For some time I've been considering a touring bike. I am ridding a WG wiith Mustang seat, windshield, heel rests,etc,etc but at 60 yrs old the WG is getting the best of me. I enjoy weekend rides and I ride solo. There are very few long trips in my future. I just want to ride for100-300 miles in a day without being throughly exhausted.My wife won't even look at the bike when she walks past it but she has no problem with me ridding. I really like the open look through the front end and wind shield of the WG and I love the handling of the WG. But I need something smoother. How difficult is itto make the transition from the simple windshield to a bat wing fairing or the frame mounted fairing?I am so torn over RKs, RGs, SGs and EGs,. I know this is probably a most repeated topic and I know I should probably rent all of them but there are no rental dealerships nearby. If there is a bike that can give me something of the handling abilities of the WGplus a smooth ride I would greatly appreciate your suggestions.

 

I ride both a Deluxe with a windshield and a Electra glide. I have come to love the fairing, not so much the wind blocking but the looks. I think my softail rides as good as my bagger with a single rider. It is a more raw Harley ride on the Deluxe with a windshield.

 

Sounds like you may like the Road King, more for the look.

 

Road King Custom!! No faring but add a detachable windshield & you've got all the comfort you need + the looks . The ride is great. I'm taller so I added the extended reach floor boards & it put my feet forward & really added comfort to my ride. I can ride from full to empty tank & not feel uncomfortable. If you want a radio then I suggest the Street Glide. I had one for a couple days while the dealer worked on my bike & I thought the ride was the same but the tunes sure were nice.

You still may want to find a rental dealer, even if you gotta travel. Every person fits a bike different & I can't tell you enough how important that is - which I'm sure as an experienced rider you know that already.

Anyway, keep us posted on what you get & joinour family - you won't regret it!!!

 

Sounds like you'd love a Roadking. I love the looks of my classic and really appreciate the windshield, and like yourself I like being able to look through the windshield versus over a fairing. Plus I've driven both and I like the feeling of my classic over an ultra... and I don't care about the tunes.

Get a RKC you'll love it.

 

Road King comes in 3 basic flavors, Custom: leather bags, beach, bars,single light, blackwalls alloy wheels
Standard: hard bags, fog lights wind shield skinny whites alloy wheels
Classic: leather bags, laced wheels, wide wites, fog lights, windshield

You can detach the windshield or add a fairing with or w/o a radio

Other than handlebars & seats all touring bikes are the same Glides have fairings and Kings do not

 

I gotta tell ya', I love my Electra Glide Standard.It is the perfect ride andset-up for me.
But you are making a comittment to the fairing. It is always on and not many options except for the 4" windshield to get more air in your face. I didn't opt for the radio because I ride to get away from all the everyday distractions.
Either way, nothing beats the touring line for a long day of riding!
Good Luck with what ever you decide on.

 

If you are going to spend the money on a tour bike. I really find the Ultra Classic hard to beat. No offense to any of the other bikes. I think the abitlity to strip the ultra of the lowers, tour pack if you want makes it really versitle. I had a Road King before that I really liked.I always wanted a radio when I had the Road King. I always had my sights on the Ultra Classic. I only rode one or two times without the windshield. I really like having the stereo with MP3, I can burn a Mp3 Cd with over 150 songs. I like having the music. Someday I may take off the tour pack, but for now it is staying on . But if I would echo what some of the other responses, I would try and ride the bikes you are interested in. I really liked the Road Glide when I got looking at it closer.

Jeff

 

Dollar for Dollar there is no better deal that Harley offers than the Electra-Glide Classic....it absolutely, positively is the best "bang-for-the buck" that Harley offers. There are people on this board who will whine about how their Street-glide is so cool, and it's better than any other bike, but they can never say that they got more bike for the dollar...... anyone who is looking for the most bike for $18K AND CHANGE THAT HARLEY OFFERS WILL NEVER BEAT THE ELECTRA-GLIDE CLASSIC!!!!

 

I was riding a DWG and wanted to move to a touring bike since my daughters had gotten older and wanted to ride. I road a RK and a E Glide and there were things I liked about both but decided I wanted to be able to remove the windshield so I went with a RK classic.