Does anyone want to sell their stock air cleaner? I am looking for one and it seems a lot of folks are taking them off.

 

That is the extreme example..LOL...The Akrapovic, SC Project, and the "Normal" Termi are roughly 4500-5000 (I ride an 1199R so I have looked...I have the Termi on it now and thought about swapping but its just not worth it...)...but even so...3500 for that Thunderbike is NUTS!!!! Way more than it should be (as is ALL the exhausts for a Ducati...)

 

 

Cheers to that!
Do it, you will be surprised I promise. Cycle World calls it the best cruiser bike of 2018.

 

I have an FXDR courtesy bike from my dealer for a couple of days while my FXDLS is in the shop.

 

My courtesy bike

 

 

It's the Screamin Eagle pipe.

 

How does the loaner compare to other bikes? Handling, top speed, ergonomics, etc?

 

I had an '18 Breakout, and currently own a Low Rider S. I'd take either of these over the FXDR.

Handling - My Low Rider S is way better than either of the Softails. The FXDR and Breakout are better than you'd expect from bikes with that geometry and fat rear end. Both hold their line really well and are very stable at any speed, where as the Dyna chassis starts to show it's limitations when speeds get higher, but they are more sluggish to turn in and require a different style of riding to get the best from them. On a tight mountain road the Low Rider S is going to stomp both Softails, but you'd have to push hard to show that. The Breakout will suffer from lack of lean angle, but for most average riders the FXDR and FXDLS would probably be just as quick. Suspension is good on all 3 bikes, but they all dive too much under hard breaking. FXDR front brakes are very good, better than the single on the Breakout, and better than the stock brakes on the FXDLS. Rear brake on all three could do with a lot of improvement, but i don't use the rear brake much.

Top Speed - All three are so close that it's hard to tell between them. The Softails are really smooth, and the Dyna is very raw, so from the saddle the Dyna feels faster to ride. But with these three i think the better rider would win on any one of them.

Ergonomics - The FXDR sucks. I'm 5'8", and those bars are just too low and too far forward for me to be able to put big miles on it. It gets better over 70mph where the wind is helping to take some weight off the wrists. The seat is actually very comfortable. It's easy for me to flat foot at standstill, but i do have to be careful not to touch that huge pipe, and anyone with less than a 32" inseam might struggle. The Breakout was really good for long distance. I've done 11 hour days in the saddle no problem. My Low Rider S has been modded to fit me perfectly so it's a little unfair to say it's the clear winner. Both the FXDR and Breakout could be modded to make them fit the individual rider better.
Forward controls on the Softails are well placed. They are not like the fowards on earlier Harleys, they're much closer. My Dyna had forward controls when i bought it and i hated them, but i really like the position on the new Softails.
The one thing that really stands out as a win for the FXDR and Breakout is the headlight. I'm running a genuine Harley Daymaker on my Dyna and it's nowhere near as good as the other two.

Conclusion - The FXDR is a good motorcyle. With a few mods it could be a great one. The styling is a matter of taste, but the same could be said for anything. The FXDR really shines when you push it hard; if that isn't your thing, buy the Breakout and save yourself a heap of cash. I am a big fan of the new Softails, but nothing is going get me away from my Low Rider S. As far as i'm concerned, it's the greatest motorcycle Harley have ever made, and you'll have to pry it out of my cold dead hands before i let it go.