To begin, I love my Sportster but made the mistake of looking over a used Deluxe a while back and the salesman urged me to give it a test drive. I did, and really enjoyed the ride but was a little unsure of the size and weight. Then my wife announced that she might consider riding with me sometimes and that was really the straw that broke the camel's back...so to speak. Started looking at both used and new softails but seemed to always come back to this one 2011 Heritage that was in this deep burgundy called Merlot. She saw it and liked it a lot and kept insisting I just go with a brand new bike over a used one what with what they asking for the used ones, she even likes the "swoosh" on the tank. Made sense to me!

So I went down to our local Dealer that just got a Heritage in with the color I wanted and it had not even hit the floor yet. Told him i would buy it if he could meet my price for my bike and if they could move some on their MSRP. We shook hands less than 5 minutes later.

So here are my observations after a full 65 miles of riding.

Wow. What a ride. Guess I never realized how much the sportster bounces you around. Super smooth and the old road bumps and whatever were suddenly smoothed out to where I hardly noticed them.

Plenty of power for me. Course I won't go over 3000 rpm during break-in. The counter balanced engine is very smooth, even at idle. Noisy though.

More places to store things than I know what to do with. Guess I'll just have to take longer trips. Hell, it's prewired for a battery tender and has a cool feature of showing the RPM and what gear you are in.

Overall I could not be happier. I spent most of last night wiring up my Garmin, putting on tassels and a cup holder, and of course...just staring at her. Now I just need some Rush slip-ons and an engine guard. Seeing as how it didn't happen unless there are pictures, here are a couple of quick pics I took just after I brought her home.

 

now that is just sweet......enjoy & ride safe

 

Great choice, beautiful. Welcome to Softtail world.

 

good looking bike !here is the dyno sheet of my 2011 heritage,bone stock and then added 2 inch baffle rush slip ons.no tune but it was lean and surged and stumbled a little going up small hills unless i gave it more gas but no big deal.but do get a tuner and that will eliminate the surge.course your bike may not do it.

 

Great color and beautiful ride. Congrats!

 

Just got back from a short ride and I am liking it even more. Thanks all for the comments.


How do you like the 2" baffles? I had heard they were a bit loud and am thinking maybe 1.75"...but am not sure yet.

 

Welcome to the heritage club... My wife has an '04 and I have an '02 and soon I'll be picking up my new / used '08

 

Great bike, I just put 130 miles on my new 2011 Black Heritage today.

As far as the baffles for the Rush pipes, I went with 1 3/4" based on the dealer recomendation, and I really like them. Plenty loud and rumbly without being obnoxious.

I also did stage 1, which is the Pipes, Air Cleaner, and Download. Like you, I'm still in the break-in phase, but so far, it runs and sounds great.

Have fun!!

 

Stock motor, stay with the 1.75. I have run them both (still have them in the attic). The 2" were a little more brash at lower RPM, the 1.75 were perfect for my taste.

Trust me, you'll find stuff to put in them bags.


I have an 08 Heritage and love it.

 

Great choice of bike. It's a real go-anywhere, do-anything model. I've had mine all over the U.S. (more than once) and wouldn't have any other model.

Regarding the exhaust, I'd stick with the 1.75" (having tried all sizes at one time or another before going to the Fatcat). They have a nice rumble but aren't obnoxious, which is important on longer rides. Also, they will get louder as the baffle material (which is replaceable) wears out. Good luck with the bike!