Touring on a Softtail
Elite HDF Member
Joined: Dec 2012
Posts: 4,177
Likes: 62
From: Michigan
What vibration or are you just misinformed? Tourers, Dynas, and sportsters vibrate. Softails, vrods, and streets are always smooth.
Seasoned HDF Member
Joined: Jan 2005
Posts: 68,021
Likes: 3,276
From:
For me it was easy to make my Springer more comfortable for longer trips. I took off the stock seat and put on a leather Corbin Gunfighter with a backrest. Changed my bars so that I would have more comfort and less stress on my neck and shoulders. After I did that, I just kept making my rides longer and longer and rode as much as possible to condition myself for long days in the saddle. After I did that, I found that I could put in many 500-600 mile days and not feel tired at all.
Road Captain
Joined: Jan 2009
Posts: 595
Likes: 3
From: Florida
By that statement, you would think all us Softail guys are riding around on rigids...ridiculous. Many people tour on bikes that are not in the Harley "touring" lineup.
Advanced
Joined: May 2013
Posts: 82
Likes: 0
From: Los Angeles
Extreme HDF Member
Joined: Nov 2013
Posts: 10,944
Likes: 276
From: Central IL
We have done 300 miles in a day no problem. Only change from my sig pic is I have a Wide Mustang pillion for the wife instead of the stock one which sucks. My next for comfort will be a Shotgun Shock but beyond that probably nothing for awhile.
Stellar HDF Member
Joined: Mar 2008
Posts: 2,583
Likes: 96
From: Eastern North Carolina
Figured you'd like some vibration. You ride a rubber mount.Moving on, the lower back was the only thing bothering me so I went with the Signature Series seat. Problem solved.
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I've done a fair amount of one-up and two-up touring on my Heritage.
When I get a bike I take the time to get the the seat comfortable, usually adding a backrest, get the feet comfortable, usually adding highway pegs and the handlebars in the right position.
With those 3 things taken care of, that's more than half the battle for getting a bike set-up for comfortable touring.
That leaves possibly a windshield and some way to carry your stuff. Heritage comes with that, and plenty of choices for your Fatboy in those areas.
Two-up with the wife, we do use a bag on the luggage rack behind her backrest, in addition to the saddlebags.
Here's a pic of the bike ready to roll on a 9 day trip-
Here's a link to a Ride Report, lots of pics and thoughts on touring on a Softail-
https://www.hdforums.com/forum/road-...bike-tour.html
Coming late in life to Softails, and having put many hundreds of thousands of miles in riding Touring models, the comment about vibration is really more about the highway speed buzzing that a lot of rubber mount guys (myself included) think about when talk about touring on a Softail. I have ridden more than a few softails over the years, and there is definitely a buzziness at higher RPM's. More on some Softails than others.
It took me a couple of months before I did not notice it anymore on my own 2012 Heritage.
By the way, any bike can be set up to tour on. Here's a pic of my sporty in the middle of a 10 day, 3000 mile trip on mostly secondary roads. I was riding with a bunch of baggers, and I guarantee many of the bagger riders were not nearly as comfortable as I was on the Sporty at the end of each day.
(not because baggers can't be good touring bikes...they just did not have their basics set up right....feet, butt, handlebars)
When I get a bike I take the time to get the the seat comfortable, usually adding a backrest, get the feet comfortable, usually adding highway pegs and the handlebars in the right position.
With those 3 things taken care of, that's more than half the battle for getting a bike set-up for comfortable touring.
That leaves possibly a windshield and some way to carry your stuff. Heritage comes with that, and plenty of choices for your Fatboy in those areas.
Two-up with the wife, we do use a bag on the luggage rack behind her backrest, in addition to the saddlebags.
Here's a pic of the bike ready to roll on a 9 day trip-
Here's a link to a Ride Report, lots of pics and thoughts on touring on a Softail-
https://www.hdforums.com/forum/road-...bike-tour.html
Coming late in life to Softails, and having put many hundreds of thousands of miles in riding Touring models, the comment about vibration is really more about the highway speed buzzing that a lot of rubber mount guys (myself included) think about when talk about touring on a Softail. I have ridden more than a few softails over the years, and there is definitely a buzziness at higher RPM's. More on some Softails than others.
It took me a couple of months before I did not notice it anymore on my own 2012 Heritage.
By the way, any bike can be set up to tour on. Here's a pic of my sporty in the middle of a 10 day, 3000 mile trip on mostly secondary roads. I was riding with a bunch of baggers, and I guarantee many of the bagger riders were not nearly as comfortable as I was on the Sporty at the end of each day.
(not because baggers can't be good touring bikes...they just did not have their basics set up right....feet, butt, handlebars)
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