I've got a Street Bob, and really like it a lot, but I love the looks of the Slim. I went to the dealer last summer all set to buy a Slim. That's saying a lot considering how much I like my SB. After taking a test ride, I opted to keep the SB. The Slim is great, but I was dragging the footboards even on the lame dealer supervised test ride.

I also used to ride dirt, but not nearly as much as you. Coming from that background, I'd say you'd like the SB more.

Crazy

 

IMHO, Dynas are great bikes with a little bit of suspension work. The stock rear shocks suck so plan on an upgrade. (I went with Ohlins from Motorcycle Metal - Howard) Once the rear suspension is fixed you will realize just how bad the front suspension is. The good news is that after spending around $1000 on the suspension you will have a bike that can be pushed in to the twistys or toured on for 600-700 miles per day.

 

Test ride them both. I rode the Slim on Demo day. One thing I noticed about the ride on the Slim--and the other softail's I tried-- is that it is super easy to scrape the boards. I am far from being aggressive in the corners or when riding in general. In fact, I have never touched down the pegs on my Super Glide so it came as a surprise and scared me a bit. The Heritage and Deluxe I tried were just as bad in this department. I was scraping on the on and off ramps and also when making tighter turns even at lower speed. I was scraping the boards on every other turn and we were not riding aggressivley in the demo group.

I also noticed the boards and grips would vibrate a whole lot more than my Super Glide, which is surprising as I thought the balanced motor was supposed to smooth things out, which it does at idle but at highway speeds the boards and grips were buzzing to the point it was annoying.

IMO, the Softails all have the edge in the looks department but when it came to the ride, it was a different ballgame. The minimal lean angles and buzzy grips and boards tempered the idea I had that I would like a Heritage Classic. Great looking bike but the ride was hands-down inferior to the Dynas in almost all respects. And I am not saying that just because I have a Dyna.

 

I vote for the dyna, and check out the switchback.

 

I love both rides. Looks go to the Slim and every thing else leans toward the Street Bob.

I come from dirt biking also. I like the aggressive feel of the dyna.

There is no looser in this debate. Both are killer!!

 

Thanks to all the responded. It's a tough decision for me. If money were no object I'd get both in Vivid Black. The scrapping has me a bit concerned. As a long time dirt rider I tend to toss bikes into corners at very hard lean angles. I realize I need to relearn this bad behavior before I toss a leg over a Harley.

I'm going to test ride both again this weekend with an eye on the Slim with regards to scrapping and the Bob with less pot holed ride.

Both seem like great bikes.

Thanks again Guys, this forum has been a wealth of good info.

 

I've been riding dirtbikes/MX since I was 4 (30 years ago), the need to do this probably won't transfer to the street like you think it will. It's all about being smooth on the street, I doubt you'll be turning in as hard as you think, the road is going by pretty fast!

I love my Street Bob, but if I was looking at softies then the slim would be my only choice. You can't go wrong either way IMO.

 

i'm 5'9" 185# and love the Slim. Changed the stock seat out and will make adjustment with handle bars soon, but overall love the scoot and very happy that I choose this one.

 

Get a Dyna with forward controls. Handles way better than a softail imo. You can also get the Bob with a 103 for some extra coin.