Wise words. I agree.

Besides the obvious style of the FL series springers, their wide 16" front tire makes them a dream to ride. They do not tramline on ruts like the narrow FX 21" front wheel bikes do. Some like the old school look of the FL and some like the 60's 70's chopper look of the FX.

The evo bikes are pretty bullet proof, change the inner cam bearing at 50k, but they seem to last forever after that maintenance, but they vibrate with the solid mounts. The twin cams before 2008 have spring loaded cam tensioners that have worn prematurely for some; it's not hard to change them to 2008 hydraulic specs or replace the spring loaded ones. But lots of guys never have a problem either. The twin cams are balanced but I find a vibration at 70 that used to annoy me coming from a road king, but I've gotten used to it and don't notice it any more. Evos sound more like potato potato Harleys than twin cams.

The springers need to have their rocker bushings and fall away adjusted every 10k or so. That said my previous owner didn't do it in 20k miles and when I had it done nothing was wrong, just needed adjusting a bit. My dealer does it for $300 but it's not difficult, there are tutorials and a DVD on how to do it. I plan to do it myself next time.

 

Thank you, for that! I am more inclined to get a 16" wheeled springer, since my heritage has that, plus I like the look. The 21" tire seems too thin, to me. It seems, and I could be wrong, since I've never owned one,that the 21" tire could slide out easier. Apart from that, though, I like the classic springer look with the big front fender. So the twin cam Springers don't really have too many issues, in your opinion, other then changng cam tensioners, and, of course, routine maintenance on the springer front end?

 

I've ridden the 21" wheel on my buddies bikes...to me, it follows the ruts too much to suit me, my 16" glides right over them. Plus I find the steering a bit slow on the 21", due to the rake and trail. That is a subtle difference, but I notice it and just prefer the feel of the 16" bike. And like you, I like the look. I wouldn't say either wheel would slide out...both are pretty planted bikes.

And yes, normal maintenance on either Evo or TC and these are very reliable bikes. I mentioned the two hardest maintenance items on both, and the springer maintenance is no big deal. If you buy one PM me for a copy of the video on springer maintenance.

If sound is important to you (like it is to me), listen and ride an Evo and a TC...I went from Evo to TC and while I like the additional marginal power of the TC...I miss the sound of the Evo and I've been trying to make my TC sound like an Evo without much success if you search my threads.

If I had it to do over again, I'd buy a carb bike instead of fuel injection. My buddy's 03 Heritage Classic with a carb gets consistent 45 mpg with me riding it, my FI bike gets 35. I don't care about the money but the extra 40+ miles of range would be nice. And, I've had to replace a cracked throttle shaft and TPS sensor in my fuel injected bike to the tune of several hundred bucks (with me doing the work). He's had zero problems with his carb, and my 95 Evo had zero problems with its carb. You just don't need the complexity of FI on these bikes IMHO. And if you like to mod like I do, modding a FI bike means you have to buy a tuner to adjust fueling...I know how to make maps and do it, but it's a lot more expensive (the tuners are $300+) than just swapping jets which is easy and cheap.

Plus, the heritage springers have a terrific forum...there are detailed tech tips with pics on how to do just about everything on there and it's probably the most helpful forum that I'm on (HSpring03 is the founder or lead moderator, BTW).

http://www.heritagespringer.com

Just be careful...if you buy a Heritage Springer, those guys on that forum will have you spending your money on mods in no time...lol BTW often he parts books say parts don't fit Heritage Springers..but the guys on the heritage springer forum have been there and done that and will tell you what fits or what you have to do to make it fit.

 

Mine has a badboy springer on it and it rides really nice, I was almost surprised at how nice it rides. I'm not a fan of the look though so I'm taking it off this winter.

 

Not by any means an authority on Springers but I know that I like my 05 and it has a little over 82k to prove it. Been on many long rides including Sturgis and had a great time. Personally, I wouldn't trade my Springer for any other bike that Harley makes.

 

Good source for info....

http://www.heritagespringer.com/

 

I agree! I don't ever see myself getting rid of mine. I've wanted a Springer for so long. To me, nothing says Harley Davidson more than a Springer does. It's been around since day one, it launched the motorcycle, has the most iconic look, has many advantages over a telescopic fork, and simply looks awesome. I'm glad I unknowingly bought one in the last year they made them, rather than waited another year and lost out altogether.

 

I have both a Heritage Springer FI (02) and a Heritage Classic (12). Big differences in the engines 88 v 103, 5 v 6 gears, similar comfort profiles, the Springer's front end is a little heavier but it also has beach bars so it's a little less easy to do tight U turns, there is some vibrating through the front end over bumps which I don't notice on the Classic. The Springer vibrates more over 80mph but I get similar fuel use - both do about 40 mpg.

I love the Springer's looks, I always have people come over to talk about it when I'm out. I don't have any plans to sell it. I had the front end adjusted about 4000 miles ago and will again in at the next service due soon at 50,000 miles.

 

used to own an 03 Heritage Springer. Great looking sled, good handling, very little front end dive on braking, but........ the front brakes SUCK!!!

 

Coming from a Road King I agree the springer single disk requires a lot more hand pressure for a given amount of whoa. But I've never felt my brakes were inadequate for a cruiser. It's not a sport bike by any means.