Just got back from a 2600 mile round trip to Nova Scotia with my 08 Heritage. Totally stock except for nightrider ieds. Just want to say I was pleasantly surprised at how well the bike handled the hills, turns and 80+ highway speeds. I was especially surprised at 6th gear which seemed to come to life after all these months. It was almost as it the bike adapted to the new conditions it was running under. There were several times when the bike was pulling so good I thought it was still in 5th only to find out I was already in 6.

I was also surprised that I was able to survive the long trip on the stock seat. Even a 100 mile ride around home had my butt and back hurting. It seemed that the more I rode the longer I could last between breaks. On the last leg of the trip I did 1200 miles in 24hrs and it was only during the last 75 miles that the aches really kicked in. I have to say using the tourpak as a backrest really made a huge difference. So much that I wouldn't take a trip w/o either the tourpak or a standalone backrest.

My best mpg was 50.3 and that was before reaching NH and ME. My worse mpg was 35.6 during a section of ME covering 200+ miles. Only reason I can think of is that it was here that I don't think I drove under 80 the whole time. Average during the whole trip was about 43-45mpg.

All in all, very happy with the way the bike ran.

 

+1

Rode my Heritage 1500 miles to the Black hills in June. Solid as a rock. Handled the tight switchbacks in the hills and pigtails on Iron Mountain Road and the Interstates just the same--flawless.

I really like the new touring bikes--Street Glide especially--but he Heritage serves up a pure motorcycle experience that's hard to beat.

 

I've been surprised by how comfortable the seat is compared to my 99. I was going to change it to a custom made one but it's so comfortable on long rides that it's going to stay.

 

Yea, I'm going to keep mine too. I could be wrong but I'm not convinced that any other seat is going to make that much difference. My buddy rides an Ultra which has a more touring style seat and he complains about his butt hurting on long rides. Although I did meet a triump rocket guy on the trip who had an airhawk that he swore by. May check it out.

 

I love my 08 heritage too. I put a set of D&D Fatcats, Arlen Ness Big Sucker, and a Cobra EFI 2000 Tuner on it and now I REALY love the bike!!!!