Hello,

I am looking at getting back into riding after 20 years away (Softail Custom).

I am currently looking at a newer model (2012 or newer) Heritage, Street Glide, or Road King.

As I see it:
Heritage: classy looking; simple; affordable
Street Glide: comfy; fairing/radio/hard bags; a "grown-up" bike; maybe more bike than I need(?)
Road King: versitile; kind of a hybrid of the two; best of both worlds

I expect to solo ride, day trips, club rides, commute, ride around town, and the occasional overnight. Ultimately, I will get some road time on each.

In the meantime I welcome any advice from other riders.

Thanks,
Richard

 

Heritage or Road King. Ride them both.

 

Heritage;
Category - cruiser
Model - softail
Frame - softail frame
Engine - counterbalanced
Style - Classic bagger

Road King;
Category - Touring bagger
Model - Tourer
Frame - touring frame
Engine - rubber mounted
Style - fairingless Tourer/Bagger

Street Glide;
Category - Tourer
Frame - Touring frame
Engine - rubber mounted
Style - sleek low stance fairing tourer

Of course they are many other differences between the tourers and the softails. The tourers have dual front Brembo brakes, beefier forks, linked brakes, higher stance for better cornering, bigger fuel tank (6 gallons vs 5 gallons on the softail), cruise control, fly by wire throttle and if it is a touring with a fairing it will have the infotainment system, speakers, MP3 player, and much more. There is certainly a big difference between Tourers and Softails

 

If you want tunes-Street Glide. If you don't-Road King. Forget the Heritage. You will be disappointed in the Heritage's handling. In order to get the low-slung softail look, the MoCo sacrificed lean angles. There is an 8-9 degree difference in lean angle between the Heritage and the Road King. That's alot. So the Heritage won't lean as far and you therefore can't take the twisties as fast or tight. Don't take my word for it. The MoCo publishes the lean angles.

The Road King is also more comfortable for longer trips. The Street Glide has 1 inch less shock travel in the rear and many think it is less comfortable on a long day's ride. (I have no personal experience with the Street Glide because I don't like fairings.)

 

Get a touring bike. Your *** will thank you.

GM

 

As you described your riding needs, either of the three bikes you named will fill your needs adequately and more.


I've never owned a Street Glide but I have owned two RK's (sill have one), two Heritage Softails and one Heritage Softail Springer (still have).


The Heritage has the "classy nostalgic" styling and they are a great bike but some people think they're not for long trips but I've put many miles on mine, sometimes riding double, while pulling a cargo trailer.


The Road King of course has a little softer ride than the Heritage, and it feels much larger, like a touring bike, but you have the option of removing the windshield for the "cruiser" look and a "ride in the wind".


The Street Glide of course has the fairing with the sound system that some folks love, but you cannot (easily) remove the fairing, but you can remove the windshield or get a very short one for riding in hot weather.


I've always been impressed by the value and flexibility of a RK, but the SG and SGS seem to be more in demand these days.
If a sound system isn't something you really want or need, I'd suggest a RK.

 

I have both a Heritage and a SG, and have rented and ridden many RKs.

While I love the styling and character of my Heritage, and love riding it around town and on long straight roads like the overseas hwy (I keep it in the Keys), I would not be happy if it were my only bike. It's hard to find roads where you can even lean a bike over very far in Florida, yet I still managed to scrape the boards on the Heritage.

For an all around great bike that you can ride in both the city and out in the country, on both short rides and long weekend rides...you should probably get a touring bike.

I like the SG for it's slimmed down and stripped down "street" aesthetics, the fairing, and the tunes. The RK handles very similarly to the SG but I always feel like I'm riding a rhinoceros or a giant log on an RK...the center of gravity on it just feels off to me. I guess I just like the perceived balance of the fairing.

Best thing to do is go and rent 1 of each model for yourself and take them on a 300 mile, long day ride and see which one you like the most.

 

I have a Heritage, RoadKing (had 3 others) and an Ultra. All very rideable and confortable. Really like the Heritage for short runs with no shield, the RKs are great for solo, but really long runs I'd say SG. So bottom line your call as to what your overall needs and riding style are.

 

I owned a Heritage Softail; really enjoyed that bike, and thought it would be my last. That was until I rode a 'King. It's in a whole 'nuther league.

 

I've owned a RK and a Heritage. Spent a lot of seat time on SG's.

They are each very different. The SG has lowered suspension, making it the least Comfy ride...but that is easily fixed by swapping out the rear shocks.

Comes down to if you want a fairing or not.

If not, then the Heritage is a very comfortable ride, but does not have the lean angle for more aggressive cornering, and does not have the cruise control for long pulls on the interstate...the RK has both.

Have fun shopping and test riding!