OK guys, this is probably one of those questions with no real answer, but I gotta throw it out even at the risk of sounding like a dork.

I love my FXDC, but after a 700+ mile weekend with the Mrs on the back, a bagger seems to be needed. Her butt was sore, legs cramped, that single disk made stopping in a hurry "interesting" and even with the Progressive HD shocks, I could really tell the frame wasn't made for 500 lbs of people and their gear. I made the same trip a few weeks prior and was fine, but the skinny front tire bothers me sometimes... anyway, I digress.

I've rented a Road Glide and ridden 2-up for about 600 miles on it and really liked the ride. Next week, I've got a rental Road King lined up for 3 days in Utah. Never done more than a 20 minute demo ride on an Electra Glide, so no opinion really there.

The wife is real insistent on a Tour-Pak, and likes the "wrap around" look of the arm rest/speakers on the Ultra. She has no need/preference for tunes.

I like the idea of tunes (I can turn them off when she's onboard) but can live without. I also like the Tour-Pak as I ride into work most of the time, and it's real convenient to throw all my stuff in there. I put a cheap Chinese Tour-Pak on my Dyna, and it is on more than off these days.

Thing is, (and please, this is an opinion piece, I'm not trying to start a flame war, or **** anyone off) - to me all Electra Glides look pretty much the same except for paint. Road Kings on the other hand, can look really unique and individual. I like the mini-apes on my Dyna, and like the freedom of putting taller bars on a King without having that odd look of a fairing with apes on it. Not that I'm going to do that, but it is nice to have the option.

So where I am I going with all of this....

The wife rides with me about 5-10% of the time. Weekend trips mostly. I ride 45 miles/day round trip to work as much as I can, and put about 11-12K miles/year on a bike. When she does ride with me, I want her to be comfy and have a great time. I too like the convenience of the Tour-Pak. She doesn't care about tunes, I do, so that is a tie. The way I see it, my options are:

- Road King and add a Tour-Pak, tunes are a problem, I haven't seen any real "slick" solutions for tunes on a King that I would want to live with, but Kings are cool, and to me anyway, offer a lot of flexibility in the looks and ride comfort setup options.

- EGS: get one while they still make'em, add a Tour-Pak and my own tunes. Same price (roughly) as a EGC, better tunes, more work (installing tunes) and it's still EGS at the end of the day (less handlebar flexibility - in my opinion and, my previous comment about all the Electra Glides looking the same)

But for the $$$ I'd put into the RK or EGS, I could get a ....

- EGC; Tour-Pak and Tunes right out of the box! Maybe not the hottest tunes, but no work for me to install it, and in the short run, a good solution. Does not offer the "wrap around look" that the wife wants on her seating arangement, but - she can deal with it I suppose. Same comment about Electra Glides in general as above.

But as long as I am doing that, it's only $2K more to get into a.....

- Ultra; lots of $$$, seating the wife is looking for, better tunes, same general Electra Glide issues as previously mentioned.

Or...

- Do nothing. Ride my Dyna, love it, and let the wife fend for herself. Probably not a great idea for getting the wife to off with me to <insert great destination here>, but perhaps the safest economically with our current transition to socialism. Our comrades in Cuba do amazing things keeping the old Harleys on the road.

What would really be cool is ....

- Keep the Dyna and get an Ultra for weekends with the wife. Unfortunately, the economics of this really aren't possible right now, although this is a GREAT option. If I change rides, the equity in the Dyna is gonna be a big ***** of the funds for the new bike.

I'm not sure if I posted this here to help ME think through all this or what. But please, if you ride a Standard, Classic, Ultra, King - whatever. I didn't mean to **** you off. The opinions expressed are my own, and the pros/cons are for ME in MY situation. I'm not 'dissing anyone's ride.

I'd really appreciate some comments and perhaps ideas that I have not thought through.

Thanks!

 

Here's the first suggestion:

Go test ride:

1) UC
2) EGS
3) RK

Have the wife ride too (if possible), even though you wouldn't have a Tour Pak...There are subtle differences and her opinion may provide insight for your final decision.

Personally speaking, I think the UC is the way to go for simple fact that you ride to / from work daily. The UC would give you all the benefits (at a price, of course). You can put different bars on ... if you choose.

Good luck!

 

Sounds to me like you have it figured out which way you want to go.
Remember if mama is not happy no one is.
Dyna's pretty much are in their own category.
RKC are good bikes and many like them as a touring bike. Like you said the wrap around is not that feasible, will work but I am sure you will prefer the soft bags over the hard bags.
Why not rent a ultra just to see the difference in how they ride and handle.

 

FLHTCI and if $$$ is not a real issue... get the detachable set up for the tour pac.... Once she has the tour pac, she made want to ride more.

Tunes are the same as UC except no rear speakers and you said she is not interested in tunes - so why pay for that and the CB radio is old school??

as far as soft/hard bags... for 'me' I do not like the soft bags because they open very different than the hard bags and is not as easy to load and unload... try them for your self and of couse get what YOU like...

with your weight - I would Not suggest the SG - it has lower shocks and will not ride as nice.

good luck with your new bike.

