I went to my local dealer and tried to get into the tourers. It felt like I was sitting on the bike and no in it. I sat on a new heritage and it felt like sliding into a woman your in love with. No feeling like it. The suspension may be better on the tourers but the heritage just felt right. It has the B motor in it which is another plus in my book but that is a personal opinion.

 

Hey guys...the OP says he hates the studded bags on the Heritage, but the consensus seems that would be the perfect fit. (I'm not big on those bags either). So, question is, is there a non-studded bag option for the Heritage and if so, how much? That may still be the best option for him w/o having to spend a bunch of money on the bike.

BTW, normally, I vote RK/RKC for obvious reasons. Versatile bike and handles like a dream. But, at 5'5", I don't think the RK is the way to go unless you added Air Suspension (such as Arnott) - that would get the bike low for looks/moving it around, and could raise the bike up for touring comfort. W/O such mods, a Fatboy Lo or Deluxe would fit the bill...if money grew on trees, perhaps the '10 Softtail Convertible CVO.

As far as a Fatboy, I think that is a pretty good option for the OP if he's absolutely against a bagger. My friend rode 2300 miles to Sturgis on her '03 Fatty (with 3 of us on Touring Bikes). She held up/kept up fine, but it was after getting Arnott Air Suspension, a new Ultimate seat and ISO grips in preparation for the trip. That's some serious coin. We were talking about it last night. She loves that bike, but said it starts vibrating more and is more "work" to handle at about 55+ mph. She's now looking at either a SG or RG. I rode her bike recently and I concur...the bike looks great and is a kick to ride around town, but getting on the road and getting it up to speed, the bike was nowhere near as sweet as my RKC. Sure, you can tour on that bike, but at the end of a long day, you'd be more worn out than if you were on a touring bike.

 

well did some demo rides today. vrod is eliminated entirely after i rode the road king and heritage today. i took the rkc first then switched to the heritage. honestly both felt pretty damn comfy. but i think the nod goes to the rk. i liked how the softail was and it definately requires less $$$ to fit. was smoother at idle. had more feedback as far as the motor was concerned. reason for me riding the heritage was it seemed closest to the crossbones out of there demo bikes. so i need to find a dealer with a crossbones demo to totally eliminate it.

as far as the king it was the clear winner once moving but it will take a little money to bring it down to where i would like it. once thats sorted i may be happier in the long run. so im stuck with a decision go softail and save some money or go rk and splurg. so if i dont like the springer ride this will be an easy decision me thinks

 

I think when your spending around 20-22K whats another 1500? Go for the RK & bag it, make it fit & ride what you like. You will regret not getting what you wanted later. Believe me, more money will be added to whatever you end up with. Do it right from the beginning.

 

cash for clunkers kicked in big time and i may be able to pull the trigger mid sept. if im not thrilled by the springer its most likely gunna be the rk. i was figuring id would do the progressive air ride in the back with hd fork kit in the front. also add a lower seat i should be flat footed all day.

its pricey but fbi offers a kit for 3 inches lower without any suspension changes. if i went crazy and did both it would be a hair lower than a deluxe. a midget could flat foot it and you would still have some clearance when rolling

 

what are the biggest difference between road king and the roadking classic? any benefits to one over the other, the only one i see is locking bags on the standard. i prefer the wide white walls and ita a hair lower than the standard, but im curious to see what if would take for streetglide wheels on my rk if i go basic black. that would look nice also.

i really feel close to pullin the trigger on the rk pending a crossbones test ride just to ram it home.


just wondering whats the better value

 

For what it's worth, this weekend I traded in my Ducati 996 for a Road King Classic because I was looking for many of the same things you are.

So far I love it. It's a much bigger bike but very easy to ride.

 

Structurally, the RK and RKC are the same bike...one has hard bags/blk walls, the other has leather/white walls. Both are absolutely incredible bikes though.

I was poking around Craigslist last night...the poor economy is pushing riders to sell their bikes at some very good prices. Check them out.

Good luck.

 

IMO... if you end up with either one of the two bikes you tested, in a few years, you'll be wishing you bought the Street Glide, or Road Glide Custom. They are both already lowered, and chopped (for touring bikes). Do yourself a favor and test them both. I wish I had.

 

tough call on the faired bikes. i do like the streetglide a lot, but i like the ability to go without a shield. i plan to ride the streetglide and crossbones before i buy. crunch time cant come soon enough. i kinda want the newer tech frame, after all i still ride a honda...

but i have seen some cheap bikes but nothing that really caught my eye yet.