Well, I have both (Fatty & RoadKing) and here's my take on the subject: My biggest comparo--You can turn a Softail into a tourer, but you can't turn a tourer into a cruiser. So looks wise, the Softy wins hands down., Comfort wise, with the stock seats, both bikes are equally as comfy. That Fatty stock seat is fantastic. But for looks, I usually run a Lepera on the Fatty (very uncomfortable, but best looking seat made) and a Stripper (best looking Harley seat, and YES, they did make them for RoadKings, although they are very rare & not listed in the catalog) on the King. I think the rubber motor on the King is better suited for high speed interstates than the balanced motor;with that you get the ol' buzzola! The rubber motor winds out quicker,prolly 'cause of the lack of balancers, and feels more "Harleyish". Especially at idle. The King is higher, so it feels more "metric" when you are sitting at a light. As far as handling, I can't make an honest judgement 'cause I never push ANY bike in that department,and we only have straight roads in Florida. Sound wise--for some reason, I've never heard a bagger that sounds really good. Seems the best sound is gotten from staggered pipes, like a SuperGlide, or FX Softail. The configuration of the staggered pipes gives it a very "Harley" sound, which you can't get from baggers because of the way the pipe ends are in relation to each other.

If I could only have one what would it be? 10 years ago, you couldn't GIVE me a Roadking. I was very happy with my righteous ***** of a NightTrain. But, at my age now, I think I'd hafta go with the geezer glide. But right now, I don't hafta make that choice.

Oh, and Druid--Your "timeline" is pretty much right on the money with my history! Except I will never,EVER own a trike!! Please; someone kill me if I ever buy one!

 

I don't know what makes a touring bike, a touring bike other than the baggage.

I just got home from an 8,000 km solo trip from Vancouver Island to Texas and back on my '92 80 ci EVO Fatboy, without any discomfort issues.

The softail does have suspension and absorbs the bumps in the road. Mine has neither a balanced nor a rubber mounted engine.

I did put on a set of 10" mini apes with short pullback risers to bring the bars back a tad, and a Mustang Wide Touring seat. The most comfortable seat I've ever had. Could sit in it all day if I had to.

This thing toured just fine.

Here is a map of my trip generated by my Spot Messenger.

 

Whatever trips your trigger. I ride my bagger 7 days a week, five of those over a 44 mile commute in metropolitan traffic. Handles like a quarter horse (quick and nimble).

Don't do too many long straight rides unless I have someplace to get in a hurry and then a 700-800 mile day isn't much of a problem.

I keep hearing people say that when they get where they are going they can strip their softie down... Personally I like the looks of a bagger... and for anything else, I'm 5'8" and 145 pounds so it's not like I'm muscling it around.

Interestingly, finished up a week long trip with two days on the Blue Ridge Parkway. Cloudy, foggy in places, rain, air temps never got above the low 50's. The only bikes I saw on the road were either HD baggers or BMWs.

Earlier during the week when the weather was nice the softies and sporties were out in style (along with all the sport and sport touring bikes)

 

I think Druid's time line is pretty accutate; maybe a little oversimplified. A little overlap may help...
Sportster: 20's to 30's
Dyna/Softail: 30's to 50's
Touring: 50's to 60's
Trike: 60's

Personally, I'm with Dickey about the trike but I have been wondering about the ride of that fugley looking Can Am Spider......

 

LOL.. i really went crazy in my 20s i guess from 22 to 30 i had a Sportster, Dyna street bob, and Night train! before from age 14 to 21 had a yamaha..While in my 30s i finially found the best bike for me.. The Fatboy.. well Fatboy Lo to be exact. To me it on a whole new level then my night train for comfort. The FL front end fat front tire, footboards, and the reach back bars and seat that come with the 2012s is amazingly comfy!

 

Nothing wrong with a trike as long as it's a servicar! One day I will have one just because I think they're kind of cool.

 

I've owned a SG for 2 years now after owning a Heritage for 3 years. I actually prefer the Heritage for fit and riding position. I sat maybe 2 inches lower than the SG and I also had mini apes (12inch). Very comfortable riding position... but I've got a bad back and after all day in the saddle it was killing me. That does seem like a contradiction a comfortable riding position and getting a sore back. I still get a sore back on the SG but the straighter up riding position is a little better. You are right about turning Softies into Tourers, detachable or permanent bags, windshields etc. I know a couple guys with Heritage Springers that take 6 week tours every summer out west hitting Sturgis then Cal. then follow the coast and head home. They can carry as much as any bagger and they don't use their windshields either. Granted a Touring bike is better suited for this but a Softail can tour. Having tunes is real nice though even with its shortcomings the HK stereo with an ipod is sweet on a week long trip. For me I may not be done with Softails, I do miss mine, I think overall the SG is a better all around bike but sitting on a Softy can't be beat.

