Well I thought I was feeling the call of the Dyna, specifically the Street Bob. I had the dealership on the line this past week or so trying to make something work, but to no avail. Today I had the day off, so I loaded up on some caffeine and jumped on the Heritage for a ride over the mountain. I wanted to put a face to the name over the phone and put some eyes on the SB I was wanting. An Hour or so later I pull into the dealership and start looking around. I found the Street Bob we were talking about over the phone, and man...Amber Whisky is a freakin' beautiful color in person. When you see them online it just doesn't do it justice (the new Blue gets a shout out, too, awesome color). I was talking with the service dept. guy and he added some extras that was just the right amount of black, and chrome...it looked amazing, no doubt.


I swung a leg over it, and she sat pretty comfy (seat wise), which I knew it would after sitting on a Denim Black SB last year. What I noticed was the mid controls, I did not like them at all; forward controls would be better most definitely...for me. I looked and felt like a circus bear on a tricycle with the mids. I'm only 5'11 and I know there are guys on here who are taller riding these machines, but dang it was cramped! I liked the feel of the mini apes while inside the showroom.


Test ride...here's where it all changed for me . I had my AK 88 so that was working against me after having a shield to sit behind for a year; what can I say, I got spoiled! It was windy today over there, so that was good I got to take that beating; didn't dig it at all. The power was very noticeable, obviously since it's a smaller ride, I did like that very much. There was a noticeable difference in the "ride" itself. I felt every little contour in the road, which I figured on that going into it after reading a ton here on HD Forums (you guys rock!). The mids I mentioned above played with my mind for a little bit, but in the end my first impressions stayed...didn't like them. With all that taken in together it was a very quick out-and-back test run. I was disappointed and I knew deep down inside that the bike set up like that, it was not for me. It would need a quarter faring to help with the wind, and my full face helmet 100% of the time and forward controls. They had it set up for 2 up riding, and it didn't look too bad. But my OL is 5'2 and I tried to picture her on it with me and I knew she would hate it. She's a fan of the Heritage of course.


In the end I was disappointed. I love the looks of the SB's, and some of you guys have done some pretty awesome mods to make them look even better. However...thank God for test rides! I think I'll stick with my Heritage and work on making it more "mine" for now. In the spring of 2017, if I do go to trade it will probably be for an upgraded Heritage...or a Street Glide (oh crap!!)


On a side note as I finish this freakin' "come to Jesus" moment; How do you guys get more power in your Heritage besides the Pipes / AC?

 

I have tried a couple of bikes out as well and always come back to my Heritage too. It is just such a well balanced all around bike. Sometimes you need to test the waters just to make sure you are still thinking right. I still go to the demo days every year for just that reason.

 

Love my Heritage. Cams will wake it up.

 

Good article, I tried various bikes and ended with the Heritage.

I just installed screaming eagle cams 254e and she pulls smooth and nice.

 

I've rode several others, thought I wanted to trade, but I still have the Heritage in the garage..

You want some extra Umph...---.IMO my best mod was when I had the Andrew's 26's cams installed along with the SE A/C and back in 07 the SERT was about the best tuner 8yrs ago. of course you had to have it Dynoed by a good tuner, which our dealer had one.

you have to ride one with cams to believe the diff. of course you need to match the cams to your riding needs... I am usually between 2000 to 2500 rpms when putting around and I love the 26's.

easy on the engine, your oil temp will drop and if tuned right you should get 2-5 better fuel mileage

 

I've had, or ridden, most models, gotta say the Heritage is hard to beat! I really enjoy mine.

Before spending time & money on cams, make sure you have a good Stage I. There are huge variations in how much power different Stage I's produce.

My "Performance Plus Stage I" is giving me over 93 ft. lbs of torque, and I've never felt a need for more.

You can see the dyno chart on it at the bottom of this LINK.

 

I went into the dealership last year and sat on a Low Rider, I really love the way the bike looks but after sitting on it for a few minutes I became totally convinced that it's designed for girls.
I'm 6' and my knees felt like they were going to touch my elbows and the grips felt dainty small.

Like you OP I'll stick to my Heritage.

 

I had worked out a deal on a new Fat Bob but wanted something for two up riding. Once I figured in the price of the windshield, comfy seat, and backrest the "deal" jumped significantly. I think the Fat Bob would be an awesome bike though but just didn't feel as roomy as a Heritage for riding two people.

 

Thanks Kevin,


I ordered the Xieds last week and they are on the way. With the budget being what it is until 2017 I picked that up. I figured any little change would be better for her than nothing. I'm looking forward to seeing what they do for the bike.

 

I think you'll like how much better your bike will run with them...a bit cooler, and better acceleration.