Thats some good solid advice and it did not come off as being disrespectful in anyway. I would add that your steering him towards a dealer may be an exceptional decision especially if a "to-be" owner is not so mechanically inclined and will be taking the bike in for any mods or maintenance.

 

spydyr ..... WTF has an offset wheel got to do with either Fuel injection or Carb? ..... that wasn't the question

 

Not sure why everyone does that. I don't think it's being disrespectful as much as it is showing some knowledge about the Fatty, such a perfect machine everyone wants to poke at it's only flaw!

If you are not sure about the bike mechanically ask the owner if you can (at your cost) take it to a dealer and have their mechanics evaluate it.......shouldn't cost more than an hours labor, less than $100 for piece of mind.

 

OP, just wondering, how much is the '07 at the dealer? How many miles, condition, extras, etc? And like someone mention above, does it have a warranty with it?
Any pics would be awesome

i wouldnt go $10k for an '01.
like i said i got my '09 for $12k.

i would go $8k or so for '03-'04, or $12k or so for '08 or newer
and if you get an '07 or newer u get the bigger tire, bigger engine, and 6 speed tranny

 

I didn't take any disrespect by your posts at all Maddog or anyone else for that matter. I appreciate all information and suggestions given to me as I am new and understand that there are a lot of people out there who know more than me and I'm willing to learn.

The '07 is black/red cherry with 9500 miles, detachable windshield, Vance and Hines pipes, soft rear bags, chrome breather, pegs, grips, shifter, security system, new seat, and attached sissy bar. The dealer is asking $12,995 for it. I think the dealer offers a 1 year warranty on all used bikes, but not absolutely sure. Its really clean and I sat on it and was comfortable.

I am sure that I want a Fatboy, but at the dealer they had a '93 next to the '07 that was super clean (asking $10k) and the salesman said I don't want a non FI bike for a first one. I was just wondering if one was better, thats all. No matter what happens, this dealer will be where I take my bike for service or mods. They were super friendly and helpful when I stopped in to buy a helmet and other riding gear.

 

I'm a little mechanically inclined, but wouldn't mess with the bike if something were to go wrong with it. I agree that his advice was good.

 

The chances that they put the 93 next to the 07 is that out on it's own the 93 would be a walk buy and take a lot longer to sell .... but put it next to an 07 which more people would be inclined to look at and straight away you have 2 very clean bikes but there is a ($3000) difference .... now get a **** hot salesman on the case and he will tie you up quicker than they did Houdini pointing out the errors of your ways in looking at the 07 when you could be the proud owner of a 93 Fatboy sought after by those in the know and have that dream holiday you've always promised yourself in Hawaii because you've just saved $3000 large ...... You have a lot of extras on the 07 that's $$$$ that you haven't got to find also being biased i love my 07 and would not change it and forget all that offset crap

 

If it was really clean, low mileage, and if I liked the color, I'd buy the '93 (It would have to very to be worth 10,000) if it were me. I was faced with a similiar decision when I bought me Springer. I was about to buy an '06 Springer Classic until I was able to get my bike. The depreciation is done on the older bikes, and they have the best engine H-D ever made (not that the twin cam is bad). I prefer the simplicity, styling, and sound of the EVO bikes.

With that said, from the standpoint of having the warranty and having a newer bike that you can walk into the Harley shop or anywhere and buy accessories, the newer bike would probably the best course for you. Parts for the older bikes are not hard to get, but you have to order most of it. There's not much for them hanging on the shelves anymore. A newer Softail is also going to be smoother, which seems to be a really big deal to a lot of folks.

Whatever you decide, do yourself a favor, and buy the bike you want. Don't settle. Its worth the time, effort, and wait to get exactly what you really want. Luckily that's what I did, and I have zero regrets. I would love to have other bikes, but there's not a bike out there I would trade my bike for.

 

Lots of guys swear by carbs, but I have had great luck with the FI models and would probably not want anything but FI now.

 

thats not a bad starting point, especially for a dealer, imo. If you could get it for down in 11s i would def do it, maybe even 12 if i really liked it, with the exhuast, securtiy, and warranty it sounds like a pretty solid deal