Bouske,

I looked at both the Fat Boy and the Heritage. Indeed the Heritage comes with all the goodies, it's very appealing, and seems comfortable for long two-up trips, my wife liked it alot, but I said it's not a FAT BOY! and that's what I wanted. IMHO the Fat Boy is the best lookingbike of all the softail lineup, and the '07 model is hot. 80 mph in my stock FB are just a twist away, and power is smooth, 6th gear is sweet. I just added the windshield, FB bags, sissy bar, rack and the bike still looks like Fat Boy. The big plus in the FB is the disc wheels with the bullet holes and the 200 rear tire, which the Heritage does not have. I have to say I do most of my riding solo (90%) mostly local trips, and commute to work daily,so this bike is perfect for me. The FB handles two-uptrips with no problem as well, my daughter and wife love it, quite comfortable in the back they say. I also had learned not to lean the bike too aggressively since it will scrape the road, did it once, never again. This will hapen only if you approach a turn too fast.

YOU look like a FB is in your future, go for it! I DID and love it.

 

The Heritage is a great bike, but if you like the looks of the FatBoy it can be set up to tour just as well as a Heritage.

My Fatboy has the HD detachable windshield, leather saddlebags, and sissy bar/luggage rack.

It takes all of a minute or so to add or remove any of these components.

I love the 'stripped down look' of the Fatboy,but if I am going to be on the road for a few days it only takes a couple minutes to set it up for 'tour mode'..

 

Alot depends on Mama being happy on the back of the Scoot. When you are on the Softails, the comfort level is not the same as the touring models. My wife is 145 lbs, anbd HATED to ride on the fatboy. I traded for the touring bike, and I have my best friend as my passenger (till she started riding her own Deluxe) What a difference it made to have her happy. She used to get sore after 50 miles, and wanted off the bike. With the Touring model, she has done 500 miles with no complaints whatsoever.

 

You are absolutely right Trailfndr, getting a bike will only be an enjoyable experience as long as you don't have to hear the wife complaining every trip you take. However, I have looked at the Touring models (in particular the RK Custom),but have set my eyes on the Softail line. I think I'll take a chance, can always go back and trade for a RKC later if necessary.

OldFenderGuy, thanks for the pictures, they're very useful to see how versatile the FB can be depending on what your plan is. How much does the package (HD detachable windshield, leather saddlebags, and sissy bar/luggage rack) cost you?

 

For longer rides, you may want some storage ... saddlebags. If you don't want to mess with the decision of which bags, go with the heritage.. It also includes the sissybar, windsheild and a better stock seat for longer miles than the fatboy.. as well as full FL fenders like the Deluxe.. and the lightbar with passing lamps and signals NOT mounted on the bars. You can still strip down a heritage to make it look super-cool if you want too.
The differences on the fatboy:
Naked fenders without fender lights and a trimmed down front fender
the stock fatboy bars[:'(], which I immediately changed
the bullets on the struts instead of the rear lightbar of the heritage or deluxe,
no lightbar, just a headlight..
solid wheels with now a fat rear tire.. read up on that.. they offset the wheels to accomodate the fat rear tire.
no sissybar, no windsheild (stock)

I'm a fatboy owner that would probably do it again, but I can tell you there are some things to know about fatboys upfront.. If you want larger bags, the signals on the strut have to go.. the deluxe and heritag have a lightbar on the back instead... If fixed that though.. in this thread..
https://www.hdforums.com/m_1040217/mpage_2/key_/tm.htm



Also, to me (my opinion), the fatboy seat and handlebars stock are unrideable.. absolutely terrible for comfort.. I swapped for a mustang and Heritage bars (hopefully to be replaced by 12" apes soon).

These are the things that make the Deluxe so attractive because you've got a bit more customized Heritage basically, just have to add the windsheild, sissybar and bags.. but the fender will accept large bags, provided you lose the stock exhaust, which is the case on all except the heritage.

So if you just want to pick up the bike, ride long long comfy miles, with a place to put your junk and already have the windsheild.. The Heritage Classic is your scoot, unless you go to a tourbike. Hope all this helps.. It's a toughy.. Could be worse, could be not so many choices.. but choices mean work I guess. Good luck.

 

I vote heritage imho!

 

If you are going to be doing more in-town riding than long distance, you may want to stick with the softail line. The softails have the counter balanced engines which makes it more comfortable on shorter, slower rides or where you have frequent stop-and-go traffic. The touring bikes have a lot of vibration at idle, but are supposed to be super-smooth at highway speeds.

 

OldFenderGuy, do you by any chance have the part number for the detachable saddlebag that fits the Fatboy? Is it the 90388-04? I saw this model on the catalog and it looks like the one in your picture, but the catalog says it fits '00-'06 FLSTF models and '00-later Softail models (except FXSTC, FXSTD and FLSTN) equipped with Shotgun-Style exhaust systems.

 

Yep, mine are the 90388-04 detachable leather bags..

 

I wanted a fatboy, but felt more comfortable on the deluxe. So as you can see I got the Deluxe and added what I like from the FB and others. What ever you get, if your like most of us, it won't be long before you make it your own. Good Luck.