Thanks Rini. Please tell me more about the lean angles on the Street Glide. I don't have much clerance on the C-90T before scraping the floor boards. The salesman sold it simply as don't worry about it, it's gonna happen. Are you saying this won't go away with the Glide? Is the problem inherent with floorboards?

 

Oh yeah,theRoad Glideisfugly too!

 

Love my Street Glide but if you ride it at all hard your going to scrap the boards up a little. As others suggest rent one. There are options like seats, highway pegs etc to help but riding one for a weekend will let you know if it fits you. I'm 5'11" and if I were taller I might be a little cramped on it. Fits me fine and it is a joy to ride.

 

I own an SG and would be the first to recognize that it needs some modification to be certified a touring bike or a vehicle you'd want to ride more than 100 miles at a time. With that off my chest I must say that if I had to do it over again I would buy another SG without much pondering. I much prefer the understated styling over the traditional trim on most other FLH models.

First thing to go is the short "wind deflector," which isn't a windshield at all. There are numerous aftermarket alternatives (Clearview, Cee Bailey, HD, etc.) that come in a variety of sizes, shapes, colors, shades, and opacities. The second things to go are the 12" shocks, which will certainly be unsatisfactory for someone of your size. I weigh 170 lbs. and immediately realized the stock shocks had to go, especially after hitting a few bumps that shoved my butt into my chin thanks to the shorter suspension travel. I opted to fit some 12½" Progressive 440's on the bike, which are a big improvement. You might also consider stock 13" air shocks with a 1" lowering kit (e.g., Burly Brothers), the shocks being available used on Ebay for a song ($50-100) with the lowering kit another $100. Or, if the lowered look isn't important to you, just 13" air shocks would be a big improvement--as at your size you certainly wouldn't have a problem flat-footing a bike with 13" shocks.

I also added saddlebag guards to protect the bags in case it should fall over, and to attach saddlebag guard bags, which learned to appreciate on my old RK. You can pick used guards up for $100 or so on Ebay, as some people with conventional FLH's want to get rid of them to achieve the leaned-out SG look. After doing this and adding cruise control, oil cooler, oil-temp gauge, decent grips, Tour Pak with detachable rack, and a few other functional mods, you'll have a first-rate touring bike that looks good to boot. Nothing's perfect and is made to modify, so be prepared to spend a few $$ after you ride out of the dealership on your new ride. One thing you won't find with an HD is a dearth of aftermarket parts to customize your bike. In fact, the vast selection may prove daunting.

I would test ride an SG and an FLHTC (EG Classic) for comparison. They're similar price-wise and the EGC has a Tour Pak standard, a $1000+ option for the SG (with rack and backrest), a real windshield, passing lamps, and saddlebag guards. It is a bargain in function over style when compared to the SG, but you'll have to decide your own priorities.

As for whether or not you'll like an HD better than your Suzuki is yet another matter. To some including me HD offers an intangible that can't easily be put into words, and prompts the old adage "If you must ask, you wouldn't understand." To put it into perspective, I owned a Suzuki Intruder at one time that I put 4900 miles on in three years, and I was actually happy when someone rear-ended me saving me the trouble of selling it. It was a fine bike, well-engineered and reliable, but there was something missing--an intangible that to this day I can't quite put my finger on. Something emotional happened with my next bike, an HD Dyna, and I put 26.5k miles on it in 18 months. Next came an HD Roa

 

I know this has nothing to do with what bike you might want to look into but I wanted to add my .02. In 06 I purchased a Yamaha Road Star 1700cc. Very nice bike came with bags, windshield and everything chromed. I purchased it for 12k. One year later I looked at the trade value of it because I wanted a Harley. I about got sick. My bike had depreciated 4k in 1 year. I looked into Harleys, an Ultra Classic and I saw bikes 5 and 6 years old going for only a couple grand less than purchase price of a new one. I was upside down big time but I did it. I purchased an 07 Ultra Classic. I love it. I am 5'11 and 230lbs. I still have plenty of room to stretch. I enjoy my Harley so much I get angry when I have to drive the car. As many might agree, a Harley is a machine, a tottally different type of ride. The Suzuki's and Yamaha's are great bikes although if you ride a Harley, you won't want to get off of it.
Just some food for thought. Good luck on your decision.

 

Thank you Scott.

 

Great post and read every word CLOSELY. Thanks for the info.

 

[sm=welcomesign.gif]
Well for me these fine flock of HD ridersare being way to kind BUY A HARLEY SG.(period ) [sm=icon_cheers.gif]I can't even see why there is a question of which bike!?........................[sm=icon_rofl.gif]

iclick said it "If you must ask, you wouldn't understand." To put it into perspective, I owned a Suzuki Intruder at one time that I put 4900 miles on in three years, and I was actually happy when someone rear-ended me saving me the trouble of selling it.

 

One more word from a tall guy. I'm 6-3 and 250. Got an 06 Electraglide Classic. At first was uncomfortable, and after a few hours of riding the stock setup, I was dead. Did the following and it made all the difference: Road Zeppelin seat w/backrest, floorboard forward mounts, EZ brake, and highway pegs. Now I am very comfortable all day long. Also, I came to Harley from a Honda VTX. I have a bike now that is the ultimate in riding,cool--no, downright bad to the bone! I get more compliments. Good luck.

 

Don't forget Harley makes extended floorboards and seats for nost of their model. By trying different combos of them you should be able to fit the bike to your "frame".