Wife is considering moveing up from her 883 to a softail std, we do alot of traveling with her 883 but its time to move up. I think she should be more comfortable with the new bike but she asked me to post to see what all of you have to say. all she wants is a windshield and a sissy bar for her T bag.
thanks, BOB

 

I ride a Standard and it does just fine for touring. Unless she's vertically challenged, it would be a good ride for her.

 

I've ridden my 01 across most of canada, parts of the lower US and up to the Arctic Circle. I have no plans at this point to sell it. So my answer is yes its a good bike for traveling. There are better bikes set up for touring but if 10% of your riding is long hauling then the Standard is a good deal. I would not hesitate to ride my bike anywhere.

Good luck with your choice.

 

The only consideration imo would be whether she might want to change the seat for something a little more "mile crunching"

Maybe one of the Mustangs or Corbins would be better of for touring.

The bike itself would be perfect.

 

thanks for the input. we orderd a 07 softtail std last nite. only thing is we had them add babby apes and a windshield.

BOB

 

I was going to get the Standard for the same reasons, but got a Custom instead. It has a better seat and the mini apes already installed. As the wife also likes to ride with me at times, the Customs seat seemed to be much better suited for two up riding. especially if the passenger has a bad back. Its also quite comfortable if your alone.
That and I like the overall look/style of the bike better, but that's a personal opinion, and you know what they say about those don't you?

Opinions are like A$$^oles, everyone has one, and they all stink.

Tell her good luck with it, she's going to LOVE the bigger engine, and the overall ride qualities, especially for distance riding. The new 6 speed tranny along with the exrta cubes are real nice on the big roads where you can clip along at 65 or better. If you don't go over 55 or so I would advise her to ignore that 6th gear.
First time I accidentally tried to roll on the power hard from about 50 in 6th I thought the engine was going to tear itself apart or jump out of the frame. Scared the crap out of me till I realized I had developed a momentary case of the stupids leaving it in 6th so long and down shifted to 4th. It doesn't like to have the throttle twisted hard in higher gears if the rpm's are too low, and it will let you know it FAST. But drop a gear or two to get the rpm's up over 1500/2000 and you better hang on tight, cause it will scoot along really nicely. The useable power band is really wide on the new 96in engine, but not nearly wide enough for that kind of nonsense.

 

Enjoy the FXST!

 

The thing I'd want to change to go long distance on my '06 Standard is the seat...I swapped my original stock seat out for a badlander which looks great but after about an hour it shows my *** no mercy...if I found a butt-friendly "pillow top" type seat and installed some 3" forward controls (I'm 6'3")...I'd ride my Standard around the world!

 

FXSTI Guy, I know what you mean about the seat. I put the Badlander on before I took it home in 01. I can ride a 12 hr day no problem but after the 10th hr the old butt is asking for forgiveness. I don't ussually do those types of days so swapping it out is not a priority. As for the fowards being extended, I agree. I'm only 5 11" and find them way to close, not sure how you giants handle it. I went the cheap route and bought the floor boards with extentions for more leg movement. Not to crazy about them so I may install the Arlen Ness 3" extentions.

 

FXSTIGuy & Jackhammer,
Wanting "extended" forward controls sounds funny to me. When I got my FXSTC I was worried that the controls would be too far forward for me to reach comfortably as I'm only about 5' 7"+ a little. Partially because I had never ridden "any" bike with them before.
For over 30 years my riding has always been on mid control bikes. But I was always looking to stretch my legs out because they cramped up on them in a very short time. As it turns out the stock controls have proven to be very comfortable and easy to use.
Where its even better is the nice big pillow type seat that the factory puts on stock 07 Customs. It feels like my recliner at home and I think you guys should try stopping at a dealer to check out. I'll bet its just what you guys are looking for in a soft seat.
Not a clue how much it would cost to change to one, but it might be worth a look just to see if it could help.