Road Glide vs Street Glide

[skater69]

ORIGINAL: jdag 5) HERE'S THE BIGGIE - At highway speeds the Road Glide was HORRENDOUS. At 75 MPH, getting close to trucks was downright frightening. I would say that once I was withing about 100 yards of a truck the wind blast made the Road Glide feel incredibly unstable. I've ridden for about 6 years now and have never felt that before on any bike. This really surprised me as most of what I've read about the Road Glide points to it being more stable on the highway than the bikes with the batwing fairing. My experience was 100% the opposite. For reason #5, I would never consider a Road Glide. I was anticipating a lower amount of wind and a more stable highway ride. What I found was that the wind protection is aboue the same as on my Street Glide with 6" windshield, but the highway ride was much worse. I am sure that this will rankle some Road Glide supporters. But this comes from recent and 1st hand experience. Thanks, John I'm not a Road Glide owner but plan on being one (or EG standard) soon enough. I rented 2 EG classics (never ridden a SG) and put 200 miles on a Road Glide rental. About 50 miles on the Road Glide I was on the hwy doing 80-90. It felt more powerful than the Electra Glides and stable as anything and I passed many trucks. So it's really strange to me to hear this. My only gripe with the RG was that it didn't fit me as well as the EG with the reach to the bars....but that can be fixed. But the Road Glide felt great in every way as far as ride goes.

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[Gliderider64]

Speaking as a former SG owner, and current RG owner, I "personally" like the ride and handling of the RG much better. As has already been mentioned, the performance of the two is identical if both are set up equal, but I have found that for me the RG has better handling with respect to smoothness and responsiveness. To me it seems the RG is a bit more secure feeling when travelling on the interstate, as it doesnt seem to suffer from the slight wiggle in the handlebars that the SG has when following/passing semi trucks. Basically, in the end, it boils down to a matter of eye appeal for the owner. As for me, it's the RG hands down.

[emwolb]

i've owned my 08 sg for almost two years, and i am very happy with it. that being said, i would have rather had a roadglide. i may try to find an 09, as the 2010's really don't trip my trigger. just my 02 cents.

[dklanecky]

The only way to tell what works for you is to spend a day renting. My dealer allowed me to swap bikes mid day, so I had the street glide in the am and the road glide in the pm. Rode the same route (boring I know) but my objective was to compare the two in as close a time frame as possible.

For me, the choice was obvious. The RG steering / handling was so much lighter and smoother that there was instantly no comparison (again for me). Apparently, the extra weight of the bat wing fairing (on the bars) does have some effect in handling "feel".

The hard part was not letting the dealer know which way I was leaning.

[meveratt]

Here's another point that you rarely hear about. Mileage. My buddy has a EG Ultra, and I have a Road Glide. We're both tall guys, so we both have tall shields. Weight on the loaded bikes was similar, and we were both one-up, no trailers or anything.

On a recent 6000km trip, he was always putting in more gas than me. At one stop, 350km from the last fill, I put in 4.7 gallons, and he put in 5.7. The most obvious factor seems to be the slope of the windshield: a slippery fairing and laid back shield on the RG, versus a fairly upright fairing and shield on the Ultra. Park them side by side and look at the difference.

Your numbers may vary.

[K00LJerk]

the SG is a harsher ride due to the shorter shocks everyone ends up changing the windshield because its really too short. The RG is better in high wind situations it won't jerk the handlebars due to the frame mounted fairing.

[wassup8687]

Your best bet is to give them both rides in similar situations. I had the chance to ride a RG for a week and I couldn't wait to get my Ultra back. The buffeting was horrible on the RG and I hated the long reach to the radio. Every one is different so you'll need to see what works well for you.

[1953riderforlife]

[quote=jdag;739369]

5) HERE'S THE BIGGIE - At highway speeds the Road Glide was HORRENDOUS. At 75 MPH, getting close to trucks was downright frightening. I would say that once I was withing about 100 yards of a truck the wind blast made the Road Glide feel incredibly unstable. I've ridden for about 6 years now and have never felt that before on any bike. This really surprised me as most of what I've read about the Road Glide points to it being more stable on the highway than the bikes with the batwing fairing. My experience was 100% the opposite.
---------------------------------------------------------
To each his own but I was amazed to read this. I have never seen a road test that didn't rate the Road Glide highway stability better than the batwings. I have owned my for over a year and do a lot of riding on the expressway and have never had a more stable bike. What I noticed is that I get the sensation of wind buffeting on my body when riding at high speeds with tractor trailers but that is because the bike itself is rock solid stable. The frame mounted fairing keeps the wind turbulance from the forks. The fork mounted batwings, to me, are like riding with a sheet of plywood strapped to the front of your bike.

[harley0711]

I have been on this forum for severl years now and this question keeps coming up... grab a beer and use the search,, you will have enough reading to last a life time.. Asking this question is like asking a question on what type of woman you should date.. Not trying to be a total smart ass but the answer to your question really depends on what YOU like - rent both and ride them.. I have spent a lot of time on both... They are both great machines... On one day, I like the looks of the RG the next week, I like the looks of the EG.. I have ridden Both in high winds.. both from the front and from the side... I am talking about 50 MPH winds... They both handle fine... some people like the RG for winds... again,,,, its up to YOU...

[harley0711]

Time (MST): Temp: Visibility: Wind Dir: Wind Speed: Gust Speed

7:56 AM 54.0 °F 10.0 miles South 33.4 mph 54.1 mph

The above is taken from:

http://www.wunderground.com/history/...q_statename=NA


Pont being, I left Winslow AZ at 8am on April 15 heading Due East.. The above winds were the worst I have even ridden in - we had to hit the road or I would have just stayed another night... anyway... Riding two up, fully loaded and me being 5'6". I felt the best speed I coudl do was about 45 - the steady winds from the right were 33.4 and the gusts were over 50 (ouch). I was on my EG. These winds lasted for about 90 min then we were finally out of the biggest problem... during all this time... I was in the right lane and doing just ok... the big trucks would come up behind, I would put on my flashers and they would go around.. Sometime well into the 90 min... I saw a biker coming up from behind - I am doind 45 at best and he is gaining fast... I am impressed - what kind of bike can take these 50 mph cross winds.. WOW - it was an EG... he gave a wave and kept on going.. So, it just went to show ME that the bike can take it,,, its just me... I kept my speed because my butt had sucked the seat up, lol... Great learning exp... just sharing this story to show - exp rider can do just fine with a EG in some of the worst winds I have ridden in...