When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.
Why? With your experience level I'd recommend against carrying passengers until you are able to better handle it. Take off the passenger seat and forget about the pegs for a while. If they aren't there you won't be tempted, or able, to carry a passenger.
Learn to ride for yourself before you put a passenger into the mix.
Have fun & stay safe.
This is not for me as the driver, as with my permit, I'm not allowed to have passengers. However, I'm putting them on in case *I* need to ride passenger; if my boyfriend's bike breaks down while we're out on the road, he can use my bike to get us back to wherever we need to be, and I can sit on the back.
I have no interest in putting a passenger on the back of my bike until I'm a much, much, much more experienced rider.
Rode em both. Slim outperforms the BO in every conceivable way! Unless you are looking for a bike to park and look at how cool it looks, (which I still think the Slim is the cooler looking bike) buy the Slim.
Never rode a BO, but other than its sharp looks, I've heard very little good about it's handling, and I wasn't comfortable even sitting on it. The Slim, though, handled nicely and felt like my Heritage's little brother!
"I will be replacing the stock seat as we plan on doing road trips once I get my license (still have my learner's permit) and putting rear passenger pegs and a better passenger pillion on it (it has the small, 6" one that will probably give you 'roids). I want to put saddlebags on it but that means relocating the rear lights and side license plate, which I DON'T want to do because that just ruins the vintage look of the bike."
Sorry, but putting on the rear passenger pegs is already going to require you to relocate the taillights and license plate. As far as changing the seat, I first tried the HD Sundowner, super comfortable seat for both rider and passenger but in my opinion looked a little big for the bike (still have it BTW, like new make offer if interested), so I went back to the original and added the passenger pillion, looked great and was fine for me, but brutal for the wife. So I then tried the Mustang (purchased from a member on the marketplace), and added the matching pillion, and I'll be sticking with this setup. Not quite as good looking as the stock or as comfortable as the Sundowner, but far more comfortable than the stock and considerably slimmer than the Sundowner, a really good compromise.
...putting on the rear passenger pegs is already going to require you to relocate the taillights and license plate...
? My wife's Slim is many miles from here but I don't remember anything about the plate and lights that would interfere with passenger pegs. What's the issue?
Sorry, but putting on the rear passenger pegs is already going to require you to relocate the taillights and license plate. As far as changing the seat, I first tried the HD Sundowner, super comfortable seat for both rider and passenger but in my opinion looked a little big for the bike (still have it BTW, like new make offer if interested), so I went back to the original and added the passenger pillion, looked great and was fine for me, but brutal for the wife. So I then tried the Mustang (purchased from a member on the marketplace), and added the matching pillion, and I'll be sticking with this setup. Not quite as good looking as the stock or as comfortable as the Sundowner, but far more comfortable than the stock and considerably slimmer than the Sundowner, a really good compromise.
Well, that's a bummer, but if I have to move them for saddlebags then I might as well just get it over with and suck it up, though the HD catalogs don't mention anything about moving lights for passenger pegs..
The HD Sundowners are gorgeous but I think I'm going to go with a Mustang set up (Vintage Touring driver seat and matching passenger pillion) as I like the small look as well--though the Vintage Touring seats are pretty wide. I honestly don't mind the stock seat but right now I'm just cruising around for maybe an hour every day so it isn't a huge deal. Which Mustang seat do you have? I believe I would need to get a leather strap for those seats, they're required in MA for the passenger and the HDs come with them. I'm assuming your Sundowner is one piece?
"Sorry, but putting on the rear passenger pegs is already going to require you to relocate the taillights and license plate.
Huh... ? You don't need to move anything to fit passenger pegs. The Slim is a softail, the pegs fit normally on the swing arm hinge. The hole is already there for the peg. (See pic below). When I ride 2-up I just fit the pillion seat and off we go.
Never rode a BO, but other than its sharp looks, I've heard very little good about it's handling, and I wasn't comfortable even sitting on it. The Slim, though, handled nicely and felt like my Heritage's little brother!
The bad comments on the Breakout's handling are from people who are used to thin rear tire bikes going to the fat 240 and not being able to adapt their riding styles or habits. Yes, it's a bit different and a bit intimidating at first, especially coming from, say, a Low Rider & Sporty like I did. It's that first "holy sh#t" in the first tight turn that causes people to say that, but after 7K miles on mine, I wouldn't trade it for any other HD on the market (maybe a CVO BO). Once you really adapt your style to the bike, it's a gas, and cuts the turns as well as any other HD - maybe better, because the BO encourages you to lay it over 'till the pipes touch (that factory lean angle is bullsh*t, provided you change the pegs)
To me, the Slim looks like the same old stale HD regurgitated style while the Breakout looks like a new, clean design, devoid of that "your Father's bike" look.
The bad comments on the Breakout's handling are from people who are used to thin rear tire bikes going to the fat 240 and not being able to adapt their riding styles or habits. Yes, it's a bit different and a bit intimidating at first, especially coming from, say, a Low Rider & Sporty like I did. It's that first "holy sh#t" in the first tight turn that causes people to say that, but after 7K miles on mine, I wouldn't trade it for any other HD on the market (maybe a CVO BO). Once you really adapt your style to the bike, it's a gas, and cuts the turns as well as any other HD - maybe better, because the BO encourages you to lay it over 'till the pipes touch (that factory lean angle is bullsh*t, provided you change the pegs) To me, the Slim looks like the same old stale HD regurgitated style while the Breakout looks like a new, clean design, devoid of that "your Father's bike" look.
I have ridin both, and Slim handles better ! However the BO is a great ride and handles amazing good for its length, rake and rear 240! Would not go wrong with either IMO .
I have ridin both, and Slim handles better ! However the BO is a great ride and handles amazing good for its length, rake and rear 240! Would not go wrong with either IMO .
Since both seem to sell well, we're going to find about as many advocates for one as the other - as the poll suggests. And when it comes right down to it, both are Harleys. How can you go wrong?
Slideshow: From the troubled AMF years to modern misfires, these bikes earned reputations for reliability issues, questionable engineering, or disappointing performance.
Crazy Bunderbike Build Looks Amazing, But Is It Impossible to Ride?
Slideshow: The Swiss custom shop has taken a Harley Softail and stretched it into something so long and low that it looks closer to a rolling sculpture than a conventional motorcycle.
Engraved Rebellion: Inside Bundnerbike's Glam Rock II
Slideshow: A standard cruiser becomes an intricate metal canvas in the hands of a Swiss custom house known for pushing Harley-Davidson platforms far beyond their factory brief.
Slideshow: Harley-Davidson's challenges aren't abstract; they show up in dropping shipments, shrinking dealer traffic, and strategic decisions that aren't yet translating into growth.