I'm in the process of trading my '15 Ultra Limited Low for an '18 Softail and I had another thread trying to choose between the Heritage Classic and the Fatboy. To be brief and not rehash that thread; the FB gets my heart rate up but the HC does almost everything I want a motorcycle to do and looks nearly as good as the FB when you take the windscreen and bags off (obviously just my opinion), I ultimately ordered the HC. Now I'm having 2nd thoughts about that decision.

Does anybody here own a Fatboy and ridden it any good distance? Doesn't even have to be a Fatboy, any of HD's bikes that don't have cruise, a windshield, or bags. If so, did you make any additions to the bike so the ride would be a little easier on your body (or a passenger)? In my youth I rode a few 500+ mile days on crotch rockets but even then I paid a heavy price. My body isn't up for that kind of pain anymore, just trying to see what techniques (if any) riders are using to deal with the wind blast and storage on a street bike. Hopefully the answer isn't 2 bikes but I wouldn't be surprised if it was.

 

Got over 110,000 on my 02 Heritage. I don't even like to start it up unless I'm going at least 200 miles. Rode from Delaware to Huntsville, AL, loaded and 2 up in 14 hrs once. I've got 3 dyna's and use to have a Street Glide but would rather ride the H on long trips.

 

I have an 05 Fatboy that I take one long trip every year on. I have changed out the seat. I have the sissy bar and luggage rack on the bike and use a set of luggage that mounts to it for the trip. I have no issue with putting 200,300 or 400 miles on the bike in a day

 

Do you have a wind screen, a full face helmet, or wear goggles? On just a 10 minute test ride my eyes were watering badly with just shades.

 

I have an 07 Fatboy with the same setup. I do have a windshield as well. Bike is very comfortable and easily capable of touring.


Bob

 

I don't have a Fatboy but since you opened the door by saying "any HD" I'll tell you about my 05 Springer. I don't have cruise, a windshield or bags on my bike. I put on taller bars to take the strain off my neck and shoulders. I also have a backrest. With this set up, I took a 3 week/little over 3000 mile trip and enjoyed every mile of it. For me, it's all about conditioning
I forgot to add, I was 60 when I made that trip. .

 

First part of July rode my Fatboy from Oklahoma City to Maggie Valley, NC. No problems. 2 days.

 

I put a lot of "road" miles on my '87 Softail Custom, '92 Heritage, '95 Heritage and my '98 Heritage Springer.
All of these are EVO engines with carbs and were before the "B" was introduced.
My wife also had a '99 Heritage which she put over 25, 000 miles on and she now has an '08 "B" FI bike that she loves and earlier this year she (we) did a 720+ mile day on her 63rd birthday!

I've always thought that the Heritage was a better value than the Fat Boy as it came equipped with a windshield, leather saddlebags, passing lamps (and I believe at one time included an engine (crash) bar and a passenger backrest. All of this was basically in exchange for the solid wheels that came on the Fat Boy, making it a much better road bike than a Fat Boy..

I will say that the new Fat Boy is a nice looking (and much different than the Heritage) so that can be a plus or a minus, depending on the individual's taste.

 

aren't the heritage and the f-boy the same bike underneath? Loss of windshield and bags, wheels and all kind of goes on likes and prefs.

I love the look of both. I let folks talk me into a road king, tho. Tour bike without the shells. If you are happy with the HC on the kind of runs you mentioned....ride on. As long as they have been making em, they must do something right??

 

Thanks again for all the replies. I'm almost certainly going to get a new FB and am encouraged by those of you who have braved taking a cruiser on tour.

I haven't seen rake and trail specs but the HC and FB feel like they have slightly different geometry. I get a touch more bend in the knee and sit a little closer to the bars on the FB than HC -- at 5'6" the FB is more comfortable. IMO the HC is a far better value: CC, windshield, passing lights, blacked out trim (if that's your thing), and bags all included. The HC handles far better due to the narrow back tire. I just don't care, I really like the FB. Just my opinion but I don't like any of the colors on the HC, although I could live with the black or silver. A couple other things: I don't like the black/clear windshield on the HC and the HC bags; while better than nothing, really aren't big enough for anything more than a trip to the gym -- in a no cost world (with accessories available, which they aren't at this moment) I'd replace both of those on the HC anyway which would only leaves the CC as an "extra" on the HC.

Regarding touring, I did 6k miles in 2 weeks on my ULL this summer and swore to myself I'd never do that again since the majority of those miles were getting to and from the good stuff from Atlanta. If I ever do that trip again I'll tow to the Rockies and then do my riding. I do have plans for the FB, not sure I'll ever get around to any of them but here it is. 1st I'm going to add cruise control, that's a no brainer and isn't too expensive. Next will likely be rider and passenger backrests and perhaps highway pegs. Once I'm out of warranty I'd like to do a stage 1 or even stage 2, preferably with a 2-1 exhaust or 2-2 with routing similar to the touring bikes which would hypothetically give me room for real saddle bags similar to those on the street glide. Probably get some kind of quick release windshield similar to what you see on a Road King or HC.

I've suggested my wife get her own bike a couple times, so far she's just not interested. At 50 she's something of an old dog and that's definitely a new trick. Maybe I can convince her to just try an old Honda Rebel and go from there but so far she'd much rather just ride on back.