When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.
I have had 2 batwings in the past.......I test drove the RG and that's all there was to it. I will never go back. IMO best touring bike available......
Cigarette lighter hitting tank on bat wings...not possible ...least on the 09 anyways. Stops about an inch away. Also don't get the turbulent wind round big trucks...and I get within couple feet of them. Frame or fork mounted fairing...i felt both were pretty equal as far as easy of truning. I rode a Roadie ...its nice. But don't see the big difference. I do like the way they look alot.
Only you know how often you are on an interstate with the semis or how often the wind is above 30 mph or so. Decide if the looks you like is worth swapping for the few times you NEED the wind advantage of fixed fairing. My son tried my Road King on a windy Oklahoma day (gusts near 40 mph) and then tried a Road Glide Ultra in the same wind. He bought the Road Glide and commutes daily except for rain and/or ice regardless of wind.
As the various pieces of gusts or turbulence pass over a windshield or bat wing fairing, the imbalances are directly passed into the steering. While gusting cross wind or turbulence push the Road Glide around and can be felt, they DON'T directly deflect the steering as happens with a fork mounted fairing or shield. Similarly, you can feel a cross wind in a car but the wind doesn't actually move the front wheels as it hits the car. It is much the same with the Road Glide.
About a year after I bought a 07 Electraglide a friend bought a 08 Roadglide. He let me ride it once and from then on I knew that my next bike would be a Roadglide. This year it finally happened; I saw a FLTRX that I couldn't walk away from.
I like the looks and the handling and performance in the wind is much better IMHO.
I've turned my 07 fully locked left thousands of times and never had it hit.
Because you didn't buy the "E-Z reach" lighter insert accessory that extends the reach of the lighter a couple inches making it much more easily accessible to the rider while operating the vehicle.
Because you didn't buy the "E-Z reach" lighter insert accessory that extends the reach of the lighter a couple inches making it much more easily accessible to the rider while operating the vehicle.
Well smoking has killed two family members so far so I guess I'll donate my stock one and get a plug for the opening if that's the big problem with the batwing fairing.
7 Surprising Harley-Davidson Products that Are Not Motorcycles
Slideshow: The bar-and-shield logo shows up on far more than motorcycles, some of the company's most unexpected products have nothing to do with riding.
Slideshow: From the troubled AMF years to modern misfires, these bikes earned reputations for reliability issues, questionable engineering, or disappointing performance.
Crazy Bunderbike Build Looks Amazing, But Is It Impossible to Ride?
Slideshow: The Swiss custom shop has taken a Harley Softail and stretched it into something so long and low that it looks closer to a rolling sculpture than a conventional motorcycle.
Engraved Rebellion: Inside Bundnerbike's Glam Rock II
Slideshow: A standard cruiser becomes an intricate metal canvas in the hands of a Swiss custom house known for pushing Harley-Davidson platforms far beyond their factory brief.
Slideshow: Harley-Davidson's challenges aren't abstract; they show up in dropping shipments, shrinking dealer traffic, and strategic decisions that aren't yet translating into growth.