Hi Everybody

First off I would like to say HI since this is my first time here. I am riding 1994 Sportster for last 15 years and looking into dark side now

I am considering 2016 Softail Slim and would like to ask for any advice on this model and know what are weak spots for this model (if any). I did a bit of research and I am aware of low clearance, scratching floorboards, all this review standard issues, etc. but I know forum always know the "Secrets" so I would like to hear about it before I pull the trigger and know what to pay attention to.

Unfortunately I try to seal the deal in next 24-48hrs and 6 days before new models will be released (which seriously make me wonder but this seller is asking 11k) and I doubt I will be able to afford brand new bike with potentially M8 engine anyway. Serious concerns about timing here but I was told other person is set up on purchase on Wednesday (yeah I know I know) but it will be shame to loose this chance in case this is really happening.

Considering that I can afford potentially 20k bike anyway I am willing to buy 2016 for fair price but would like to make sure I am aware of anything that might be potential issue with this model.

Please be so kind and let me know or in case there is similar post please be so kind and direct me to it so I can learn whats up.

Big thanks in advance and looking forward to hear from you guys. Looks like after 15 years on sportster forum I might become frequent visitor here

 

I do not own a Slim, but I have spent some time riding a '13 Slim and a Slim S. I love the looks and the way the bike handles. Only thing that held me back was my ridding style and how I couldnt get over scraping the floorboards with every turn I took. I know with some more time on the bike I would learn how far I could take the bike in turns.

 

Thanks yes this is what I hear a lot. The other thing is limited options in accessories comparing to fatboy. It is a bit of concern. I feel FB might be a bit too much for me as I am fatty 5'10" and Sportster is kinda there. Cant stop thinking about this MIlwaukee 8 engine that will most likely come out in next few days so maybe I should wait a year or two and buy the bike with latest technology. I am really torn apart what to do and potentially real deadline of tomorrow night isnt helping neither.

 

Right now you can buy a new 2017 Slim for about 13K + TTL

IMO...that's a far better deal

The Slim is a great platform and will really make you smile. I changed out my floorboards for some 14" Banana Boards and I have to be really riding aggressive to scrape a floorboard now.

 

Love my Slim S. Admittedly I've only owned the Slim S for just over 3 weeks now. But I've been riding for over 30, and owning some 35+ different motorcycles over the years including some other Harleys.

I have a couple minor complaints; The suspension (rear) doesn't handle large bumps well. You definitely feel the hard hits. But I knew the Slim S wasn't the best/smoothest ride on bumps. The seat isn't bad for very short stints, but on long rides it really bothered my tailbone area. I moved around alot but it didn't stop my legs from going numb on one particularly long stint in the saddle. I've already ordered a Corbin.

The scraping boards was huge concern for me PRIOR to buying. I read all this negative stuff about how bad the board dragged. In 30+ years of riding I spent a fair number of that RoadRacing and scraping pegs meant you were quickly running out of lean angle and ready to drag hard-parts which means you are close to crashing.

I also live at the base of the Rocky Mountains, so just about all my "fun" rides includes twisty roads. If the Slim S couldn't be ridden there at even posted or just above posted speeds I'd opt for something other than the Slim S.

So during the Test Ride I asked that we take as many turns as we could. The dealership wasn't close enough to the mountains to take a mountain ride so we did a bunch of freeway cloverleafs. The salesman rode a Fatboy S while I rode the Slim S. I touched the floorboards down once (riding normally) during the Test Ride while I watched the Salesman touch down in just about every turn. We were doing at least the posted speed limit all the way to 15 mph over. I could easily touch the floor-boards down every time WHEN I intentionally tried to.

What I noticed. His riding style was much more "dirt-bike" style. He would ever so slightly push the bike down into the corner and his body stayed more upright increasing the lean angle of the bike. Therefore he was putting the boards down. For the majority of the corners if I sat straight upright, I would occasionally touch down. IF I rode it where I shifted my body weight slightly to the inside of the corner, I wouldn't scrape footboards.

I bought the bike and the first Saturday I owned it, I took a 150 mile ride. I went though some of the tighter canyon roads that I've blitzed with my Ducati. I was very pleased and amazed. With a bit of weight shifting and NOT full-on road-racer hang-off, I only scraped a floor board once. And that was going 10-15 mph over the posted speed limit. If I stayed to the speed limit I rarely touched down. I admit it does come down to knowing how to corner which we should all know how to do anyways. Now I do touch them down on occasion when making a hard left or right out of driveways. But very mild and not every time.

BTW, I'm no light-weight. Buck-Naked I'm 235.

Sorry for the long post, but I wanted to share my experience with scraping floor boards as that was a huge concern for me prior to buying but found that its really not a big issue at all with a bit of proper cornering technique...

 

Hey Bart. Big thanks that's exactly what I was looking for so long post is greatly appreciated as it ease my mind about this concern now. Now I don't worry as my riding style is rather conservative and I sometimes blast it on straight lane just to feel that I am alive.


