I guess you will have to be your own judge. You will have to hit up Harley's demo days when they are in your city. I never rode a Dyna (Fat Bob loaner from dealer) before owning my Softail and man, I prefer the "solid" feel of the Softail. Of course, I will defend my choice, haha! Was on my wife's rubber mounted Sportster yesterday, and my face shakes on it at idle, lol!

 

Rode a Fatbob a few times and would go with my Softail without a doubt if given the option between the 2...you should ride them both because some people have completely opposite feelings. While you're at it, try the touring bikes. The key is balancing performance, comfort, utility, and style (very hard to do without customization).

 

Especially for the long distances and mountain riding I'd go for the Softail. The dynas are really good for around town beating the crap out of them.

 

Some dumbshts on this forum will tell you a S/T is not a real Harley cause someone else came up with the swing ARM/hidden shock idea ... to that I say horsepoop.

Besides the shocks ... the S/T's use a 96b engine...counterbalanced and rigid mounted to frame vice dyna rubber mount and frame stabilizer. Frankly ... I'd rather have a noncounterbalanced engine and the Softail frame...I like the look of a rigid frame...but too rough a ride for an old man.

 

I used to own a Dyna and personally prefer the feel of the rubber mounted motor over my Fatboy Lo. There is a lot of vibration at idle but it smooths out when you get going. I plan on owning another Dyna someday.

 

i just did a 800 mile trip and i was more comfortable on my 90 softail than my 06 dyna!

 

I like the feel of the softail much better. I've owned both. Seems like you sit into the bike on a softail as opposed to on it with the Dyna. Also I think engine has a more solid feel to it. But thats just me, some times I wish I had my old hardtail back but thats only sometimes. Best thing to do is demo them both. Its you hard earned bucks, you should buy what feels right for you and after the test drives you'll sure to have it figured out. Good luck.

 

I think the looks of the hidden suspension on the softail is much cleaner.

 

agree 100%,,, still get a lot of buzz at high speeds....

the dynas are better for bumpy roads... mine sucks on back roads compared to all my friends dynas,, they smoke me in bumpy roads....

 

Am I the only one that really doesn't have trouble with bumpy roads?