I, along with a couple buds, have the Mustache bar..ZERO problems and I recommend it. Never heard of any problems. So before you jump to spend more $$ I would research this statement. FWIW, If I were buying a new ride right now it would be the Street Glide. Good Luck.

 

Some softail comments..

I own a deluxe (very similar to the heritage). I have ridden mine as much as 13 hours in a day several in a row. Depending on the roads traveled, that could be 300 miles or 600 miles. It is a comfortable ride, but not as smooth as a touring bike. You will need to come up with a compromise on the suspension for riding both alone and 2-up. The softail suspension adjustment is not a quick 1 minute thing. It requires a lift, or some contorting in order to change the preloads. Baggers are adjusted via an air pump with a nozzle behind the bags. I have done these long days on the stock seat that I modified at an upholstery shop to move me back as far as possible.

I own the mustache guard, and the pads fell off in the summer heat. I superglued them back on and they are fine. The position is not comfortable for me though. I like the look, but rarely use them. I added highway pegs to the guard and that made a world of difference.

Short pipes that are loud my aggravate your wife. They will exit right in front of her. You may consider longer pipes if you want her to be happy.

Also consider the bags. Since you will be going to work on your bike, as I do, you will be in the bags at least 2 times a day. They are not difficult to open, but they are not fast to open and close. There is also no locking system available at a reasonable price. At a middle school, I'd worry about anything in the bags. The touring bikes have much nicer bags and they can be set up to lock with a matching key. The tour pack is much more convenient, but not very large. You might consider bike luggage instead. You can fit much more in a good bag, and at a much lower price.

If you ride in cold weather <40* you will appreciate the batwing's ability to protect your hands from the cold wind.

The heritage is a great bike. Softails are fun to ride and very capable of touring. I love my bike, and will hopefully never get rid of it.
I am not trying to dissuade you from buying a HSC, just sharing my experiences. I am sure you will love it.

 

I'm a fellow teacher/vet/HD rider........you will gain new respect from some students (and staff) who you would not at first expect! Follow-up on the Stage 1....I went with the V&H Big Shots staggered, Ness Big Sucker and the V&H FuelPak......of course I have the FXSTC but I'm curious to know why everyone mentions the PC III and the SERT but noone ever sounds off on the FuelPak........is this an inferior product or just not as popular???

 

The fuelpak is about the same cost as a PCIII, but extremely limited in what it can do. That said, if you buy V&H pipes and use an a/c that they have tested with, you will probably be fine. Just don't go upgrading cams, bore, heads, etc.. later on or you will need to replace it.

 

So the maps are much more limited or the equipment itself? I interpret this as such; with the PCIII you can dyno test and modify the settings....but with the fuelpak you are stuck with the V&H maps exclusively...is that the gist of it?

 

I stand corrected. I never knew about the problems with the pads on the Mustache bars.

 

The fuelpak lacks the level of control that the others have, as well as V&H refuses to tell anyone exactly what the meanings behind the values/settings are.
You are correct in your assumption.

 

I'm not real sure why they didn't use a positive attachment method. They just use what looks like contact cement on the polished chrome.
I definitely wouldn't let that fact prevent me from buying them. It took 2 minutes to fix them and it has held now for the last 6 months so far.

 

It's hard to beat a Heritage Softail. (especially looks) I bought my first one in 89 (black and cream) I had a 93 that was blue and silver. Just today I put a deposit on an 07 that is black cherry and pewter. When I get bored I just remove the windshield, bags, sissy bar, and back seat, and walla, it turns into something different.

I have been riding for 40 years, I have owned all types of bikes. Mostly Harley's and BMW's. I just keep going back to the Heritage Softail Classic. My other Harley is a FXDI 35. It will be interesting to have these setting side by side, and see which one I take on Sunday morning.

 

i vote for a fatboy imho