thank you i did get the 2010 fatboy lo.....i like it very nice

 

Here is my suggestion for what it is worth:

1) Figure out what mods you are going to do on the bike first. Now look at what your total budget is.

2) Do you like the 200 tire? Go ride one with the 200 tire and one without there are always used Fatty's at dealer you can test ride.

3) If you like the tire then I would look 2008 or newer stay away from 2007 for the front tire offset there is a huge thread on that here. If you dont like tire look 2006 or newer.

4) Look for a bike as close to stock as possible most feel there mods are going to get back at least what they put in to them. Just look on ebay all of the heavily modded bikes say 40 grand invested yours for a fraction of the price starting at only 30 grand what a joke.

5) Enjoy and good model choice.

 

Prior to 02, the FI system is diff. So, if you get a pre 02, do not get FI.

I ride from 600 ft to 7500 ft elevation in 45 minutes and FI is the best way to go.

Agree with HpFatboy, the Timken bearing thing is not a real concern. Some have failed, but lots of other things also fail, its a Harley.... However, if you upgrade the cam, install Timkens as a precaution. It costs less than $20 for both of them.

The 03 sounds like a good deal if it is clean, is the color you want and has some extras.

fwiw - bought my 06 last year with lots of goodies rather than an 07 or later model. When I read about people complaining about the 5th gear noise and Harley fixing this problem in the 2010's... the 5 speed works just fine

Again, this is if you are on a budget. If your pockets are deeper, get a later model bike...

 

There's no reason to rule the EVO's out either. My boss's Fatboy has over 120K on it and runs great. He's never had to do anything major it.

 

i bought my '02 new in '02.
the reason i went with a new bike is that back then used bikes were selling for almost as much as a new bike. around here anyway....

in this economy i would find myself a nice clean used bike no doubt. it's a buyers market & there are deals out there.

 

I agree on buying an older used bike that has already been broken in and has a lot of extras for a much better price. It will be paid for and then you can spend the extra on whatever it is you want to do to it. I have never bought a brand new bike. I find it a waster of money with the number of garage queens available. My bikes are always paid for. No monthly note is nice.

 

Same in '05. It might have been $1,000 cheaper to get a used bike. To me, that wasn't worth it.

Now....If I were looking for a second bike, I'd be looking hard at an '02-'04.

 

I like the 200mm tire on the 07 and up (would be a 2k upgrade for an older model), also look at the 07+ engine size, if I am correct they went from the 88 to a 95/96.

 

The Marelli system works just fine. HD used it for 6 years. Sure, a few people had trouble with it, but I think that is largely from not finding someone who knows how to work on it. I have 76k trouble free miles on my MM system. I certainly wouldn't let a bike having it on it be a deal breaker.