I am 34 years on and on July 13I purchased my first bike ever a 07 Deuce after getting my permit that morning. I put my gear on and road it off the lot. May have not been the brightest or best idea and was pretty scary until I got off the main roads.

Now I have 6000 miles on, my full license and don't know why I didn't do it a long long time ago. I love every minute of it.

I say get what you want, take the coarse and take your time and have fun!

 

I`m 57 have never owned a bike-rode some in the 60`s(friends and cousin`s bikes)-saving up for a good down payment andwill geta
Heritage classic.

Enjoy that FatBoy..

 

I'd say yes if you don't know how to ride.

 

30 years old. never ridden. bought an 02fatty. took the safety course (msf). been ridin ever since.

 

You've ridden before, so I don't think it's too much bike. They're very docile handling and as long as you take it easy and don't try to ride above your confidence level, you should be ok. I hadn't ridden a bike in 10 yrs before I got my '06 Fatboy, and I had no trouble with it, in fact I thought it was easier to handle than the last bike I had ( '81 Kawasaki 750 ).
I'd recommend against putting around the neighborhood or in city traffic for awhile though, as you'll have enough on your mind without worrying about getting cut off at intersections or having people back out of a driveway in front of you. Find a nice low traffic open road if you can, and get used to it there. Practice handling it at low speed,empty parking lots are good.I always try to stop with my left foot ONLY down, and my right on the brake. Juggling an uphill start after having both feet down and your throttle hand tied up on the front brake doesn't work with a heavy bike. I see people doing it all the time, quite funny sometimes lol.
Glad to hear you've taken the safety course, that's a must.

 

I'll just repeat the same thing I put in the thread that asked about having a Deluxe as a first bike:

A1450 cc, 700 + lb bike is NOT a starter bike.

Actually, I say that for many reasons. Number one being that I have seen too many sad stories of the guy/gal that didn't want to waste thier money buying a starter bike...so they run out and buy thier dream Harley...and a couple of rides later they have scared themselves off the bike for good, they are nursing some very bad road rash and calling the insurance company to fix thier pretty $20k toy, or they are DEAD[]. I'm not over exaggeratng. Not to long ago around here a man bought his dream fatboy..passed the MSF course and 2 rides later he lost control in his neighborhood and died. He had riden 20years ago and didn't think he needed to start smaller. This does not happen to everyone but lately it just seems like a trend.

For you folks that don't want to waste your money....or a 250 is not big enough for your ego.....and especially if this is your first bike :

Get a smaller bike...not a Sportster (which can be a really fun but tough ride and even a bit speedy) but a mid-sized metric. Yamaha 650, Honda Shadow 700. I paid $3500for a usedlate model Yamaha 650 that I threw on the ground (with no damamge to me or it) several times. No crying from me because I didn't have to have my $20K bike fixed each time. 9 months later I sold it for the same amount....minus tax and license. It paid for itself......

That does not mean you can't hang around here and learn about the Harley models. Heck you might find you want a Touring Bike (Yes I know bad words in the softail forum) instead of a softail and you didn't spend $20k to figure it out!

 

My take on this and similar threads...

Big twins do not have an overly high power to weight ratio. Dead stock it would be similar to many of themodern 250cc bikes available. A 600cc sports bike would be a far more dangerous bike to learn on as far as outright speed and the speed at which it can get you into trouble. Most of the japanese mid sized cruisers would have a similar or better power to weight ratio anyway.

700 pounds is a lot of weight but these bikes have a very low centre of gravity which helps a lot with balance.

If you have ridden before and have a decent amount of strength and sense of balance Iwould say get it.

cheers
Surly

ps an idiot on any bike can hurt himself...

 

Considering your age, you have matured beyond doing the crazy riding we do as kids. That being said, the Fatboy is so well balanced that you may have to remember to put your feet down when you stop. Of course, as others have stated, it is an expensive endeavor and would really suck if you drop it and scratch it up; so consider riding another less expensive bike for a while. Even consider renting fora week. Keep the wind in your face and remember to spit the bugs out.
Welcome back to riding!

 

Take MSF course, test ride a lot of bikes, get the Fat Boy.

 

If you purchase another bike, you'll always be wanting the Fat Boy if you have your heart set on it. Get the bike you want. I test rode Star Stratoliner (Very nice), Victory 8 ball (fun ride), Star Roadstar (liked better than the Stratoliner), then I went to the Harley Dealership. Road a new Dyna(it was ok), rode a Dyna Wide Glide (this became #1 on my list at the time), then rode a '06 Heritage Softail. I was grinning ear to ear while on the Softail. I knew whatever else I bought, I'd be wishing I had the Softail. It was my 1rst bike in 22 years. I havn't looked back since.