@RockyMtnRG Happy to. A little background. I’ve been riding ADV bikes for 35+ yrs and never set foot into a Harley dealer until two years ago. I was at the local motorcycle hangout here in the SF Bay Area and saw a guy on a 2020 Fat Bob in white. Very cool looking and not like any other Harley I’ve seen. Well a month later after one test ride I had a 2020 Fat Bob in my garage.

Fat Bob - Fits me perfect at 5’8” with a 28” inseam. As you know it handles amazing and with the 114 has plenty of power. My problem with the Bob is wind protection. At 60yrs old I’m just tired of getting beat up in the wind. The Fat Bob riding position has you upright getting blown around at freeway speeds. I installed the Memphis Shade Road Warrior with an 11” screen. Then a 13” screen. Then the 15”, then the 17” looking to eliminate the buffeting you get with any screen. No screen is no buffeting, but has me holding on tight for direct wind in the face.

Low Rider ST - Read all the reviews. Must have spent 2 months looking at everything online about the bike. There were no dealers allowing test rides up here either. Found a used one with only 4 miles on it and drove 400 miles to pick it up and trailer it back. First ride I thought “oh crap this bike is no where as nimble or fit like the Fat Bob. There are 3 main issues with the stock LRST.

1 - The mid controls. They are too high for even me with 28” inseam. Just was not comfortable at all. Now granted a younger guy with fresh knees might not mind them. I installed Crossthread mini floorboards that helped a lot. They allow my to move my feet a bit forward. Still too high but better. Many guys have put forwards on the ST and swear it is how it should have come from the factory. I may look into that, as that would improve the comfort level for me and make it more like the Fat Bob comfort.

2 - The bars and risers or specifically the risers. At 4” with maybe a 1” pullback they are to far forward and to low even for me. I installed Thrashin 6.5” pull backs as I did not want to go through cable or clutch brake swap out of the gate. They are still a bit too low for me but WAY better. may have the dealer install 8” risers of some type and or mid bend bars. That should fix the reach issue.

3 - Wind protection. Harley says it “was wind tunnel tested” but they must have had the perfect rider height when they did that. The stock screen has the wind hitting me right in the chin pushing my full face up at freeway speeds. So I bought the 10” Harley screen. That had the wind hitting me right in the visor with terrible buffeting. Next up was the Clearview Medium. This one is near perfect and only slight head bobble buffeting above 65mph. I just installed the Klock Werks 10”. While the fit and finish of the KW is much better then the Clearview, the buffeting is a bit worse. I need to try it again just to confirm as my test ride was on a windy day.

For me I’m just to sensitive to the buffeting. Direct wind not so much, but when my eyes are vibrating it just take the fun out of riding.

Both bike handle great. I feel the Fat Bob has more torque down low, and the LRST has more in higher RPMs. This is just seat of the pants though. The Fat Bob had a “stage 1 tune” (supposedly) and the Low Rider has just S&S 50 State slip ons with no tune. I really like the looks and handling of the Fat Bob, but also like the wind protection of the LRST. I took both out for a quick 30 mile ride last weekend and came back still undecided as to which one to keep.

Both are great bikes. No other Harley does it for me except those two. The touring bikes are just to big for me at my age and I’m not doing long rides any longer. I think if I had not owned the Fat Bob first, I would be fine as nothing to compare the LRST to other than my KTM 1190 and KTM 790.

I don’t need to sell either but now have 4 bikes in the garage. Lol. I have WAY too much tied up in both bikes with aftermarket mods that I will never get back so we shall see.

if you go test ride the LRST insist on a freeway ride along with some twisties. I think that’s where you will notice the difference. The Fat Bob for me is the king of the twisties and I can toss that bike around like my ADV bikes. The LRST is much better at freeway speeds and good in the twisties as well. Both bikes are in the same frames but the LRST feels much bigger than the Fat Bob for sure.

I hope that helps . . .

