I hope this isn’t too long a post to get answers. My wife, with prompting from me, is now considering an upgrade from her metric ride to a 2016 Softail. It would be either the Deluxe or Heritage. It would have to be a ’16, to get the cruise control. Whatever she buys, it will be set up as a solo with nothing more than a bib on the rear fender, if that. A windshield is a must. At 5’4” tall, we would probably swap out or modify the saddle to be lower than stock, & also go with reduced reach handlebars.

Because of the different paint schemes, a lot of this decision will be based on which bike is more visually appealing to her. Knowing what she would have to have, I have some questions.

First, the Heritage. It’s appealing because at $1200 less it has saddlebags & a windshield already (say worth $1000-ish), although the windshield would probably have to be changed or cut. As mentioned Nancy is 5’4” tall; both seat & bars probably would be changed on either bike. But the Heritage has a higher ground clearance (4.7”) than the Deluxe (4.3”) & the lower the better. What gives the Deluxe the lower ground clearance? I did see the Deluxe has a little more rake than the Heritage (32.1° to 31°) – does that contribute to the reduced ground clearance? (I realize that a change in floorboards might be necessary if the Heritage ground clearance is reduced.)


Now, the Deluxe. Other than anything visual, its main appeal is lower ground clearance. We could change the saddle on either model to lower the rider 1”, & in the end the Deluxe would still have less of a reach to the ground. The smaller size of available saddlebags could be an issue. I see the exhaust system of the Heritage is designed so the rear cylinder pipe & muffler sit lower than on a Deluxe, & allow for larger bags to be fitted. Can the entire exhaust system from a Heritage be mounted to a Deluxe? Or, is there a quiet aftermarket solution? As a comparison, I have Screamin’ Eagle Street Cannons on my ’14 Limited with the stock, catted headpipe installed. That would be about the limit on noise; she won’t tolerate a loud bike.

One more thing & this really doesn’t have anything to do with her picking a bike, I’m just curious. Harley’s specs state the Deluxe has about 3 ft. lbs. more torque than the Heritage. Would this just be to the different exhaust designs?

Thanks....

 

I cant answer your questions, but I will say my Deluxe is the best bike I ever owned.
Very happy with it.

 

Deluxe would be the choice for her, IMHO. Very balanced scoot and seat height is low. As far as the exhaust goes, lots of options out there.

 

The Heritage is the obvious better value, it comes with everything already and costs less! An aftermarket windshield and a set of adjustable shocks will give you all you want, and you'll still be a head on the extras and the price.

 

I noticed the HD specifications show the Deluxe and Slim have lower ground clearance than the Heritage as well. I asked the Dealer how this is done, but no one knew the answer.

Does Harley just use shorter springs front and rear???

 

Let her test drive both and make the decision. The Slim would be another choice given her height.
Edit: According to the 2016 Slim specs, the Slim is 4.9" ground clearance with a seat height @ 23-28 depending on rider weight.

 

The Deluxe sits lower because of less travel in the rear suspension. If you look at the exhaust on the Deluxe and the Heritage, the passenger peg on the Deluxe is between the two pipes and is overall higher. Pretty sure if you disregard the bags, the pipes are interchangeable. I had a '13 Deluxe and liked it a lot. But if I were buying a new '16 I would go with the Heritage because of the bags, windshield and passenger back rest. I would want the WWW's on the Heritage - just because. Also, IMO, another plus for the Heritage is that you can get a BAL taillight for it.

 

The Slim has a narrower seat at the front from the factory as well which helps.

The difference in the standard (Heritage and regular Fat Boy) and the lower models (Deluxe, Slim, Fat Boy Lo) [not sure about the Breakout] is the rear shocks. If you look closely at the alignment of the swingarm with the frame, you'll see the difference in swingarm position. There are aftermarket solutions to lower (softail lowering kit etc). The shocks are in the P&A catalog as well if I am not mistaken.

The bars on the Deluxe give a slightly more upright position than the Slim, but not my much.

If you can find a leftover CVO Deluxe, they come with larger bags and the Heritage style exhaust and cruise control. I've though about changing the exhaust on the Deluxe for bag fitment reasons, the HD Deluxe bags are not only small but irregularly shaped.

 

They're shaped like that to carry out the wing theme of the bike. Notably tank emblem and pinstripe pattern on the tank itself. Not much differnt from the shape of the Road King Custom and Classic models. Personally I like the look and the three conchos are just right.

 

I wasn't talking about the outside.

But yeah, I like the look...