my buddy is selling his street glide to go back to a softail cant say I blame him =]

 

I currently have an 2009 Street Glide that I am trading for a 2010 Heritage. I enjoyed the Glide on long trips, very comfortable (once I change the stock seat) and I got 45 per gal. The radio was OK, but sound quality suffers on a motorcycle. If you want to improve sound, you're gonna have to dig deep in the pockets and pay. With the new frame I could lean it into turns, but it is not like my previous ride, a V-Rod. The power suffers with all the weight and it is noisy and shakes at idle. The shakes are somewhat mimimzed with the new 4 pt engine mount system but it is a touring bike. I purchased my wife a 2009 Heritage and have been taking it out for rides when she is on the road working as a flight attendant. I like how you sit down in the bike, not on top like the Glide. It is smooth with the balanced motor and has more get up and go off the line due to less weight. I can lean more but since my wife lowered her ride, front and back, I scrap the floorboards. I always thought the balanced motor belonged in the touring bike and decided to make my Heritage a tale of two bikes. I will make the bags detachable, add dual exhaust, have a solo seat, add nacelle to make a more retro style bike. Then for touring, I will have the bags and detachable windshield to put on. I guess it comes down to what style you like. I have had a sportster, dyna, v-rod, road king, street glide, now I want to try the softail. Keep you posted on my next adventure.

 

i have the fatboy lo nice all arourd bike plenty of power for me

 

For the riders constantly going long I can see the benefits of an Ultra, I do a variety some long, some just around town or 60 or so miles up the road. I love my softail and on the occasion my wife rides it is plenty comfortable for us. I'm sure having the 110SE does help me feel the way I do. I hate getting off the damned thing!

 

I had a Road King. There are pictures of it in my profile. The ride on a Touring bike is very different. They are noticeably more comfortable than a softail. I just wanted something different and did not care about comfort so I traded it in for the Train. I do feel a little more cramped on the Train also but who cares. The Train better suits my personality and I don't do long trips.

 

You can always do what I did. Have both! You sit in a softail, you sit on a touring bike. I have to say, I like whichever I am on and won't get rid of either.

 

I have just got home from a trip to South Dakota and rented an ultra classic from Black Hills HD there. My wife and I rode for 1300 miles on the ultra and like some have mentioned before its an excellent ride on the hyw. smooth and easy to handle, a bit low on power but I think all the bikes should be at least 103s. In traffic and in town it handles like a tank..top heavy and hard to manuver at slow speeds and like mentioned before at idle it shakes and is hot as mentioned. Several times it went into the single cylinder mode and it was only in the high 70s so the outside air wasnt that hot. I have a Fatboy with Boss bags and Mustang seat and other than my wife comfort in lounge chair on the back I really liked the ride and handling of the Fatboy better and I would guess the Heritage would be even better. The bad thing about the solid mount balanced motors are at hyw speeds you do feel more vibration in your feet and seat of the pants than the ultra. I like the looks of the CVO softail and the ability to strip it down for a crusier or put everything back on if going on a trip....and especially the 110 engine. But I will be looking for a fairing for my Fatboy for long trips I didnt realize how much wind it would block off. So for me it will be a softail with removal fairing and saddle bags...

 

There isn't one tool that's best for every job. If you do a lot of interstate, take a lot of long tours, or have to commute hours to work every day, the bagger is probably better. I don't think I could have a bagger as my only bike though. Dragging around all that extra bulk for a short ride around town? Always having the fairing and windshield? -- I would hate that in the Summer.

 

Before I say anything, let me apologize to any bagger owners. I AM NOT HATING HERE! We all have personal preferences and additionally as one responder stated, there is no ONE TOOL FOR THE JOB. I am just trying to give an honest response.

The majority of my miles are to work and back (34 miles each way). My longest trips touring have only been about two days with my wife as passenger. I think if she and I did more than that on a more regular basis then I would really consider going to a RG. Our trips together usually consist of day trips on the weekend so the Bones is plenty of bike for that. I would totally do week-long (and longer if I could) trips solo on my Bones! Then again I consider myself more of a purists when it comes to riding (I know some will burn me for that statement but WHATEVER). By this I mean that I like to keep my scoot as basic as possible and I have developed a tendency to deal with many different types or riding conditions which has been greatly helped by the years that I spent working in all manner of extremes (intense heat and sub-zero temps). I prefer to stuff an extra layer of clothes and my gore-tex rain suit in my saddle bag which I can shed back off when I no longer need them rather than having a big heavy fairing and lowers which I CAN'T shed off my bike during a trip if the conditions were suited for it.

 

A motorcycle that shakes at idle and is hot.....Who would have ever thought?!?!?! I guess us EVO guys just dont understand...