I am really wondering about performance on this bike. My sporty is really snappy and fun bike to ride and while I am not considering Slim for speed reasons (rather for 200-300 miles comfort as I am hoping to experience less butt pain then on my sporty) I am still wondering how will that compare in fun department as I consider 103 nice displacement upgrade comparing to 1200cc. I actually expect this bike to be close to my current set up (my XL is 3.5 stage at the moment).


Some suggestions were mentioning that brand new bike might be better deal at 13k + all dealer fees. This is where I would like to hear more of the opinions as well as this is how I look at it but I could miss point somewhere. I will pay 11k for bike with 1500 miles that already has Stage I completed (V&H exhaust and SE breather) since this is private party purchase there are no other fees beside tax, I don't have to buy 2 way insurance (just liability as I feel comfortable to work on my own bike) and this is like new bike. If I go to stealer I let say I negotiate to 13 but with all the fees I will probably end up at 14.5-15k not to mention Stage I upgrade needed at some point (lets say 1k) here I am at 16k so 5000k in my pocket in exchange for someone have fun for 1500 miles I will consider reasonable deal. Since bike is 2016 it was said is still under warranty but with aftermarket exhaust I believe warranty is void anyway so I will consider this as moto without warranty.


Sure enough in few days I might cry if I will find out that 2017 Slim has M8 engine which I think will happen :/ (more doubts and confusion)


Are there any issues with this model (standard Slim) that I should be aware of?


Please send some more comments as this is already really helpful.

 

I bought a 2014 slim back in March and I gotta say the floorboard issue concerned me as well. Now this is my first bike so I dnt have a lot of riding experience, almost none compared to others here. But I will say that riding style has everything to do with it. One week after ownership I drug the right side on a tight turn exiting my neighborhood. Since then it's as if I know where the limit is and I ride n a way to not reach that limit again. I believe if u wanna drag them, u can with no problem. But it's not difficult to avoid either.
And I will also agree with the previous post about the rear suspension not being so forgiving. If u hit a decent size bump u may come off this seat slightly. Happens to me daily. I learned quickly about which lanes r the best to ride on my daily commute. Lol
As far as the saddle, it's not the best but it damn sure isn't the worst. I'm 6' and 175 lbs and i can ride about an hour n a half before my lower back n butt start to hurt. But I've never had an issue with my legs going numb, even being 6' tall.
All in all its a quick, nimble bike that's a total blast to ride. I'm glad I bought it n doubt I'll ever sell it. Good luck with ur decision and ride safe!

 

I'm about 5' 8", Closer to 250 than not. I have a 2016 Heritage (same base model, I think), and not only do I ride to work every day, but the wife I go out almost every weekend, doing anywhere from 500 to 1000 miles. Floorboard scraping, definitely. I had the shocks adjust 4 turns. (I asked for a full five, but they said "start with this, see how it goes", and I haven't been back to that shop for a while to get it adjusted more.) I did hit a road pothole (small) the other day, and definitely bottomed out. <Clunk!> Overall, I haven't had very many issues, and I've added additional frame weight, too, other than the wife.

Being a Heritage vs. a Slim, I have more base weight, anyway, I think. You'll probably be fine at 235 / 5' 10".

Edit: Prior poster said the seat is okay, but long rides? Yah, I also like the seat, but would definitely like to upgrade to one of the aftermarket ones that are a little more comfortable. The pillion seat...well, I've swapped out the passenger pegs twice now, parts on order to modify them yet again to get the wife comfortable. She's trying beads and gel pads, but still...for both of us...about 1.5 hours is the most w/o stopping. (Need gas anyway, lugging the two of us around!)

Good price, by the way. I bought mine about three months ago, $16K fro 300 miles, on a 2016 FLSTC. Also had the V&H Stage 1, SE filter. I guess the prior owner bought it, had upgrades done, then decided he didn't like it. 300 miles? Crazy. Your deal is great, though for the same thing at 1500 miles, 11K. Good luck!

 

You guys rock, this is better and better. Is there any way to improve rear suspension so this issue with bottoming out is corrected? It is no big deal really but I am just curious about 4-5 turns you mentioned so are we talking suspension adjustment here.


I wont lie 10,5" shocks on my sportster are not soft ride neither so as far as going over these bumps I guess I will get same "comfort" just for extra $


Really appreciate comments about pricing as it feels like really fair deal but you know how it goes, once you feel bike is right we get blindsided by emotions, excitement and everything. I could barely sleep tonight thinking about new rides. Long overdue I guess. Wifey agreed that if I am going to ride this one for another 15 years I deserve it so with such blessing I cannot complain.


Please guys keep it coming as this is really helpful for me and now looks like even price is reasonable so....

 

Yes, the rear shock(s?) have the ability to be adjusted to handle a heavier load. In the manual, depending on the weight you anticipate, there are adjustment levels.

I can't pull up my manual (that I have loaded into my phone), but I know the chart is in there.