I know this will be a very open ended question but my wife and I need some help. My wife has really wanted to upgrade to a Indian scout. The reason for the indian was because when she sat on some Harleys with her short legs she didn't like the fact her leg would rub the primary. I have been doing a lot of internet searching and am leary about the Indian brand for many reasons that really don't apply to my question.


I know a little about the softail line but not a whole lot. She sat on a 18 Fat Boy and really liked it. I think the loss of weight and wider tire made it feel a lot lighter to her, so we are in the process of trying to narrow down a bike for her. We are not ruleing out the Slim line. She doesn't like the break out, Sportster are out. She wants the weight of a bike to make her more comfortable on longer rides, she wants a larger motor cuz she doesn't want the bike winding out trying to keep up with me. She currently rides a V-Star 650 so pretty much any bike she gets will be better then what she has.


She picks the bike she wants but there are some things I would like, I would like drive by wire, I would like cruse control, she and I would like a larger front tire (width wise). So I guess without making this anymore complicated then I already have what is the oldest year I (we) should be looking at, Is there really a difference in the different models of softails? and is there a big difference from the Dyna line?. I really like the new ones and if that is the way we have to go we will but on a single income it is hard to swallow that price tag.


The bike will more then likely always have saddle bags on it, and a wind shield.


Any help will be greatly appreciated and thank you for reading.

 

Funny thing is the '18 FatBoy DOES have the wide primary, though it doesn't bother me in the least. Look at an '18 Softail for her. They are relatively light and easy to maneuver and sit low. Cruise control can be added to the others and comes stock on the Heritage.

I would be concerned about Indian as a company, and I prefer HD anyway. If she can do without the cruise (or opt for it) why not a Deluxe for example, among several others?

 

P.S.: Oh dab, I just reread your post. Please read up on the new Softail line. The engines are completely new (107 & 114) being dual counterbalanced. The entire frame is new with a monoshock, being the best frame HD currently manufactures. And there's more!!

 

If you are going to put bags on it anyway then I would go with the 18 heritage with the 114 in it. the bike from the factory would be great for her. It hits on all your points

 

My wife rides a 17 slim s, she is a small gal and had 3 bikes before it. She traded a 1200t for the slim s. She really loves her slim s... We did go and ride 5 of the 2018 softails and her pick was the heritage, she did say it is just a little harder to back up but not a deal breaker... the 107 in my opinion is plenty of motor and she can save a little money. Long story short... have her ride the new heritage

 

Oh she defiantly is going to ride a lot of bikes before we buy buy unfortunately this time of the year in lower michigan is limited seat time. We are not in a hurry so going to do a lot of Internet looking for now. Thank you all for your input. 6 months ago she never thought she would want a bigger bike. Now that is all she wants. Reason she wants a larger front tire is her first bike was a 1100 shadow with a narrow front tire and she never likes how it worked her around, she never felt in control of that bike so that is why we went with the vstar.

 

I noticed that the primary on the new softail line hit me in the leg also,Fatboy the most.
The primary on the softails was raised slightly on an angle to get more ground clearance. I have a 27" inseam and I notice these things as my legs are very much straight down.
I will say that I added a RC airstrike air cleaner to my 2015 Heritage and it struck me in the leg, I wanted to return it but could not. After a couple of rides I did not even notice it and it looks great. It's pretty amazing how your body can make adjustments without really thinking about it.


One more note, If your wife is not in a hurry then check out the new sports glide when they start to show up in the showrooms, if she has been riding the 1100 then the M8 107 will be a plenty of power.

 

Maybe the new Sport Glide or whatever it's called it has cruise control too I think !

 

I'm not up on the 2018's but if she'd go for a used bike a slim S has the 110 motor an cruise standard....the 130 front tire too. I'm not crazy about those skinny front tires myself, the tend to follow payment groves an I've hit the rim on sharp driveway lips. I sat on a few of the 2018's an it seems like the primary hit my leg when I put my feet down. I read they raised it to allow more ground clearance. The mono shock rear an extra ground clearance would be nice but the seat height over a twin cam slim is almost 2" higher.

 

The new Sport Glide and Heritage both come with bags, shield, and cruise. If she likes the new Fat Boy she'd have to add all that. If you go used I like the 96" Twin Cams. Good performance without too much heat. 2009 is a good year to begin with. Fat Boy Low, Deluxe, Heritage, or Dyna Fat Bob (Fat tires) are all good for her needs imo. May need to add bas and shield to any besides Heritage. None have cruise....possibly no TBW...may not have abs either...that was more standard with 103" motor years....but I don't like how hot they run in general.