Hello, recently I decided that this was the year that I was going to buy my first Harley. I have always said that I would buy the street bob when I decided to pull the trigger. I love the look. I love the style. But after sitting on it, my knees were up past the tank. The dealer mentioned forward controls, but I'm not convinced. Should I look at the lowrider? Would that be a better fit?

 

Test them all. Fat Bob and Low Rider are extremely popular for a reason.

You'll probably be more comfortable on a Dyna with forwards but any of them can be converted if not already equipped.

Mids offer better rider control and many owners also fit pegs in the unused control positions to offer variety on longer cruises.

Ride them all. Take notes. Then decide.

Edit: almost everybody changes seats, bars, and exhaust to suit their needs. Harleys are kinda like Legos. Lots of options for customization to make the bike fit, look, & perform like you want.

 

I'm 6' and run forwards on my Street Bob. Love them. I also run a very different setup as I combine the forwards with drag bars on 1" risers. Remember that the Lowrider and Street Bob are the same frame, with the differences between the two primarily cosmetic. What that means is that a Lowrider with forwards will fit the same as a Street Bob with forwards, as long as they are both running the same bars.

 

Take cggormans advice and test them all.

That being said, the street Bob would be fine with forward controls. Floorboards are nice, but don't allow you to stretch out as far as forwards. my father in law is 6-4 and had me install forward controls on his old street Bob. He used to have problems on long rides, but the forward controls eliminated all of that for him.

 

6'2 here, part of the reason I went with the low rider was the further forward mid controls. Having ridden dynas with true mids and forwards (last bike had forwards) the further forward mids are the best of both worlds. I've got shitty knees already at 23 and I've done plenty of 5+ hour rides with no problems, don't even have highway pegs. Perfect positioning in my opinion. If you're gonna look at all the dynas give the low rider a serious look.

 

im surprised to read this because the further forward mids from my lrs were the first thing to go. They were a little better than regular mids but it still was just too cramped on long rides. My knees would ache so bad. Another thing I like about forwards is on my daily 41 mile ride to work on the highway I just set my heels on top of the pegs and stretch out even more.

 

You can put your legs on the LR-S' forward mids too if you want stretch out, just don't take a corner doing it.



OP, the Street Bob is the bike you want right? Then my suggestion would be to swap a few parts to get it to work for you. Dynas are just combinations of parts on the same frame that make for different looks or some characteristics.

Sit on a few different bikes, see what's comfortable. Pegs make a HUGE difference. Both my brother and I are over 6', I ride with the LR-S' forward Mids, he rides with super-forward pegs. Neither of us like the pegs on the other ones bike. I've seen an LR-S at the dealer have forwards installed, so it seems to reason you could find your new bike with the parts you want already on it. If nothing else it's December and they're looking to make sales. Check out the used section, even if you're looking to buy new. Lots of bikes there, lot greater chance of one with different pegs.


As far as your knees go, is it uncomfortable or just different than expected? They're not sport bikes, you won't be hugging the tank the same.




Granted this is a 2018 and not a Dyna, but it does show a rider with his knee above the tank.


And two riders with forward pegs. Notice how this guy's legs are 'locked' and he's stretched as far as he can go?



Yet this guy also has forwards but doesn't seem nearly as stretched?



That's why they make different pegs. The guy that's fully stretched probably isn't that comfortable and won't be able to use the pegs to turn like the second guy could.




All about comfort and how it feels to ride. Start with the pegs, then maybe the seat. Handlebars change a lot as well but won't have anything to do with your knees. Pegs change a tremendous amount., enough where a bike could be almost unrideable to some. Try different bikes to see how they fit, but if you want a Street Bob for all that is good, get a Street Bob. No need to compromise, especially on something you're buying because it's fun.


Oh, and if you do buy new, shop around, ask for a deal. It's not rude, it's expected. I got $500 off my bike (and it was a very hot model), $750 instore credit, and free tires for life when I bought it last December. Having them swap on forward controls for you is not a big thing or the only thing you should be able to get from the deal. Just have to ask, and especially ask more than one dealer because they often will try to out do the other for the sale.

 

I agree with captain awesome, go for the street Bob, and modify it to your wants and needs. When I demo rode the street Bob before I bought it, I wasn't sure which way to go so I asked to ride one with forwards. See if you can do the same.

I paid 200 bucks for my HD forward controls (used but in new condition) on Craigslist. And that included everything, not just the mounts and pegs.

ive also seen posts on here from time to time for people looking to trade forwards for mids and vice versa.

 

Another thing that hasn't been mentioned is seat height. You can easily be raised up 2" with a different seat, and that will affect your leg position. I know at some dealers, they have multiple seats you can demo to see if that changes how you feel about the mid controls.

Dave

 

Man, I'm sorry but dude on the red bike and black 18 look very uncomfortable! I'd cramp like a mother in that position!