Bob

 

Thanks so much for taking the time to write this up, Calif Fat Bob - very helpful! And this confirms my thinking about the LRST. Like you, my one complaint about the FB is wind protection. I'm currently running a Dougz Spartan mini fairing, which helps but is not a complete fix. I really like the idea of the LRST fairing and bags, but every time I sit on a LR or LRST, I can't get past the mid-mount pegs (I'm 6'1") and am not sure I want to add forward controls (and probably risers) to a new bike. I'd be more willing to do all that if I thought there would be no buffeting on the LRST, but your comments remind me of the process I went through years ago trying to find the right size/shape windshield to stop the buffeting on my Road Glide. When I traded that bike in on a 2018 Gold Wing, I swore I'd never buy another touring bike without an adjustable windscreen. It's mind boggling to me that Harley just redesigned the RG/SG fairing for the new CVOs and stuck with a fixed fairing (but that's a whole other discussion). I think I'll sit tight with the FB for now - I have the riding position set up spot-on for me (3" risers and Thrashin Supply mini-floorboards) and love the bike overall.

Also, all your bikes look great! I've been eyeing a KTM recently - they seem to be constantly innovating their bikes and improving reliability.

 

Thanks Rocky Mtn. I think I can fix the buffeting on the LRST with a Clearview large or XL. I will try that next. Might as well as I have a windscreen store in my garage from all my bikes. Lol. The forward controls are a $600 change so that might be next. I think with forwards that would make a world of difference. I don’t think I can fix the buffeting on the Fat Bob. In the ADV world we say for windscreens you need to small or huge. Everything in between is a compromise.

I ride with my son so we either take the Harleys or KTMs depending on the mood. Lol. I test rode the Pan America last year with adaptive ride height and loved that bike. The only problem is it’s been plagued with quality issues the first two model years. I will wait until they sort that out.

check out Holy Shifts YouTube channel on the LRST. I like his videos and he did a great review on forward controls. Great comparison at the end of the video.

Good luck and be safe.

 

thanks Calif fat Bob for your reviews, I follow your posts as they ara very instructive and as I am interested by your two bikes, and I'd like to give my humble opinion here because I'm looking for a more dynamic and modern bike than the Heritage, I tried a Fat Bob a few month ago while I was seduced by its original and different look but I was a bit desapointed by the comfort, I found the suspensions very stiff and the position too far forward, I had the feeling I was sitting on the bike and not in it like I am on my Heritage and this prevented me from riding it as I would have liked....
As I have already written in an other topic, the LRST doesn't fit me for many aesthetic reasons while I like the concept, but I will try one soon to give me an idea...
I'm now more inclined to go for the LRS in 114 which look more traditional and seems to be as nimble as the Fat Bob, I think it will make a good all around bike suitable for all types of use. With a Road Warrior fairing and a pair of saddlebags easely removable, a set of floorboards and some pull back risers, I think I would have a more sportier cruiser than the Heritage...

 

Thanks Big Al. The LRS is a great choice for sure and easily modified like you mentioned. It’s funny I’ve had ADV bikes for 35 years you would think I would be used to more mid controls, but on the they are just not in the right spot on the ST. Modding these bikes is a fun hobby for me. My son tells me “you like modifying more than riding”. There might be some truth to that. Lol

 

Interesting info from all of you. My personal 2c.......when the LRST was first introduced, I was pretty amped about it possibly being exactly the bike that would be a good fit for me. Then, I did a test ride at one of the dealers in my area, and quickly came to the conclusion that, in stock setup, no way. After looking at all the changes I figured I'd have to make to it, it just wasn't feasible, plus the dealers at that time were tacking a premium onto the MSRP. So, I've ended up with a '22 Heritage 114, just a really good fit even stock, then with several upgrades, even better. For the record, I'm 5'10" and 153 lbs, and now 77 years old. Anybody who hasn't tried the Heritage should take a closer look, if fit and comfort are what you're looking for; I realize they may not be quite as nimble as the LRST, so it all boils down to what your priorities are. I do enjoy seeing all the mods you guys have made to your bikes though!

 

Every bike needs to be modified to fit your needs, and that the charm of Harley, you can make different bikes from the same model, but its true to say that the Heritage can fit every body right out of the box ...

 

Installed Advanblack color matched heat deflectors (duplicate post in the heat deflector thread)

 

At the risk of giving hard core LRST owners heart failure has anyone found a way to replace the stock foot pegs with Heritage floorboards?
The high pegs won't work for me and I don't think the forward controls are the answer either.

 

I used the Fatboy floorboard mounts which stick out 1/2"-3/4" further than the heritage boards.
These photos aren't really a good representation because the bike is torn down but it could possibly help you