Fatboy Special
Really?
Outstanding HDF Member
Joined: Dec 2012
Posts: 2,699
Likes: 520
From: Palm Coast, Florida
Tourer
Joined: Aug 2015
Posts: 352
Likes: 29
From: Missoula, MT
Softails have slightly less power due to the balance shafts and slightly heavier. I think they ride way better than dynas and sportsters. Way easier to pick up good used parts for softail then sportsters. The only sportsters I've ever bought have been non running bikes that I was gonna flip.
Weird cause even before my cam install my 04 train would go 90 every morning on the way to work. 100 passing on a 2 lane highway. Must have a highly modded softail. Guess I should not have put cams in it. I don't scrape when my buddies street bob does. Guess I own a unicorn.
Softails in general don't have lean angle and not meant to go over 70 unless a lot of work has been done to it (engine and suspension).
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Tourer
Joined: Dec 2009
Posts: 358
Likes: 6
From: Hometown Small Town Georgia
Softails have slightly less power due to the balance shafts and slightly heavier. I think they ride way better than dynas and sportsters. Way easier to pick up good used parts for softail then sportsters. The only sportsters I've ever bought have been non running bikes that I was gonna flip.
Weird cause even before my cam install my 04 train would go 90 every morning on the way to work. 100 passing on a 2 lane highway. Must have a highly modded softail. Guess I should not have put cams in it. I don't scrape when my buddies street bob does. Guess I own a unicorn.
Weird cause even before my cam install my 04 train would go 90 every morning on the way to work. 100 passing on a 2 lane highway. Must have a highly modded softail. Guess I should not have put cams in it. I don't scrape when my buddies street bob does. Guess I own a unicorn.
Road Captain
Joined: Jul 2010
Posts: 536
Likes: 36
Lol!
Here on the So Cal freeways, we often see 80-90 MPH in the #1 lane and Diamond lane. Keep up or Move over. I choose to keep up with my Softail, K&N intake V&H exhaust, and tuned.
Club Member
Joined: Aug 2008
Posts: 22,857
Likes: 17,908
From: Lafayette, Louisiana
I've done 100 on my Evo Heritage Softail Classic without a problem, cruising down the interstate. And I do mean Classic. It's only eighty cubic inches.
Next In Line is notoriously anti Softail, but at least he is consistent.
Regarding the counter balance shafts, they do not affect output. The engine might not spin up at XXXXXX rpm as fast, but the output at any given rpm will be very close to the output of a comparable non balanced twin cam engine with the same exhausts, intake, etc.
Early model Dynas felt tall and top heavy to me. I think the current Dynas are vastly improved in that aspect. Still, a Softail carries its weight low and is so well balanced that some of us don't put a foot down at red lights.
Next In Line is notoriously anti Softail, but at least he is consistent.
Regarding the counter balance shafts, they do not affect output. The engine might not spin up at XXXXXX rpm as fast, but the output at any given rpm will be very close to the output of a comparable non balanced twin cam engine with the same exhausts, intake, etc.
Early model Dynas felt tall and top heavy to me. I think the current Dynas are vastly improved in that aspect. Still, a Softail carries its weight low and is so well balanced that some of us don't put a foot down at red lights.
Tourer
Joined: Nov 2012
Posts: 392
Likes: 42
From: East Texas
I must have one of those unicorns .... wander who broke that dang horn off probably cost extra might be my next mod .....
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Stellar HDF Member
Joined: May 2014
Posts: 2,486
Likes: 695
From: Huntington Beach, CA
I had a Sportster (2014 1200T) and really liked it. But the Sportster was less stable for high speed freeway driving than I was looking for. You could do it, but it clearly was not the bike's forte. So I started looking for a bigger bike.
So I looked at Dynas and Softails. The Dyna Superlow and Dyna Switchback made the finals, along with the Fat Boy. I do about zero two-up riding so I had no interest in the big touring bikes like the Ultras or Road Kings.
The test ride is what settled me on the Fat Boy. The Fat Boy handles superbly at low speeds and in turns, such as freeway exits. The low center of gravity make this big bike nonetheless "handier" than my Sportster was. Never expected that.
On highways at 80+MPH the Fat Boy handles superbly. But it is also great for around town riding, of which I do a fair amount.
So I looked at Dynas and Softails. The Dyna Superlow and Dyna Switchback made the finals, along with the Fat Boy. I do about zero two-up riding so I had no interest in the big touring bikes like the Ultras or Road Kings.
The test ride is what settled me on the Fat Boy. The Fat Boy handles superbly at low speeds and in turns, such as freeway exits. The low center of gravity make this big bike nonetheless "handier" than my Sportster was. Never expected that.
On highways at 80+MPH the Fat Boy handles superbly. But it is also great for around town riding, of which I do a fair amount.
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