During my vacation without my bike I had to satisfy my need for speed so I rented an '07 softail custom from Harley of Ocean City. I called the night before and everything they rent was available except the wide glide. It was Thursday morning which meant it was the 6th day without riding. As you can guess I was sitting in the parking lot eating breakfast waiting for them to open at 9 AM. Once inside I scanned a board with pictures of their rental bikes. I not only wanted to get my riding fix, I also wanted to get an idea on what direction I would go for my next bike. Although the Vrod would have been real fun, I knew that the basic decision would come down to either a touring bike or a softail. Leaning towards a softail I walk up to the rental counter where a rather frazzeled but very attractive lady was just getting in the work frame of mind. It was obvious that she was new, but I was in no hurry and she was friendly. A few minutes later the head of the rental department comes over and raises the stress level a few notches. Since it was my vacation I decided to break up the tension and asked if I could check out the rental bikes. The bossman walks me back to check them out and asks me what I ride. He suggests the softail custom indicating that it would have a similar cockpit and he was right own. The forward controls were kicked out a little more, bars had my hands up only an inch or two higher, but it did feel very close to my 1200 custom.

A few more minutes of paperwork, a run down on the bike, a quick spin around the parking lot and I was ready to go. I turn on to route 50 towards Ocean City, but decide that I need open highway without traffic lights. I do a u turn and head towards 113. This is when I noticed how much more stable the softail custom felt at low speeds. At the next red light I stand out of the seat and throw the bike side to side under me. It felt lighter at low lean angles but its extra 100+ pounds was obvious once leaning a little more.

I grab a lot of throttle andI wasamazed at how quiet the 96er is. Barely any mechanical noise which was good since the screaming eagle pipes would have easily been drowned out by the chatter of a sporty v twin. Acceleration seemed a bit slow but the chastity belt on the air cleaning was still in place. Up at speed it felt stable with only a slight buzz in the bars. My intial instinct was to wind it out but I didn't need a run in with Johnny Law on my vacation. I did goose it to get around traffic. This is where the 96er felt stronger than my 1200, but this is very subjective. Sixth gear was real nice although trying to stay near the speed limit proved to me that this gear was better suited for speeds of 70 and above. Unfortunately I didn't know the area too well so I didn't get a chance to checkout its performance on the twisties. Then again a softail custom really isn't designed to carve corners.

This was the first time I rented a bike and theexperience was a good one. The eye full of cleavage I got from the woman at the rental counter made the paperwork enjoyable and the only maintenance complaint I had was an out of adjustment throttle cable. As for my opinion on the softail custom, I racked up 140 miles in 4 hours and enjoyed the ride. Cruzing on the highway at 65 felt real comfortable. The low center of gravity made low speed manuevering easy and the stock seat made the 4 hours go by fast. I was disappointed at its launch speed, but opening up the air cleaner would probably improve that. Its hard to compare the softail to my sportster. I know its over used, but it really was like trying to compare apples to oranges. They are definately different, but its hard to say that one is better than t

 

Very cool,I like the Softtail C but can't see me buying 1 for an extra $10K,probably the only other Harley I would get over a Sportster,maybe a V-rod but will not have a need unless Dawn decides not to ride her own again.[&:]

 

I really enjoyed the story! I have not had an opportunity to ride anything else but my sportster so yourexperiencewas very informative.

Thanks!!!

 

Cool. Good info, as I've been looking at adding a horse in my stable and haven't decided between the Softail Custom or the Road King Deluxe.Checked both out at the dealer last week.I'm just not sure....Will have to roadtest both.

 

From my limited riding experience on both of those, it would be a very easy choice for me. Road King! But, that's all subjective, and really depends on what you want from a second bike.

 

The last softail I have ridden was a 98 Springer. I don't get why people say they are so hard to ride??? It was just a pleasure! But I cannot give upo my sporty. I will have to have one of each...

 

Biker Trash....My plan is to have one of each as well... I plan on keeping the Sportster for my solo riding, and doing a wide tire kit, Fat bob tank with dash speedo/idiot lights, chopper front end kit, and still up in the air on either drag bars or apes. The cruiser will be for the 2up riding with the GF.

SportyPig....I was thinking the same until I sat on both at the dealer. However, the Road King just seemed too wide between my legs to the point that it almost made it hard to have my feet touch the ground to my liking.It may have been that the Softail just felt more like my Sporty.I'm looking for the second biketo befor 2uplong comfortable weekend trip riding.GF said she likes both with either hard or soft bags and windshield, but no fairings or touring backrest/trunk. I like the fairing with the small to medium windshield sticking up, hard bags, and just a big sissy bar/pad.

It will be a while before I get it, unless I find one I just have to have for the right price. I'm definitely going the used route. I don't mind doing some of the repair/touch up work. Actually, I'd make it a winter project. I want to pay off a bill or two before I get it. So I'll let the debate ramble on in my head. [&:]

 

I just got a Softail recently (though I got a Springer, not a Custom), and I had many of the same observations. I am amazed at how quiet the engine is. Even with louder pipes on my Sportster I can still hear the engine, whereas with the stock pipes on the Softail I can barely hear the engine, which is a bit of a problem during breakin since I have to be a bit more careful to pay attention to my speed when shifting. One other thing I noticed is that, with the counterbalanced engine in the Softail, I get almost no shake on the motorcycle when stopped at lights. When riding my Sportster in today I was almost amazed at how much shaking it does compared to the Softail.

In any case, I agree with all the rest. I'm still getting used to the handling a little since, as you said, it handles gradual turns better than the Sportster, but I'm still getting used to sharper turns. Since it's not supposed to rain this weekend, hopefully I can get out to some back roads and hit the closest thing we have to twisties here.

 

excellent write up

how much did it cost to rent for the 4 hours?

 

Total it was $140. I thought that was very reasonable. We spent that on two waverunners for an hour. The wave runners were a good time too. Almost 60 mph on the water.