For what it's worth, here's my 2 cents. I've owned them all. Currently ride a Heritage. My personal opinion ( stress the personal) is that if you are tall enough to sit flat footed on a touring bike, the Road King is the clear winner for styling and comfort. I loved mine, but my short inseam makes it difficult to plant both feet on the ground, which is a huge safety issue. So now I'm back on a Heritage with the lower seat height. Between a Heritage and a Fatboy, For me the Heritage wins. You can easily remove the studs if you don't like them. They are part of the nostalgic look of the bike, but there's no law against removing them. I've noticed that a large percentage of Fatboy purchasers change out the solid wheels and add saddle bags and sheild. The Heritage comes with all that stuff. I love the clean, mean look of a Fatboy, but I'm one that likes to bring stuff with me on a ride. Things like rain gear, an extra light jacket or sweatshirt, a few tools, extra pair of glasses and a road atlas. I am a saddle bag guy. I feel naked without them. So again, my "personal opinion" would be #1-Road King,#2-Heritage,#3 Fatboy. One more thing I want to mention about the touring bikes.This is again from personal experience. I had an 05 Electraglide Classic that road like a dream. I had an 09 Streetglide ( new frame design) that rode like a truck. Stock suspension with no mods and 40 pounds of air in the shocks, bottomed out constantly. I bought it new in july and traded it in on this Heritage in October.
The last thing to consider is that the RK will feel a lot stronger in the HP area. The 96B motors don't have the same pull as the regular rubber mounted motor does.You can feel the difference easily. Good luck with whatever choice you make. Sorry for the long post. Ride safe.

 

Thanks for the feedback, gang - I am 6'1" or better, and hover around 200 lbs. I can sit flatfooted on the Road King; if I go to a slightly lower profile seat it would be almost as easy a reach as the Fat Boy is. While I don't currently have a g/f, being in middle age the women I associate with tend to no longer be the lithe little things of our 20s.

Good to know about the HP issue between the two motors; I expected the FatBoy to have the edge due to the lighter weight, but I can see how the counterbalancer might eat up HP.

There is the issue of buying a Fatboy & then turning it into a different bike! Silliness . . . .

I think your ranking, plumpbiker, is about spot on. I didn't think about those studs coming off . . .

 

I love the ole school chrome spots on the Heritage, but U must be under 50..... My son hate them also......
Lots of RK owners and they love there ride... I am Heritage owner and I love mine.....
U've done the best thing in riding all and then go from there.... feel, ride, ergo. and what rings Ur bell is the one to get......

 

I'm in the same fix! I sold my Heritage a year ago to look for a RoadKing. I always buy used. I passed up a couple good deals because the timing wasn't right.
Now I'm thinking Fatboy or?????????
I picked up an XL1200C to feed my need until I figure it out.

 

I dont really like the dots on the Heritage but I live with them because everything else is great, big bags, windshield and spoked wheels. I never ran a winshield on my sportys but I dont take it off this one. I would spend the extra on a heritage over the fatty since they are very similar. Strip down the heritage and you have a fb with spokes.

 

I too (since about 1991) always wanted a FatBoy. Last summer I finally came to the conclusion, it's time. I went to the dealer and looked at the Streetglide because thats what all my friends said I wanted. I rented a SG, RK and a FB. I ended up getting the FatBoy I always wanted. I'm 45 years old and rode all last summer with my wife on my FB (with quick detach windshield, saddle bags, and backrest) and had NO problem (rode 830 miles 2nd weekend I owned it). I wouldn't change a thing. We are planning our trip to Sturgis 2010 from Oregon now. Get what you want. The FatBoy is a great bike, and very capable of touring.

 

After reading your initial thread, it sounds like you wanted a Fat Boy until you rode the Road King...just my opinion.

 

Check out my pitures. I have a Fat Boy and I can strip it down for around town, or set it up to tour. I did add the touring fender. I found the Fat Boy a clean canvas to achieve the bike I wanted. BTW, the 2007 and up are 6 speed.

 

I ride an 07 RK (standard), please forgive me for poking around the softail forum. I do a fair number of long rides and day rides. My wife often likes to go both the day rides and long rides. I've replaced the stock seat with a Mean City Modified seat ("pillow" style H-D), changed the bars and did a few other things. The bike is very comfortable and I can do 8-12 hours a day if need be.
I've ridden softails occasionally and find I don't like the vibration that comes off the driveline. I also don't think they have the torque and power given that the engine is pushing a counter balencing weight. I also like the 6 speeds of my transmission.
As for looks, you can easily pull off the windshield for around town, add a batwing faring for long trips or cold weather, remove the bags for around town (some folks even offer "skirts" for this) and generally set it up for how you want to ride.
Add to this cruise control and other options that are available (ABS) that are not for non-touring models.
Surprisingly, I can drop the bike lower in corners than softails! Hard to believe, but they drag parts long before I do. (I have raised the floorboards.) The RK is nimble and also very solid. The new ones are supposed to be even more solid and nimble!
Lastly, I sit "up" on the RK and that gives me a superior view of the road and surroundings. I often hear people criticize the sitting up attitude of the RK. After taking trips of many thousands of miles, I think it is the best way to ride. If you want to "slam" the bike there are adjustable suspensions and reduced height kits for shocks and springs. Which brings me to another point, the RK has lots of goodies made for it and you can do much to make it all the bike you ever wanted.

 

Thanks to everyone for their input. Like Rob, I ended up choosing the RK, and feel pretty good about the decision overall.