Ok, I'm not the brightest bulb...so forgive me if this is so obvious. I bought a 2014 Road King last May. I love it. I was looking at the fat bob before the dealer teased some answers out of me and concluded I should be in a touring bike, the road king being the final decision.

What I didn't realize was how big a favor the dealer had done me. Yes, the road king is more expensive, but I was in Hawaii last week and decided to rent a Fat Boy for a tour around the big Island. The only reason I picked the Fat Boy was that it was the platform I was going to buy. MAN WOULD THAT HAVE BEEN A BAD DECISION. After about 100 miles, I was taking a mental note of all the things I wold have to change to make that bike ridable. It was too low, the bars were too close to my thighs, although the cornering wasn't bad, it certainly wasn't anything like my King. The rest of the suspension was a bit dead...no real life to it. My king feels so much more sporty underneath me. Yes, I know it was a rental, but it only had 4000 miles on it and looked fairly clean.

All in all, it was a good time, but I thought to myself as I returned it...What would I use this bike for? I guess, to blast around town and thats about all.

Again, sorry if this is obvious. The differences were just so overwhelming.

Mike

 

This RK is evidently your first HD?

 

Whew, you really dodge a bullet there.

 

Simply two different styles of bikes.


Once you get used to a larger bike it's difficult to downsize, especially for longer trips.


Nothing wrong with the Softails.
Combined, the wife and I have owned a total of 6, and still have two.
We've put a lot of miles on them, and we once did a 715 mile day with the wife on her '08 Heritage Softail and me on my Ultra.

 

Maybe it was a typo but a Fat Bob is not in the same line of a Fat Boy.
You should have ridden a Fat Bob - a dyna... great riding bike. It's like a touring bike on diet.

Fat Boys, which are in the softail line are known for their harsh-ish suspension. Good bikes too but yeah, far from a touring bike.

 

I own a FatBoy and a Road King, huge differences in both. Riding with a passenger on a touring bike like the Road King is vastly different than hauling a passenger on a FatBoy or FatBob. In addition, the balanced B motor on my FatBoy feels very different than the A motor on my Road King as well. The handling is different particularly since my Road King is Rushmore. I'm fortunate to have one hot rod and one touring bike rather than try to make one into the other. A good salesman will first find out how experienced of a rider you are, find out what your riding preferences are then steer you to the bike that best fits your needs. That makes it a win win.

 

I have both: A 2008 Heritage and a 2015 SGS. I love both, no question and I can only confirm that both are quite different bikes. I haven't been on a long ride on my SGS, yet, except a 250 mile round trip. I definitely noticed the differences between the two bikes. I would not want to use my Heritage for a long haul again. Simply, the Softails are not made for touring, period. For bar hopping in town and short Sunday cruises the Heritage is perfect. That's why everybody should have, at least, two bikes.

 

You should send that salesman a Christmas card...he did you good. The Road King is an incredible bike. Ride safe.

 

Softails may be the koolest looking new Harley's but they ain't the best riding. Liked my Frankinstien hardtail better than any Softail for both looks and riding. Enjoy your roadie!

 

Had an '87 and an '01 Heritage that were replace by a '95 RoadKing. Wife had a '97 Dyna as well. There is no comparison between the softtails and Dynas and the touring models, especially if you are riding 2 up. You did good starting with the touring model instead of having to go through lesser bikes to get there. And in my opinion the RoadKing handles better than the others.

Bill