I've been doing alot of looking into what will be my first Harley and the biggest thing I've learned is......Don't listen to your friends lol

99% of my riding will be 50 miles or less with an occasional trip to Colorado or Texas or wherever I decide to go once a year. At first I was looking (not too seriously) about the V-Rod, to which my friends all but called me every name in the book (jokingly of course.)

Next came the whole fuel injected thing, that brought up a TON of "Don't buy that shinit, f'n fuel injection"Then came the Fatboy to which they replied "Don't get a Fatboy if you wanna do any traveling, get a Road King with bags etc....

So what it comes down is just get what you want to get and say to hell with everyone else.

Right now I'm 50/50 on the Road King or Fatboy, have drove both and I feel them to be about equal.So my question is 2 part. I'm not 100% sold on the Road King because I'm just not crazy about the whole bags on the back thing. Iwant a "plain" fat, loudHarley Can anyone give me a real reason to pick the Road King over the Fatboy?

Secondly, is the suspensiondifference between a Fatboy and Road King something that needs to be seriously considered if I plan onridinglongtrips? Thanks Guys.

 

well...all i can tell you is i like mine........a heritage........the ride is great its a softail.and different then having springs, but i got mine souped up just a little, rejetted hi air flow and v&h headers so it pulls some......but i always liked the looks...to me it looked like the bike couldn't figure out if it was a mean street bike or a cruiser......and if you take the bags and 2 up off........along with the windshield...............its mean....................and loud......and i like it......................so good luck

 

Well I'll talk about a Fatboy... they are basically phat!! phat wheels, fat fenders, fat front end. They are a good building block to modify, they are softails back shocks are under the bike..hidden. The Fatty can be modified however big your wallet is and time/effort is. Same with any Harley. EFI.. makes easier starts and calibration is all controlled by a puter with o2 sensors. The 07 fatty is a 96ci engine, it has a lot of pep, but that too can be modified as deep as your pockets go. What else can I tell you, they have a floorboard but the RKing has one too.. It's super nice but I dunno, its a floorboard like a car has(eeek gonna get flamed here). Heal and toe shifter makeshifting gears super easy on the boots...everything is down shifted. Some don't like them, some say they are the first to scrape the ground when trying to hug atwisty.... But again you can modify that to a forward control with about 1000 in parts excluding labor or your time/effort.

If you are getting your first bike.. first Harley.. I suggest a Sportster 1200.. which is a ton of power for such a nimble/smaller HD bike. You can modify them like mad too.. some even come with forward controls and the 07s look like they have a bigger tank as well. Bear in mind Sporsters arnt just a new to riding bike either.

Or a Dyna.. like the Dyna Lowrider 01 (carb) dual 88cam was my first Harley, but not my first bike(mostly dirt/enduro) before. Had that for 6 years loved every minute of it.

I now have a Fatty

...
I have never actually road a Road King, but I like them a lot, they have basically everything you need for riding any length of distance. That's why they in the touring line of HD bikes. I like the RK Classic with the leather bags and the chromed bits on the fenders vs the Custom, but again you can modify them as well.. Make most of the RK's bulky stuff detachable.. and strip it down to cruse with a big burly style.. just like a fatty can (but u have to add most of that bulky stuff as well as make it detachable)

I like the Deuce too, the forward controls are stock on that.. if you like the blackened engine type..try the nightrain.. heh
See HDs have a lot of STYLE that you can make your own.. but they come with STYLES of their own.. you just gotta pick the one you want to start with !!

 

Fat boy is a nice bike. The problem (to me) with a stock fat boy is that because of the shotgun configuration of the exhausts, any bags you add have to be small and look out of place on the bike. Of course if you don't ever use bags or if you change out the exhaust that's not a problem.

I prefer the Heritage classic. Have the bags and back rest converted to quick detach and you can have your choice of a bagger for that annual long trip or a stripped down model for around town.

 

okie, I hear what your saying,, I think most people are consevative on their first purchase,,for various reasons,,,, but after spending some time on the bike,,, youll be on it more and more,travel farther and farther, more,farther....
what hap's, is these conservative peep's are soon looking to upgrade, go bigger,etc.
I know!! look below,,, conservative,, I bought Dyna,, lots of fun!!
needed more. bought Ultra, ride it 95 % of the time.
now how conservative is buying another $24 K bike??? lol

swingarm shock suspended bikes offer a better ride than softails... thats a fact
good luck

 

Here's my opinion on the bottom line in one simple sentence.... The Fatboy looks better, the Road King rides better. (I have a Fatboy).