Anyone who says a Dyna is a better ride than a Softail needs to ride a Softail very very soon!!!

 

Haven't seen anybody raise the rear but if you will set the "sag" height of the stock tail at the recommended one inch or so of drop when you are on it you will still be fine unless you hit a four inch deep pot hole. Setting the sag lets the suspension work properly going up and down. Get a book on suspension sometime. Even Harley can benefit tremendously from the same ideas that track bikes use.

I am not unhappy with what comes stock on the rear as I don't slide out on bad bumps in fast corners so I guess it is tracking OK in the back. I ride a Metzler 880 as the stock Dunlop was pretty slippery so I ditched it at 6,000 miles. The point is that rear shocks are there primarily to provide traction and keep that tire planted in bumps. Set them to track, not for looks or just for comfort.

But the stock Softail ride is a bit harsh as the factory compression and rebound have to accommodate riding two up as a compromise. I ride solo 99% of the time. Might switch out to Works eventually or have a pair built just for my weight and be done with it. Might be nice to push even harder in the corners and see if the limits increase...

The front end is another story completely. I moved my footpegs out three inches to help my 6 foot frame stretch out comfortably and I dropped the peg location an inch or so so that my weight was shifted for better balance. Stock I was riding very cramped up and felt like the pegs were tilting me backward as they were so high. Harley sets them up for short people so they can maximize sales. But the pegs are critical to how much control you can get so try some improvements if you need them.

As for how to keep those pegs from getting snagged my answer was to extend the fork tubes and raise the front a couple degrees. I was gonna rebuild the tubes anyway with better valving (read up about Intimidators and Gold Valves) so a little bit longer tube was just an extra couple hundred bucks.

I actually went the extra route of putting in 3 degree rake cups for incredible stability at 100 mph on the highway but that was just because I am an old 60s chopper dude and I like that sort of thing. You can find all this stuff if you look up old posts by me and others on these subjects. Gotta love this site...

Have fun riding that Hog. They are the best. I am not loyal to Harley at all and every five years or so try to beat the ride. But no other bike is so flexible for set up or as mean looking and fun to ride. Hard steel forever...

A buddy of mine was razzing me that his plastic Jap bike was better. "Come on back in 20 years and let's race and see who is still faster", I told him. "Or maybe 40 years. Or 60." I think I made my point.

 

Don't sweat some of the reactions you get to your statements. Too many oversensitive people on here. It's ironic that the response you got just above your comment above comes from a member who is synonymous for going onto other folks threads just to lay criticism with a tendency to single out threads that concerned certain models that he really disliked and simply had to go on the thread to mention his distaste. It blows my mind that he would get all pissy and defensive at what he perceives to be smack talk about something he rides.

I totally got where you're coming from. I've never owned or ridden a Dyna but looking at them and how they are designed compared to my Softail makes me think that they lean better as well. I also have the impression that the REAR suspension on a Softail might be a bit limited because of its design. I have a hard time imagining that my horizontal shocks provide as much travel and suspension as the large side mounted shocks on other lines of Harley motorcycles. It doesn't hurt my feelings if any of this were proven true because the fact remains that I love my Softail. If the suspension on my Softy is less effective I gladly accept that for the trade off that the shocks are hidden and provide a clean look. I also don't mind if it is proven that other models lean better because I don't have a tendency to ride very aggressive and having such clearance limitations seldom become an issue.

One of these days I'm going to have to test ride a Dyna just so that I can get a first hand feel of the differences.

 

[quote=Skeezmachine;11297163] . I also have the impression that the REAR suspension on a Softail might be a bit limited because of its design. I have a hard time imagining that my horizontal shocks provide as much travel and suspension as the large side mounted shocks on other lines of Harley motorcycles.


So much wrong information about Softails. The best of the 2005 Dynas had 4.3 inches of rear suspension travel. Guess what my Softail Deuce has? 4.3.

The material and design of a Dyna in its rear swingarm at first seems to have the advantage as it is smaller and some have reported that the Softail has a swingarm which weighs 25 pounds greater. Haha.

Actually the weight difference of the swingarm is only four pounds! And on a Softail it is triangulated which is STRONGER like on a racing bike. And the rear wheel on my Deuce (as is the front) are both super lightweight ALUMINUM ALLOY. Like on a racing bike. A Superglide Standard for example has STEEL WHEELS which weigh a ton.

And therefore as the WHEELS make the biggest differebnce it is at best a total WASH as to which design is better. I say that I suspect that the triangulated swingarm is stronger and less likely to wobble. The motor mounts are rigid on an 88B and less likely to wobble the bike at high speed than the rubber mounted somewhat problem prone motor mounts of a Dyna. They actually make a kit to try to get rid of wobble on Dynas due to the rubber mounts. Softail motor mounts incorporate the motor into the frame like on a racer---thus NO wobble!!!

But I have nothing against the Dynas. ALL big Harleys can be made to haul butt if you know what you are doing and will set them up to ride fast.

But don't listen to me. I am old. And newer riders know a lot more than I do, haha....

 

well ya def got a good 6 inches on me as said before Im about 5'8"...I was eyeing a pic from exile cycles, and it looks like on a softail they are not as far back as some other harleys with mids. I think this set up and the way Im built will work out well! thanks again for the great info guys

 

Lean angles? Ha! My buddies joke that I don't even need a kickstand - that I just park my bike on the footboards!

 

I guess I'm just another old fart, cause I agree.