Road King vs. Soft Tail
Stellar HDF Member
Joined: Oct 2005
Posts: 2,379
Likes: 226
RE: Road King vs. Soft Tail
Rode an FXR for years. Did some decent trips on it, but not any 500 mile days. When it came time to get a bike to do distance on, I immeidatly looked for an Electraglide. The Heritage is great and sits nice and low. And to many guys out there, I'm sure they can ride just as far and just as fast as they could on a 'glide. to me, the Bagger just made the most sence. It's primary design is for distance riding solo or Two-up.
I'd seriously consider renting one of each at a dealer for a day and take both of them on a long Highway cruise. When your done, you'll know which one to get.
I'd seriously consider renting one of each at a dealer for a day and take both of them on a long Highway cruise. When your done, you'll know which one to get.
Outstanding HDF Member
Joined: Jan 2006
Posts: 3,015
Likes: 5
From: Alaska
RE: Road King vs. Soft Tail
I currently own and ride an 03 Heritage Classic (30,000 plus miles) and an 06 Ultra Classic (18000 plus miles).
I did several extended road trips with the Heritage and never gave it a thought that it was not a "touring" bike. I toured it anyway.
In 05 I did a long road trip that had several continuous days of moderate rain. While the leather bags did not leak the rain did take a toll on the leather. It took me three days to get the leather cleaned and reconditioned.
In September of 05 I bought the Ultra. I wanted the convenience of the hard bags and the lower fairings for the long trips.
The touring family has a higher center of gravity from the Softails that takes a few minutes to get used to. The big difference I see is between engines. The balanced engine in the Softail makes for a smooth idle but at high speeds there is a bit of vibration from the balancers and chain. The Heritage "likes" to run between 65 and 70 mph. The non-balanced engine in the touring family will shake a bit at idle, but come on, how much time do you spend idling? It smooths out at higher rpms and without the balancer mechanism stealing power will give you higher speed at slightly lower rpms.
I would suggest you rent one for a weekend trip of each model and see how YOU like it.
I use the Ultra for trips over 2000 miles and the Heritage for everything else. It works for me.
Plus I have a hot spare in case of maintenance or mechanical.
I did several extended road trips with the Heritage and never gave it a thought that it was not a "touring" bike. I toured it anyway.
In 05 I did a long road trip that had several continuous days of moderate rain. While the leather bags did not leak the rain did take a toll on the leather. It took me three days to get the leather cleaned and reconditioned.
In September of 05 I bought the Ultra. I wanted the convenience of the hard bags and the lower fairings for the long trips.
The touring family has a higher center of gravity from the Softails that takes a few minutes to get used to. The big difference I see is between engines. The balanced engine in the Softail makes for a smooth idle but at high speeds there is a bit of vibration from the balancers and chain. The Heritage "likes" to run between 65 and 70 mph. The non-balanced engine in the touring family will shake a bit at idle, but come on, how much time do you spend idling? It smooths out at higher rpms and without the balancer mechanism stealing power will give you higher speed at slightly lower rpms.
I would suggest you rent one for a weekend trip of each model and see how YOU like it.
I use the Ultra for trips over 2000 miles and the Heritage for everything else. It works for me.
Plus I have a hot spare in case of maintenance or mechanical.
Seasoned HDF Member
Joined: Dec 2004
Posts: 7,934
Likes: 43
From: Bloomfield, NM
RE: Road King vs. Soft Tail
This topic has been beat to death, but here is my opinion.
The Heritage looks better, sits lower, and has a lower center of gravity. A good thing for those that are short. The Touring bikes handle better, ride better, and are smoother at highway speeds. Plus, they are better in all respects when riding two up.
As suggested earlier, I would add a windshield and bags to the Dyna and get it up to touring class before I would spend a lot of money going to a Heritage.
We have owned a Dyna, 2 Heritages, a Roadking, an FXR, and an EG Classic. I have found that if you are going to do a lot of touring, and are going to upgrade for that purpose, then get a touring bike.
Regards,
Bill
The Heritage looks better, sits lower, and has a lower center of gravity. A good thing for those that are short. The Touring bikes handle better, ride better, and are smoother at highway speeds. Plus, they are better in all respects when riding two up.
As suggested earlier, I would add a windshield and bags to the Dyna and get it up to touring class before I would spend a lot of money going to a Heritage.
We have owned a Dyna, 2 Heritages, a Roadking, an FXR, and an EG Classic. I have found that if you are going to do a lot of touring, and are going to upgrade for that purpose, then get a touring bike.
Regards,
Bill
Road Captain
Joined: Sep 2006
Posts: 715
Likes: 0
RE: Road King vs. Soft Tail
The Heritage looks better
I'm not big on the looks of a stock ULTRA, but some of the lowered stripped down baggers on this board look awesome to me.
~John
Thread Starter
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Tourer
Joined: Jul 2006
Posts: 278
Likes: 1
From: Rancho Cucamonga, CA
RE: Road King vs. Soft Tail
Thank you, everyone, for your responses. I do have a better understanding of my choices. With a few 500+ miles runs and some overnighters in sight, I do believe ...The King is For Me! I belong to a great HOG group and they do a ton of riding. To make sure I will do the rental / test drive thing to see exactly which model. If I can give anything back to the group, it would be to look into your local HOG chapter. It has been very enjoyable for me. I never knew I would do so much riding, along with meeting good people and donating some time to local charities (bike shows and poker runs). Thanks again.
Advanced
Joined: Dec 2006
Posts: 68
Likes: 6
RE: Road King vs. Soft Tail
I've been looking/lusting over Harleys for the past ten years (it's a long story), and decided it was time to poop or get off the pot this year. I really liked the smoothness of the counterbalanced softails, and especially the riding position of the deuce. However, when I saw the Softail Custom on Harleys website last August, I knew that it would be the bike for me. My girlfriend and I demo-ed one, and she loved the seat's comfort and high riding position. However, I kept having nagging doubts about the overall "practicality"of the softail versus a roadking. To make a long story short, I picked up my 2007 Road King Classic several weeks ago, and couldn't be happier. My lady insisted on the wider and more comfy Sundowner Touring seat, and I really like it as well. In my final deliberations between the two very different bikes, I thought more and more about comments that both salespeople and hog owners made that road king owners rarely suffer buyers' remorse, while those who try to turn softies into touring bikes do. If I got into the situation of having a second bike, it would definitely be a softail custom; but getting a road king as my only bike was ultimately a pretty clear choice.
Tourer
Joined: May 2006
Posts: 267
Likes: 1
From:
RE: Road King vs. Soft Tail
see you guys are lucky....I am in the market and really really want a roadking.....but right now I am still in school and have to get what I can afford.....I have a sporty right now and I'm ready to move up some basically I am prolly going to get whatever I can find cheap enough the day I decide to fork out the cash
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Road Master
Joined: Jun 2006
Posts: 1,149
Likes: 0
RE: Road King vs. Soft Tail
Either you pay Now are Pay more in the Future. I rode a Heritage for 6 years an dit was a Nice bike but once i hit the 100 mile mark on a Ride it wasn't any fun. Now i hit the 100 Mile mark and i am looking for another 300-400 at least before it's time to stop and eat then do it again
