I've always loved the look of a springer front end but I admit that I've never ridden one. If I ever add a 2nd bike to the stable I was thinking about one. What are the up's and down's?

 

Fantastic bikes. I have had 3 Springers and 2 Harleys with regular forks. I have 2 Springers now.
I love 'em.
Benefits -
1. They look Great
2. When riding hard in the mountains or on just twisty roads and you jump on the front brake - the front end DOES NOT dive like a sliding fork front end.
3. They look Great
4. NO changing fork oil

Downs
I don't really know of any. There are some "old wive's tales" associated with springers that I have found are just not true.
If you get on your regular bike and ride down a very bumpy road and then get on the springer and ride the same road you may notice a very slight "bouncy" feeling to the front end. Nothing bad. After you ride the bike for a few days, you will not even notice that any longer.
People say the front end is heavier. Well I have never tried to lift the front end off the ground and I don't recommend it. The front end is balanced around the pivot point and properly adjusted for fall away, you notice no difference in feel of "the weight" of the front end between a springer and a dyna.
Get one.
You'll never regret it.
Did I mention they look Great?
Mike

 

I ride an '05 Springer Classic. No regrets whatsoever with this choice of bike. You can't beat the old school look. I've heard people say the weight of the front end is a downside to the springer, in my opinion, it's the opposite. I can ride my bike on the interstate past an 18 wheeler at 80 mph with one hand on the bars. It rides straight and true, no whiplash from wind or passing vehicles.

Just my .02 worth....

 

I agree with pitbulldog and bikerdoc. Springers are all positives and no negatives that I can think of, and you can't beat the look.

 

They sure do look cool...

 

I love the Springers! Either the Standards or the Classics. Can't go wrong in my opinion.

 

Personally, I don't like the look of the HD Springer front end at all, especially the FX front end.


Here it goes...Flame suit on...
Too steep of a rake, looks funny to me, especially on the FX. Makes it a total turn off.
Too many moving parts to maintain.
Too skinny looking from the front.
Funny looking forward tire position.
Not as consistant damping as the hydro units and there is NO WAY a Springer handles better.
Underpowered braking from the single cylinder caliper.

I'll pass.

 

Funny how 2 people can have such different views of a bike, but I guess that is what makes this rock... rotate.

I think the Springer is sexy as hell. Nostalgia and the mechanical look is perfect.
The rake is fine the bobber front appearance is one of the Springers better attributes.
The moving parts (2) are easy to maintain as they pretty much take care of themselves. My Springer had 7500 on it and no issues.
Skinny on the FX is sleek, Fat and Chunky on the Classic is solid looking.
I'll agree on the standard forks being a more consistant damper, but the Springer handles fine.
Underpowered braking? I can haul my Classic down from 70mph just as effortlessly as my buddies twin disc RK. If you need substantially more than what's provided on
the Springer, you need to be riding a crotch rocket!

I love my Springer Classic. But if you try and compare it to my 2007 Street Glide, then you aren't being fair. Both bikes excel in their respective demographics.



[IMG]local://upfiles/20416/D3EAF137B0AC421995C1652EF7A23AD9.jpg[/IMG]

 

You are right.
What's one man's trash, is another's treasure.
That's why the offer both.
I do know that the Springer is the slowest movers off the floor for the dealerships, so it's definitely an astethic thing for those who like them, and not a popular or functional one. If the rake was different, I might like to look, but HD's rendition doesn't get it done for me.


I guess we can agree to disagree on the front brake.
I think it's single piston caliper whoafully underpowered.

I got to say that the I saw a Lehman trike conversion built from a Classic at my dealership, and it looked pretty neat. Very retro.

 

Well you are correct about the sales! I hear my local guys grunt and groan about how slowly they move, in fact did they not drop the FX from the line up in '07? I think the only FX Springer available is the SE edition.

When I bought my 05 FL Springer, I had guys telling me what a mistake I made. It would ride rough, handle like crap, get all loose in the nose after 1000 miles, yada, yada, yada. I love the Springer Classic. To me it's like a Corvette, looks different, rides a little stiff which some may call rough, has no frills and is kinda the saturday night hotrod cruiser. And my Street Glide is the caddy, the plush riding land yacht with tunes and bells & whistles. I love em both...