 

I suggest get what makes your heart pitter-pat, then add the mods to make it perfect. I had this debate with myself over getting the looks of the SG or the tourpack of the Electraglide. I finally went with getting a SG and added the tourpack. I am very happy with that decision and will do it again if I decide to get a new bike next year.

I also miss my 02 RKC very much and hope one day to find a great deal on used one for a second bike.

If the Road King is what you think you want, then start a new thread asking for advice on adding tunes. There are some good ideas out there.

Beary

 

I'll comment on Ultra, vs. Classic, vs. Standard, as I just went through that two weeks ago.

At a high level...

Classic adds black engine, tunes, saddle bag rails, and tourpack.
Ultra adds cb, intercom, rear speakers, cruise, bag/tourpack liners, tour pack rear lights, lowers, and batwing air deflectors.

You can make an Ultra out of a Classic, and a Classic out of a Standard, more or less. It's cheaper to buy the one you want though. It's really expensive to make the Standard's silver engine Black.

The tourpack backrest is the same on the Classic and Ultra. You can get it on the tourpack you add to the standard too. The wrap around you must be referring to comes from the rear speakers on the ultra?

I have not seen the new quick disconnect cabling available for the Ultra tour pack. Without it having a removable tour pack is sort of a PITA, as you have to disconnect the speaker wires every time. That was how it was on my 08 Ultra.

If you are planning on removable tour pack, the kit from HD moves the license plate onto a rail around the fender on the Ultra and Classic. It looks like crap. On the standard, the plate is already below the rear brake light, which looks a bunch better. This can be fixed by putting the Standard parts on the Ultra or Classic, about $100.

Resale on the Ultra vs. the Classic differs by about $1500-1700 on late model machines based on MCN summer price guide. I suspect it is easier to sell an Ultra, and suspect it's harder to sell a standard.

Gross weight of all three is 1360 lbs. Factory weight is 774, 827, and 852. If you are and your passenger and gear and stuff are pushing 500 lbs, you might consider this difference. There is 78 lbs of extra stuff on an Ultra. There is also a fair amount of batwing weight for the radio stack on the Classic, and much more on the Ultra. Depending on your view, that can make handling better or worse.

If you want a black engine, the standard is out. This is your personal taste, you can decide when you see one. I did not like the silver look. I thought looking at web pics that I would, but in person it didn't work for me.

If you want certain colors, you may only be able to get them on certain models. I would have love to have a Black Denim bike, but it is only available with the Standard.

Dealer availability may vary, that may be a factor as well.

My pillion and I had an 08 Ultra. I sold it and went to a BMW R1200RT. I missed the HD for the two up comfort rides. I ended up with an 09 Classic two weeks ago. I've got about 1200 miles so far, it's all good.

I couldn't do the Silver engine, the standard was out based on that.

I didn't want the intercom or CB. I have an autocom unit with helmet speakers that we love. It just works.

I kept the lowers off of my 08 Ultra most of the time. I figured if I missed them I could add them. I don't miss them yet, but it's summer time.

I want the tourpack to go off and on without cables. I bought the detach kit, and don't have to deal with the Ultra speakers.

I added the batwing air deflectors for $100.

I don't like the guard rails on the rear bag, I replaced them with a stealth mount for $139.

Hope all this helps, I know it's pretty complicated for a simple choice. :-) They all ride nice. :-)

We have one more major comfort mod to make. We are getting a Russell Day Long custom seat in August. Had one on the BMW, really miss it. They make it fit you and your pillion, makes a huge difference on the long days.

 

Before you blow a big wad of cash on a touring bike, think about how much your wife is really going to ride. I'm speaking from experience here because I got an '09 RK and added a tour-pak with a wrap around backrest and my wife will still starts complaining after a couple hours. Bottom line is she doesn't want to ride ANY bike for more than 2-3 hours without a good, long break. Your wife might be the same, and if so it might be cheaper for you to simply upgrade the seat and sissy bar on your present bike.

As far as tunes go on an RK, you can't beat an Ipod and some good earplug earphones like Etymotic.

 

I understand your quandry. I went from a Road King to a EGS. I looked at the street glides, Ultras ... well all the touring bikes and finally decided to get the EGS. I added detachable mounts and bought a backrest with luggage rack and a matching tourpak. Now I can have nothing, backrest (rider and passenger) or tourpak. Most of the time I just leave the backrest and luggage rack for my daily commuting and put the tour pack on for longer travel. I also added the radio. Just plug and play since all the wiring was there.

For me, this worked very well. Kinda like starting with a blank canvas and adding what I wanted.

 

I had a similar situation but my wife made it easy after riding on the back of a friends UC. She got off and said we need one of these. The rest is history.

 

The Ultra, is probably the best way to go...... by the time you gear up the rest of the touring "family" you will have spent more money. (my 2 cents) although, waiting a few weeks might find the 2009 prices more consumer-friendly.... or there will be a 2010 that fits the bill....

Rent one for the week end, take the wife away for a long ride.... make sure the dealership will apply the rent towards the new bike purchase