i currently own both a softtail and a roadking. they are different bikes. the softtail is my wife's, not because it is a girls bike, but because i wanted both types in the garage. thought the road king would be the longhaul bike and the softail around town. the softail is fun to ride, responsive, quick and just a blast. the downside it rides as hard as my 78 fl. you know when you've hit a pothole. in handles high speed really well, in fact may even be better than the king at 75-95. very stable. downside ride comfort, cant spend 2 hours on it.

i happened to like the vibration on the king. its a bigger bike both in size and feel. handles twisties better than the softail because of the higher floorboard height. vibration disappears once off idle. at higher speeds the front feels lighter but once you learn to trust your ride you realize it's also very stable.

the bottom line is how much riding, or better, how much saddle time do you expect. if you ride everyday like i do, the king is king.

oh as far as tightening loose nuts and bolts, get used to it on any vtwin. i owned two yamaha vstars and they loosened more hardware than any harley i've owned. one time the rear fender fell off of one of the vstars.

 

My last two HD's were an '01 Dyna Wide Glide and this '03 Softail Springer that I still have. After having the 88B engine in the FXSTS, I would be hard pressed to have another non-balanced engine. I thought I liked the vibrations, until I found out how much sweeter it feels without them ...

Mike

 

Buy the bike that is the style you are looking for. If you are happy with this you prob won't pay attention to the motor.

 

Amen my Brother, Amen.

 

I wanted a Street Bob until I test rode one. I have to spend too much time in traffic to deal with the vibes. If I was doing mostly hiway miles I wouldn't care.

 

Pre 2000 I would have taken the rubber mount any day. I remember I test drove a 1993 Softail Custom at the York open house. I didn't think I would make it back as it felt like it was going to fall apart any minute. You couldn't even read the speedometer it was so bad.

 

My fatboy is a MUCH smoother ride than the rubber mounted nightster I had before. I know the sporty and the dyna are totally different, but I much prefer the balanced engine. I just got back from a nice trip this weekend. I rode to Maggie Valley, NC from Columbia, SC on just the backroads. 35-60mph the whole way for about 6 hours each way, and other than getting rained on in the mountains, I can't imagine a better ride (even with a stock seat!).

 

I have an 88B on my '05 Springer Classic....Rented a '07 Road King in June and rode it 400 miles...I couldn't wait to get backon my bike. The rubber mounted engine was annoying as hell at stops....

 

i've got an '06 fatty with the 88/95B motor, that idles as smooth as glass, but definitely vibrates at 75mph+ which TOTALLY SUX

thinking about running the setup that Chad Pickens is running with a forged balanced A crank with no balancers, as i could give a *** if it's smooth when it idles,,, i want it smooth when i'm out runnin hard

 

I don't know about the B motors vibrations at 75+. I just rode down the shore at 75 to 85 for 100+ miles and the vibrations were no worse then any other bike I've rode. It was better then a 4 cyclinder GSXR 750 and that was prett smooth on the highway. I rode my buddies street glide and that wasn't bad at idle either so maybe it's me. Bikes are gonna vibrate alittle. If you want smooth buy a hybrid.