numbers. Compare HD's to other air cooled motorcycles that are out there. To do a proper comparison it must be against the same type bike. Not against a water cooled 4 cylinder sport bike that has been tuned to the maximum that can come out of it with normal aspiration.

By the way you may be surprised by the numbers that the 750 Street can do.

 

Yes, get a dyna they have more power & better handling. I just can't understand why Harley sells more Dyna's.

 

Since you made the argument for more power & better handling, why not get a Triumph Daytona 675R ($13,999) or Kawasaki Ninja ZX-6R 636 ($11,699) over of the Dyna Wide Glide ($15,799)?

If super sports are not your thing, there is always the middle weight (aka naked bike) little brothers - Triumph Street Triple Rx ($11,199) or Kawasaki Ninja 650 ($8,099).

Considering the cost to power ratio, it makes better economical sense than the Dyna. If devaluation is a concern, then money is best spent else where.

 

Thanks for sharing your experience..... The one that's puts a grin on my face at the moment is a street bob, not sure I can handle losing so much coin trading "down" though.... This is a tough call.

 

Yes, the street bob is what I'm currently considering out of all the dynas.

Yes, going from a Heritage to a street bob does not seem like a good way to go (like going backwards when you think about the $$$ lost). But then again life is too short to not ride the bike that fits/suits you the best? The other option I have is investing in some custom built WORKS performance softail shocks for the heritage and see how much difference that makes to the ride. Just don't want to throw anymore money at the heritage incase I do end up trading for a streetbob.