 

I am biased, since I ride a 2010 Fat boy Lo with rigid leather bags but here is my 2 cents...

I moved from a Dyna Street Bob to the Fat Boy Lo in 2010. My reasons were simple, I wanted a bigger bike that I could set up for touring (200+ mile rides) but use primarily for short trips (100 miles or less typically). I recently rode back from Ocean City Maryland, in the rain, which is a round trip of 245 miles for me. Stock seat, no sore ***, no bad back. At the end of the trip I was looking forward to jumping off to stretch and relax, but even an hour later I was more "body tired" from a lack of windshield and wasn't muscle sore at all.

Now, over the summer, I rode a 2011 Electra Glide with 103 engine for 3 days. After my softail I personally didn't care for it. On the open slab of 295 riding at 70 miles an hour, the fairing and the engine performance were a dream. In town and riding at under 50 for over an hour (my wife had a new sportster we were breaking in) it was a terrible ride. The engine was hot as
hell, the leg position was more cramped than my Lo (because I was sitting up naturally due to riding position, I couldn't stretch out), and the vibration when not going highway speeds was significant. I turned on the radio for a bit as a novelty, but seriously, it just annoyed me with talk radio (from 6am-10 am and 12pm until 5 pm that is all you get around here) and I didn't have the set up to put my ipod cable out of the way and store it on the tank or something.

Performance wise, the Glide can corner and handle a bit better than the softail due to clearance and riding position. Truthfully though, its the customizing that make the bike what you want it to be. You can gear up a dyna and a softail to be a mid-range all day tourer. You can trick out a touring bike to be a performance machine or a boulevard cruiser.

If you don't mind the vibration and want the performance but are not going highway riding for hours plus, get a dyna.
Performance + Speed but a little discomfort.

If you want cruising around town, short trips (100 miles or so at a time), and comfort, go for the softail.
Comfort and cruiser style but a little loss in performance but an absence of vibration at below 70.

If you want open highway, long distance riding and don't plan on those bar hops or just down town riding, get the touring bike.

Speed + Performance but long distance riding over short distance.

If all you plan to do is ride the bike on the weekends between your favorite watering holes and get there as fast as possible, get a Sporster, Dyna, or Vrod.

 

I don't quite understand why some say the touring bikes aren't good around town or as bar hoppers.... I had a '05 Deluxe and now ride a '10 Road King.... I find the ride on the King better in every aspect (for me at least.. I'm a big guy.. 5'10 280). I find I can make tighter corners with the King. It must be the added height/ground clearance.... I enjoyed my Softail but would never go back after owning the bagger. My brother has a Crossbones and while it's fun to ride, it just feels small to me now. The ride on the new touring bikes is so smooth and comfortable (once you get rid of the terrible stock bars... I went with Wild One 10.5 mini's) around town and on the highway....

 

Well I thought I might as well get in on this from a different perspective. My wife and I take long trips of normally two weeks and a few thousand miles. In July of 2010 she rode about 4,000 miles. In 2011 about 2100 miles in July.

She is 5'2" tall. She can not flatfoot, an SG, RG, RK or UC. For that matter she could barely flatfoot the Heritage when she first got it.

She has had the Heritage seat reshaped and a 1 inch Gel pad placed inside the seat. She also had the front part of the seat shaved down to make a more narrow fit.

The bike has been lowered at least an inch and the handle bars have been replaced by Fatboy bars to relieve a pain in her shoulders she received after riding a few hours with the original handle bars.

If she could ride a touring model and feel safe doing it she would probably have one.

However she feels safer and more in control with the Heritage. That I think is the whole point. Ride what you like and fits your style of riding. To accommodate the need for carrying more stuff on these trips we made some luggage changes.

Here is a picture of the end result. She is almost 60. If and when she grows up I might get her an Ultra. But right now she is quite satisfied with her Heritage. Not because she thinks it is better but because it fits her better.