I was at the stealership last week and was instantly smitten by a 2019 Fat Boy 114 in Gray Denim.
Credit check was okay so I'll have to put in a deposit by week's end, but I'm still undecided.
The thing is, I love the bike, the look, and always wanted a Softail, but coming off a Road King, the reach to the bars seems just a tad forward for what I'm used to.
Anyway, for comparison's sake, also sat on a '19 Deluxe and liked the ergos much better, and was wondering if anyone has an 18+ Fat Boy fitted with pullback risers, which seems to be the way to go to get it better suited to my riding posture. My concern is, will the risers make the bars hit the tank/gauge cluster? Will I need longer cables? I'd really enjoy the ride that much better if I was more upright.
Your thoughts, please.

 

I put risers on my FB and didn't change anything else (cables etc.). Made it way more comfortable.

 

You should be able to roll the bars up to eliminate any issues with the tank. Dunno about the cables. Maybe go to the dealership with a piece of string and measure the distance and routing the of the standard Fat boy cables then do the same on the Deluxe. You'll then know if there's length difference and how much. You always call the service manage and aske him, That's what I did.

I had, maybe I still do, a similar issue. Because of neck and shoulder issues I need a lower, shorter reach bar on my new Heritage.

The dealer's replacing the bars on my Heritage bars with Deluxe risers and Slim bar. Service manager and lead tech assured me it'll work with existing Heritage cables and plumbing. I'll know by Thursday, that's when they expect to have the new parts and job done.

Maybe we can make a deal on my heritage bars. IF you decide to buy the Fat Boy and are interested in my Heritage bars, send a pm.
No need to loose anymore sleep pondering the purchase, just go buy it. You'll love your new fat Boy....

Paul

 

Same deal except for orange I was surprised how good it looked in person. Arranged for a test of all three as shown. Really surprised by the Fat boy. Very much so. I figured it would be abit more of a handful at lower speeds. Not as nimble as the Sport Glide, but not much worse than the Fat Bob. Still smitten.

Enough to get to that price? Jury is still out, but at least I am now a fan of the Fat Boys. Besdies.... "Mmm Dat *ss!"

 

Been riding for decades but I'm not a pro rider by any means. I don't find my Fat Boy to be hard to handle in the corners or at any other time. We all tend to get used to what we have and I've found it no different with the FB. Is it nimble? Not nearly as my '04 Deuce. But it takes very little effort to get it to do what I want it to do. That being said, the lean angle or lack thereof would prevent even the most accomplished rider from "carving canyons" I think.

I was telling my wife I'd like to see Harley put a set of tins on the newer Fat Boys that we might have seen on a WWII bike. The awesome beefiness of the bike reminds me of Steve McQueen's jump over that fence in "The Great Escape".

 

Personally I'm not a fan of the extreme fat back tire. Been there and done that. Shortcoming is you have to keep countersteering to follow the track you want. Now that engine in the standard fatboy......outstanding.

 

That is true, and ironic that you should mention it. I just got back from a ride and was observing that compared to other bikes I've had, including my VTX 1800 ridden darkside, my Fat Boy does require a definite consistency on the counter-steering throughout the curves. But, as I said it's just something that one gets used after putting miles on the bike. Too many reviewers with too few miles on the model make a big thing out of what really amounts to little when it comes to the way the bike handles. All in all it's just the price we pay for the look. Not a steep one either imo.

 

I went with wider beach bars which also came back further. Lost the running boards too for a more comfortable ride.

 

dig that pipe! who makes it?

nice bike too...

was a toss up for me between the 114 FB and the 114 BO; thought the FB was too "old man" looking...

btw... just turned 40 and bought a 114 BO for my birthday... in my own head, im still 25...

 

The pipe is a Supertrapp Bootlegger. I saw a breakout on the weekend with the same pipe, except is was ceramic coated black.....which I will be doing to mine soon too.