We went from a '06 XL1200C to our '12 Heritage.
Yeah the sporty would beat the crap out of you, and I did the suspension upgrades, but the first time out on the Heritage the wife had a BIG grin and loved it.
As every one else has stated the bike is heavier but you are sitting in it instead of on top of it so the balance is better than the sporty.

Try out one from the dealer to get a feel for it, it does take a little time to adjust as you just cant throw it around like the sporty but you will get use to it in no time and you will appreciate the ride, even in stock form it is a night and day difference than the sporty.

Once you ride one it is all over for the sporty...

The shifting is explained in the manual but you can feel it when you ride and with the 103 engine you can shift at a little lower RPM than the sporty.

Once you bring home the Heritage hide your wallet as the mod bug will get you and the mods will begin.....

 

I picked up the Heritage yesterday. Definitely a huge improvement.

 

Congratulations, and welcome to the family. Post pics of the new baby when you can.

 

You will love the Softail. It is more comfortable than my Limited, much better balance and easy around town. The only downside you will notice is the lack of cornering clearance. You may scrape occasionally, be ready.

 

Welcome to the dark side of the softail family

 

I'll be posting pics soon when after the weather clears up this weekend. And you weren't kidding about hiding the wallet. I've already ordered a better seat and an engine guard. I'm looking to upgrade the exhaust as well. I want to get the V&H Softail Duals. Their price is in my budget, but I keep seeing people talk about the fuelpak. Is the fuelpak necessary?

 

A full stage one: air cleaner and exhaust upgrade, will require a retune (flash) of the ECM, Engine Control Module, to enrichen the fuel mixture as now you have a better breathing engine that will be running leaner, the bike already comes lean from the factory to pass EPA standards.
With just the exhaust it will run a little leaner but you might not need to retune the ECM the only way to tell is ride after the upgrade and listen for any decal popping or a hotter running engine.

Might I suggest the Bassani Road Rage 2-1 exhaust system, not to LOUD and gives you an extra boost in performance.

Here are two videos of our bike with the Bassani Road Rage.
The first we took and the second one is from the Bassani web site of our bike, they used our bike for test fitting.

 

Congrats on the new Heritage. I'm surprised you're changing seats, the Heritage seat is one of the best stock seats HD makes. What did you not like about it?

 

I had back surgery a couple years ago and the two-up seat presses right where they operated on. Having anything press against my lower back like that for a long time is uncomfortable.

 

The Bassani exhaust definitely sounds great. The V&H sounds great as well. I see the Bassani is priced a little cheaper. What's the performance difference between the two? Also, I'm not a mechanic so I'll be having the dealership install the exhaust for me, so do they both take about the same amount of time to install?