Moving up this spring to either the FAT BOY or the ROAD KING (FLHR).

My problem is I can’t decide which bike, both look and ride great. I have sat on both bikes many times, looked them over from top to bottom for hours and lastly ridden both and still can’t decide. For the money I will be investing this will be my ride for a long time so I want to make the right choice.

Only $400.00 difference between the bikes. Yea, I know the RK comes with bags and a windshield but bags and a shield is not that important to me.

Don’t do a lot of two up riding but I will say the wife doesn’t really care for long rides on my 1200R and that is certainly understandable.

So my question is what are some of the Con’s of the FAT BOY if any?

Any information would be awesome.
Thanks

 

I picked up my '08 Fatty this past summer. I love it. Never rode a Road King, so I'm not much help there. The biggest con I have with my FB is that there is so many ways that you can make it your own and I have a problem trying to decide which way to go. I don't think you can go wrong with a Fatty. Have fun trying to decide .

 

I love my Fatty. Im not a fan of windshields, bags, engine guards etc.
I like the clean look and I love the way the solid wheels look.
Never ridden a RK so I cant compare, but it may be the way to go for two up touring.
MikeM

 

The RK will probably go farther more comfortably.
The Fatty has more style (opinion)
If you rode both and still can't decide maybe you should test ride a Dyna.

 

I just saw a '08 Road King Classic. Looked awesome. The bags on it were sweet. Windshield could come in useful, and it's got crash bars, aux lights etc etc. Lot of extras.

Fatty doesn't come with any of that. ....... I was stood there looking at my bike, which I gotta say I preferred, BUT, I'd whacked in a few thousand to get it the way I wanted, don't really have decent bags, no decent windshield and no aux lights. On the other hand the Road king was totally stock. But it still looked almost as good. Tough. Real tough question.

The way I would decide, is to go through all the stuff you wanna do to both bikes and look at the price difference. It'll probably be pretty big.

Don't get me wrong, I love my fatty, but hell, it cost big time to get it the way I want it.

 

There's a big difference in handling particlularly on mountain roads. If this is important to you the RK wins hands down imho.

 

I was in the exact same situation as you. Your decision is simply going to boil down to one aspect. Do you want a heavy800 lb bike that is superior at higher highway speeds (RK), or do you want a trimmed down 740lbversatile cruiser that is a little less superior at higher highway speeds (fatboy)?

I chose the Fatboy, absolutely NO regrets....

My good buddy has a 2007 street glide,better bike on the highway vs. my Fatboy, but shakes like a paint mixer at speeds below 20 mph !! I don't spend a lot of time on the highway, too boring.

Fatboys look great with, or without bags.....

ever see a Road King without the bags on ? *BARF*

 

Ichose the Fat Boy, becauseI didn't intend on taking long trips or do much 2 up riding. I haven't regretted my decision. I did add saddlebags so I could pick up stuff at a store if I wanted.
Tom

 

I own a number of Harley's, including a Road King and a Fatboy....

Of all the Harley's I've owned or ridden during the past 35 years, the FatBoy is no doubt my favorite. It's like the Swiss Army Knife of bikes.

The FatBoy handles great, looks great, and since I very seldom ride '2-up' it is more than comfortable enough for cross country runs.

Compared to my Road King my FatBoy feels much lighter, and mine, with SERT and dyno tune has plenty of power and still gets close to 50 MPG on the highway.

If I was going to do nothing but high speed 2-up turnpike riding I'd grab the Road King, but as it is I take the FatBoy 99% of the time.

Also, as shown below, with a quick disconnect windshield, passenger rest/luggage rack, and leather saddlebags, the FatBoy can go from stripped down cruising mode to tour model within a couple of minutes......

Needless to say, I'd recommend the FatBoy for your needs.

 

I bought my 2000 Fatboy last year. It came with removable bags and
RK style windshield.
Mine has a solo Corbin seat w/backrest anda luggage rack behind the seat. I found a
small generic trunk that attaches easily to the rack.
I rode my bike from Daytona to Maggie Valley in July (1700 miles round trip).
The bike rode very well. I have never ridden a RK, so I can not compare.
Since my bike has a solo seat, I can't tell you about riding two-up....
but I have seen many Fatboys with passengers.

Chuck