I am shopping for a futureaffordable Harleyfor my garage. I have studied the Harley site and see that they are pretty affordable now. What is the difference between, (example) a wide glide and a softail standard? They seem to fetch a very different price and yet have basically the same spec's but in a different category on their website. The wide is the top in their category and the standard is the bottom in theirs. Both have the same motor and trans don't they? On eBay people seem to think their standards are worth a heck of a lot more than the wides. Why and thanks?

 

Mostly personal preference. Get what looks good to you.

 

the difference in price is based on standard crome really. The wide glide comes with a fancier looking motor, chrome and black, as well as black engine components and much more standard chrome, where the standard has a polished metal engine and very little chrome. however most of the chrome on the wide is kind of plain and will be replaced later. so just get what you like and expect to put more money into it later.

 

I am shopping for a futureaffordable Harleyfor my garage.(snip) What is the difference between, (example) a wide glide and a softail standard?

First thing is there is no affordable Harley they are all black holes that will suck up all of your disposable income and leave you wanting more, you can buy a house in some states for what some folks have into thier Harleys.A Wide glide is a custom Dyna with a different frame, forks and bars they have twin conventional shocks in the rear and the engine is rubber mounted.All Soft Tails have the rear shock hidden under the seat to make them look like an old rigid frame, they also have a solid mounted counter balanced engine.I think allot of Harleys pricing is based on the popularity of the model IE an Electraglide Standard is priced thousands less than a Road King even though it comes with more standard features.

 

[align=center][/align][align=left]The first letter of the model designator reveals the engine series:[/align]First character:
G - Servicar three wheeler, 1932 to 1972
E - Overhead valve 61 cubic inch "big twin" (Engine/trans separated)
F - Overhead valve 74 or 80 cubic inch "big twin"
K - Side valve 45 and 55 cubic inch sports bike that replaced the WL in
1953 and was replaced by the sportster in 1957. It had many design
features that were carried over to the Sportster.
U - Side valve 74 or 80 cubic inch "big twin"
V - Side valve 74 cubic inch made prior to 1936
W - Side valve 45 cubic inch made 1934 to 1952
X - Sports and special construction. Applied to 1918-1922 opposed twin
Sport, 1944 military opposed twin, and 1957 to present Sportster.
There were others, such as the J series (a very nice looking bike that was about the hottest thing around in the 20's) but you're not likely to see them in daily use anymore.
Second character:
L - high compression. Omitted on low compression early models, and not indicative of compression on current models.
Remaning characters:
Model descriptions, eg WG - Wide Glide. Some generalizations:A - Military (Army) version (except GA, Servicar without tow bar)
B - Battery start (early models), Belt drive (some later models).
C - Classic, Competition, Custom, various others meanings.
D - Dyna, the newest frame and engine mount design.
E - Electric start
F - Foot shift (when the standard was hand-shift)
H - varied between High performance and Heavy duty. The early FLH for
example produced 5 more HP than the FL and was used primarily for
touring and sidecar applications.
LR- Low Rider (though many Low Riders don't include LR in the model ID)
P - Police version
R - Rubber mounted engine (some models) racing version (other models) e.g.
the FXR is a lowrider with rubber mounted engine, WLR is the flat
track racer that was very hard to beat in the 30's, 40's, and 50's.
ST- Soft Tail
S - (without following T) Sports version eg FLHS is an FLHT without the
touring package.
T - Touring
WG - Wide Glide
Sportsters: Models beginning with X are Sportsters. These descend from the K series, 1952-56. The XL series started in 1957. They are "unit construction" (engine & transmission share a common case). X was in the normal series, following the U and V used for flathead Big Twins. L stood for high compression (7.5:1 in 1957). In 1958 came the XLH with H meaning Higher-power or High-compression (9:1) or Hot. Also in 1958 was the XLCH: The C in XLCH was intended to mean "Competition", but the late Hal Robinson used to claim the CH on his bike stood for "Charley Horse" because it was highly modified and had enough initial ignition advance to kick back rather severely.
[font=arial][color=#000000][size=3]The Sportster engines were originally actually 53.9ci. (883cc) but were designated as 55ci. This was upgraded (in 1970?) to 61ci (1000cc), redesigned in '73 but still 61" and stayed relatively unchanged untill the 74" evo version. The 883 and 61" were both produced the first year of the 883. Options for Sportsters abounded but these same letters have been used since 1958 in various combinations, plus the XLCR (a "cafe racer" style, with bi

 

Get the motorcycle that you want instead of buying a less expensive model and trying to change it into a different one, such as trying to turn a Super Glide into a Wide Glide. It is way more expensive in the long run.

 

Go to a dealer or two and check them out. Find a dealer that does demo rides or rent a few and see what is comfortable for you. It may seem like a lot of $$ to rent, but only you can feel what you are comfortable on. I had many people trying to convince me to go with a softtail, but I could not get comfortable on one with my riding style. The dyna line seemed to fit me and just felt right when I rode them. I chose a SuperGlide and decided what I wanted to start putting on it for mods. Personally I am not a big chrome fan. That's the beauty of Harleys. One of them will just reach out and bite you. Just make sure you get to ride that model. Again, it has to fit you and your style of riding or you will not be happy. Good luck with your choice.

 

Take it from me that's the truth!

 

Everyone knows LowRiders are the only way to go

 

I bought the wide glide mostly based on looks and then the ride is also damn good considering it's a ballsy machine. The other differences that I see stand out are the tank and rear fender appearance.