I have been riding for 45 years. Along with owning a number of metric bikes I have owned a lot of different Harleys. First new Harley was a black 1990 Heritage Softail that my wife and I took on many long trips. With the saddlebags and a huge T-Bag we had lots of room and simply did laundry every five days on the road. Since the Heritage we have had 3 Road Kings and a dozen Ultras. A couple of years ago I realized things like gravel parking lots and maneuvering the heavy Ultra in tight spaces was becoming difficult for me especially when having a passenger on board. I can reach the ground just fine but not with much leg bend. I decided that maybe it was time for a trike. I bought a 2015 Tri-glide and rode it for 15,000 miles. Did my favorite roads like the Blue Ridge a few times and became quite proficient riding the trike. The only downside to the trike was I missed the feeling of leaning into curves and the feeling of two wheels. A few months ago I decided to look again at two wheels. I traded the Tri-glide in on a new Black Quartz Heritage Softail. It is a lighter bike sitting low to the ground and just feels right. I have ordered it with a lot of goodies installed prior to delivery. They are installing the chrome front end, chrome handlebar controls, SE Canon exhaust, luggage rack, crash bar on the front with bullet chrome fog lamps and numerous other goodies. It may very well be my last two wheeler so I want it dressed up a little. I am as excited as a kid at Christmas waiting for delivery. Two questions. What other toys should I install and has anybody else gone full circle with their bike choice over the years?

 

On one of my group rides one of the regulars who used to ride an Ultra showed up on a Heritage.
Bob is not an old guy, at least by my standards and is around 60 years young.

I ask Bob what happened to his Ultra and he stated about month earlier him and his Wife were down in Arkansas when he pulled into a parking lot that had a slight angle to it.
When he put his foot down there was some gravel on the concrete and his foot simply slid out from under him and he laid the bike over.

He said as soon as he saw his Wife laying on the ground he decided that the Ultra just had to go.
That was about 2 years ago and Bob is still riding his Heritage however like me he has upgraded the shocks, added a tour pak, and a fairing.

So Brother you are not alone in your decision.
I don't see me ever getting rid of my Heritage; I just trust myself on it and really enjoy how it rides and handles.

Welcome to the Heritage "rider's group" once again.

 

Counting Mini Bikes, I have been riding a bit longer than you :-)

I VERY STRONGLY agree with you: "maneuvering the heavy Ultra in tight spaces" etc.

I think Harleys have been called "Hogs" for many years due to very heavy weight, and that was long before those huge touring bikes were invented.

My Softail weighs 300# plus more than the last Italian sport bike in my avatar, but the weight is down low, and I like cruising these days. Took me a while but I finally realized I don't need a race bike on the street, and the Softail is a great street bike, if a bit heavy. At least Softail weight is down low compared with the larger Harleys.

I like the mods you describe.

Tuner: I have V&H FP3, easy to tune your bike using a smart phone. These bikes come very lean from the factory. Since the dealer is adding the mufflers, they might tune your ECM but anything they are allowed to do might be limited. For small mods like an easy breathing air filter and muffler it is nice to have the bike run as well as possible. This is all you need, IMHO the wear and tear (bike and tires) of a Dyno tune where they run your bike WFO over and over is overkill, unless you have many engine mods.

Good luck and stay on top of the new bike!

Steve

 

I love my Heritage. Last summer I worked at my local dealer and had the opportunity to ride every make HD has. I was always curious about the Touring models and how they rode but have never had the extra coin to pull the trigger. Being an employee I was able to get as few or as many miles in the saddle of my bike of choice with in reason. It never failed, at the end of the day when I would throw my leg across my Heritage, I knew I had made the right decision for me. The only thing I can recommend adding to your list of goodies are LED lighting and maybe some tunes. Going from a Dresser to a Softail you may find yourself missing the tunes and possibly the Navigation. I installed the LED lights from Custom Dynamics and what a difference. They carry a lifetime warranty on their lighting compared to the 1 year you get from HD. Best money spent IMHO for safety and being able to see ahead. Congratulations on the new bike.

 

All I can says that I REALLY love my Heritage. It fits me very well, and gets me where I want to go exactly how I want to get there!

 

I too love my Heritage. She's as smooth as butter.

 

I have to agree about the weight thing. The dressers have gotten heavier and heavier over the years. That is one of the reasons I prefer the Softails. Also, I find all the electronic stuff that drives up the price on the dressers to be a distraction.

 

Uppercase, I could have written your post. I'm 71 y/o and have been riding bikes of one kind or the other for many, many years. Mostly Japanese bikes when I was younger. Hondas and Kawasakis. (Never had a problem with any of them.) Since then had a FLSTC, Dyna, a couple Street Glides. In October I bought a new 2017 FLSTC and am as happy as a young man with his first bike. I love it and most importantly my wife loves it. We're both as comfortable as we were on the Street Glide, maybe more. I'm much more comfortable with the handling too. On top of all this it is one beautiful bike! Looking forward to spring to put some miles on it. Enjoy your new bike!

 

Pull out the 2017 parts and accessories catalog and have at it. Congrats on Christmas coming early.

 

I've had my Heritage for about two years now and love it more every time I ride it. Mine has been lowered 2 inches and fits me so well. I am tall but you sit "in" the Heritage not on it. I have a very large VTX1800 for when I ride with my wife because we need the space, she is the same size as me. Enjoy your new ride and keep adding what feels good.