Back in 2001 I bought my first HD, a brand new bright yellow Hugger 883, loved it. Had mid controls and pullbacks. My only complaints with the bike really were vibration at highway speeds and feeling cramped up on longer rides that caused muscle pain in my upper thighs, I'm 5-11. I sold the bike 2 years later and havent ridden anything since. Back in December I started getting the itch to get back into ridding and became enamored with the naked sport bike stuff, sorry I know it was a mistake. Long story short I bought a 2014 Yamaha FZ-09 at the end of February and absolutely HATE it. So now I'm looking to sell it but I still wanna ride, and I wanna come home to HD. What I want to know is which setup is going to help me be the most comfortable on a Sportster, Mid controls or forward controls? If a Sportster just cant be more comfortable for me which HD model should I look at? I like the Lowrider and I like the Fat Bob as well, but I've ridden neither yet. Sportsters appeal to me because I like the lighter weight and better agility compared to bigger bikes. Please dont be offended but the Lowrider looks like a Sportster to me only bigger, is that a fair assessment? Any input or advice is welcome. Sorry again for my brief Japanese excursion, but I learned my lesson.

 

If you felt cramped with mids then go for forwards, get yourself a better seat and it wouldn't be hard to swap out the bars if that was something you needed. Also, the new rubber mounts won't transmit as much vibrations.

Go to a dealer and test ride some with forwards.

 

Thanks I will. How much of a jump would you say it is from an 883 Sportster to a new Lowrider? Just curious..

 

Some very cool Dyna and Softails being built by HD that might better suit you. I'm 5' 9" and feel crammed up on a Sportster.

 

The jump from a 2001 883 to a 2014 dyna 103 would be quite noticeable...more than just the engine size.

So many options to adjust the fit to you with either bike.

And what, exactly, do you hate about the FZ?

 

Just adding my input. I have a rubber 06 sporty that only vibrates at idle and low RPM. Dare I say sometimes it runs smoother than my Shadow...

Very smooth at highway speeds. I'm 6' and have forward controls, new seat and taller bars. I cant ride as far as I can on my Shadow, but I sure can go a helluva lot faster!

 

Having had a dyna and a couple of Sportsters (as well as too many other bikes) I believe you can make just about anything fit you comfortably. When its all said and done its the relationship between the bars, the seat and the pegs. Get it right and you have a comfortable seating position.
My own experience suggests that you have to factor suspension into the equation. Stock HDs aren't known for great suspension and with good reason, its not. I do think that if you spend equal amounts on doing the forks and shocks on a Dyna and a Sportster the Dyna will have superior ride quality but not necessarily so much that your decision should rest on it.
Oh and by good suspension I mean something like the lower end Ohlins shocks that Howard at motorcyclemetal.com offers and at least doing the forks with Racetech internals or similar.
My ownself I would rather travel large miles on a Dyna, I just like the more spread out feel of it better and the lower rpm of the engine at highway speeds, but I would certainly be willing to do it on a Sportster.

 

There's a big difference between the solid mount and rubber mount Sporties, I never could bring myself to buy a solid mount. That difference may be enough to persuade you to buy one! I have also owned a Dyna for a few years, which has more room to stretch out on. As for forwards I cannot get on with them, so would pass.

 

Really got have a test ride on both to see which you like...only way to know.

I prefer a rubber mounted Sporty, set up correctly. Devin (the "D" in DK) prefers a Dyna. Different strokes.

 

It really doesnt suit my riding style, its an aggressive kind of bike but I dont ride aggressively on the street. The FZ, in stock condition is very soft in the front and dives excessively hard under braking, add to that your upright riding position and you feel like your being thrown over the bars. The ECU is setup to be very aggressive too, even with adjustable drive modes its difficult to manage. If i ride it the way I did my 883 for instance, under decel coming to a stop its setup to do this very abruptly, you end up stopping about 2 car lengths before you meant to. I finally just had to tell my self to charge every stop light 2 car lengths further than I wanted to before letting off the gas just to stop closer to where I wanted. It seems they programmed the ECU to almost have a "Jake Brake" effect. On accel if you take off like ur hair is on fire it loves it, conversely if you are being conservative(like in traffic) the ECU makes the throttle response snappy/jerky. Its also drive/ride by wire and I struggle with these setups in most everything I've tried, my wifes Dodge nitro is drive by wire and you can literally hear my foot hit the mat before the engine responds. Same with this bike, I took it out in the middle of no where so I could really get after it and try to get a feel for what I was working with. I don't know if everybody is this way, but it helps me to know whats on tap so if I get in a situation and I need WOT it wont take me by surprise. Well I started off from a stop, clutch fully released, 25 MPH and grabbed a handful of throttle... For a split second nothing seemed to happen, not a bog or hesitation just no response. Then suddenly I was seeing the sky, not carrying the front tire, but essentially straight up. I let off, the nose dropped(I'm not letting this bike win) and I hit it again, pause then looking at sky again, let off and drop nose, hit it a third time with same result. I want my machines, whether bike or auto to work with me, not against me. This bike has something different in mind than what I want. Its just not me, I liked the way it looked and thought I would learn to like it, but I dont. I'm sure its fine for some, but I cruise mostly and I never drag my knees or slice thru traffic doing a wheelie. I want off this bike ASAP, when I take it out I cant wait to get it back home. Its suppose to be loads of fun, but it isnt fun for me. I realize now that most things about this bike can be fixed in the aftermarket, reflash the ECU to calm it, revalve the forks to suit my weight(250#) but even with all that I know I wont like it, I don't enjoy being so high up in the saddle, I just want it gone, give me a sportster and let me be done with my "ADHD Japanese Freak machine on meth".

The things I don't like:
Jerky throttle response, even in calm mode.
Combine the upright/high up riding position and the forks just dive like a Japanese zero heading for Pearl Harbor.
High up riding position.
Lag in drive by wire throttle control.
Seat is hard as plywood and I'm told not meant for sitting, that I should focus on hanging off side of bike.
Very lame engine sound, like an angry sowing machine on meth.

I went by Timms HD to look around last week and a salesman fired up an Iron 883 that had been traded in and had after market pipes. In an instant I felt like I was home, I cant describe the feeling I had just hearing it and standing next to it. All the joy I experienced on my Sportster years ago came rushing back, I almost cried. I left knowing what I had to do, the FZ has got to go, I made a terrible expensive mistake, but Im more the wiser now.