I have heard that the Road Glide is one of the best handling HD's. The follow-up question that I should be asking when talking to the folks that are saying that is, what do you mean by best handling?

So I ask those of you that believe that the Road Glide is the best handling Harley. What does best handling mean? Best handling when going down the highway (touring), best handling in the twisties (sport riding), best handling ???

The reason I am asking is that my Victory Vision (fixed fairing) is a blast to ride fast in the mountains (think Dragon). Which of the HD Tourers will best handle that kind of riding?

Thanks
John

 

I would lean towards any of the police models.

Course if you want touring and ripping up twisties.. get a goldwing

 

The Road Glide's front fairing is mounted to the frame and not the triple tree and forks. The handle bars do not move the fairing. It provides a more stable ride in windy conditions. As for riding in the twisties, I am not sure, I have never ridden a Road Glide on many winding roads. I would think that there wouldn't be much difference, but I may be wrong.

 

My last bike was a 04 FLH standard which had 49,000 miles when I traded it in on a 2012 RGC. I have be known to drive faster then I should be going through the turns / twisties / or anywhere . The roadglide is 10x better, turns effortlessly, smooth transtition in turns, like a bullet on the highway. I've only put 1000 miles on the RGC , but I'm sold on the fixed fairing and don't plan on ever going back to a batwing. Just my .02 Chris

 

All of the Harley FL Touring line use the same frame, suspension the differences are height(12" or 13" rear shocks) batwing, sharknose, windshield or no shield.

IMO the Road Glide is more stable at high speeds and cross winds due to the frame mounted sharknose fairing, at slow speeds (parking lots etc) the Road king and Road Glide are very similar due to no fairing weight on the handlebars / forks to move / turn like the batwing type bikes.

Is it a big difference for most riders probably not depends on your riding style and what you want to do with the bike. The parking lot differences is not a big deal to most riders (I see more riders with both feet hanging at low speeds anyway), how much time do you spend at that speed and type of riding. The high speed freeway stuff with a lot of winds , how much, do you live in an area that has a lot of wind ?

Most owners buy a bike based on looks anyway, and even with the Touring Bikes it seems like the majority of bikes dont do more than 5000 miles a year (when you look at what is up for sale) All of the models that HD makes have something a little different for each rider. For a lot of riders the sharknose fairing is the deal breaker because they dont like the looks.

For me , my Road Glide is a keeper IMO the best all around bike Ive owned. I use it to get to work a couple days a week ,130 mile R/T freeway 65 -85 mph with windy days in the high desert. And for fun after work everything from a 20-40 mile ride after work to relax or to go out to eat, to a day or weekend ride. I used to have a Sportster , a Fatboy and a Road King and for me the Road Glide does it all as well as the other bikes .