I've been reading in the wings for about 4 months. Last rode a 72' Harley in 1981. Wife & kids came first, retired 3 weeks ago after fighting fires and saving lives in Houston for 32 years.

The 2008 softails seem to be rigid-mounted. The touring bikes seem to be rubber-mounted. is there much of a difference for a old man to ride. I would appreciate any advise on which bike has less vibration. We intend to drive across the US after breaking new bikes in.Also wife, 23 yoa son ( he wants Street Bob), and I completed rider's edge course and wife says she is not riding *itch and what's her own.She is 5'0" and we are trying to figure out what to buy her.

Jerry
hfdarson1@hotmail.com
Just getting started with life.

 

Congrats and Thank you for your service. Every dealership will let you sit on the bikes, most HD dealers now a days also have demo's to ride. Take your time, the softails are counter balanced, you can't go wrong with either one. The more wind protection you have, the happier you'll be at the end of the day.
P.S. If I might be frank. New Harleys make lousy starter motorcycles even with a small deductible. Your wife might be happier on VStar 650 Classic until she masters the balancing act. And stay away from Sportsters the short wheel base and higher center of gravity make them harder to ride than big twins. Good Luck.

 

PLUS 1 to DRBOB...Honda Shadow Spirit 750 also great starter alot of nice used ones out there!! Start small you will be glad you did!! Good Luck..Happy Trails....

CONGRATS AND WELCOME!!!!! JAKESTER.. TIM...[sm=signs003.gif][sm=americanasmiley.gif]

 

My wife has an old Yamaha for her first street bike. It will do, for now. Since your wife is only five foot, she should think about the softail deluxe. It has a very low seat height. As for you, if you plan to tour, get a bagger. The main difference in the engines is, the 88b/96b motor (softail) has very little vibration at idle, but gets more the faster you go. The touring motor is the opposite. lots of vibration at idle, but really smooths out at cruising speed. I agree, the sporty is not a beginner bike. It is HD first race bike, first and formost. It is fast, and some find it hard to ride. Get yourself a nice bagger, with a tourpack (and tunes) for you and the wife (for when you are together). Start off getting her a cheaper, used, metric. That way, if she finds riding her own is not for her, you will not be out as much cash. Enjoy your retirement, and thanks for your service. Feel free to PM me if you like. I rented just about every type of HD I could before I bought my rk custom. The rk is a super bike. And, of all the touring bikes, it is the most versatile. You can even get a detachable fairing for it, for longer trips... Good luck with your decision... Also, I would highly recommend that you (and the wife) rent the types of bikes you are interested in. Most dealers that rent bikes will let you rent them by the day, weekend, week, whatever. Mine use to let you rent, say a fatboy, and return it a few hours later and swap it out for a EG, or anythingt else... You might ask about that, as well...

 

The wife: My wife (she is only 5'1" tall and weighs 100+ lbs) started riding last year. Her first bike was an 07 Heritage Softail Classic. We had it lowered before we took delivery. Here is why you should buy the Heritage over the Deluxe. You get saddlebags, passenger backrest, detachable windshield, and touring handlebars. The deluxecomes with nothing and you are forced to buy everything. It is WAY cheaper to get the Heritage. DO THE MATH!

She also had to take the rider's edge course before she could ride her bike. The learning curve is obviously large compared to the little bikes the course puts you on, but not enough your wifeshould be scared away. My wife and I simply found a big parking lot and she learned slow turning, starting/stopping, etc that way. She did have one accident in where she forgot to put the kickstand down before she got off (As a pharmacist you would think she would be smarter than that).

My thinking was this for my wife: I was sure my wife would stay in the sport. I didn't want to buy some small bike she hated and then have to trade up later. It worked out for us....on one trip she went 2100 miles to Yellowstone and back last year in 5 days!

For you: Softail vs Touring bike-Both are great bikes. The touring bike is a bit smoother on the highway, but the Softail is better around town. I would NEVER ride again without a fairing that ison the touring bikes. I would suggest you rent one of each and find out for yourself. You will end up getting the touring bike!

p.s. Sorry this got so long

 

Welcome to the forum. Congrats on the retirement. I did what you did for 30 years, 2 months and 2 days before I retired from duty. My advice is if ya gonna go touring get a real touring machine like a Classic or Ultra or one of the other FL models. I have a few friendsthat boughtthe soft tail models and later traded for road bikes. Also they work better for two up riding. As for the wife. My sister started out with a Honda 750 because it has a low seat hight but the vibration killed her on road trips. The Honda 1100 Shadow has almost the same seat hight and vibrates a lot less and has more suspension travel. There are a lot of good bikes out there. I would ride some and talk to as many people as possible. We really like to talk aboutour machines. Good luck

 

Congratulations on joining the "every day is Saturday" crowd! Life is about to get better!

As you may have noticed everyone has a favorite way to get back into riding. They all mean well, & all of their suggestions work. The problem is that they aren't you, & you have to make the decision that works for you & your pocketbook. My suggestion is, don't rush! Take your time, look for motorcycle events you can get to (should be easier now that every day is Saturday) & take advantage of manufacturers demo rides. That along with dealer demos & rentals will give each of you the opportunity to ride a variety of machines. The most important thing in chosing a motorcycle is *COMFORT*! If you're not comfortable you won't be a rider for long.

Don't confine your search to Harley. I know, "heresy"!, but while everyone here believes Harley is the best bike in the world, there are other good bikes. Find the ones that work for you. Keep in mind the type of riding you want to do & look for the things that make that riding comfortable.

 

The comfort factor on a bagger is significantly better for road trips. The fairing, tunes, full instruments, etc are something that must be experienced to believe - and once you have experienced it you'll know why it's #1 in comfort and class.

If your wife is a complete novice at riding and on the small side as you describe I'd also suggest a used metric to start out with. The learning curve usually involves a drop or two or three - no big deal with a $3500 V-Star, but a full heart attack with a $15k+ Heritage.

Even if she only rides it a couple months to build confidence and get the hang of it. Then sell it for what you paid for it probably and go with whatever model or make she likes.

 

JUST BUY ANY BAGGER.. 4GET THE SOFTAILS AND DYNAS.. IVE HAD EM ALL.. NOTHING BETTER THAN A FL (BIG FRAME) HARLEY

 

For serious touring, an FL series is hard to beat. Ah've gone cross country on everything from metrics ta a chopper, an' comfort is gonna be key. If yer lookin' for sumthin' fer the better half to be able ta keep up with ya on long trips, then ah'd also look at the Virago. Buddy's wife had one, she's 5', an' she ran that sucker all over the US! She now rides a GL1500 like she wuz born on it, but could do just as well on any machine that's short 'nuff fer her ta reach the ground.

Watch the footwear, as well! She kin find boots with an extra inch or so of sole that'll help - in mah experience much more than that is tough on ankles...