Long time lurker, but decided to register since I'm about to buy a Harley. I have my eyes set on aheritage and to a lesser extent, a faboy.Everyone I know who has a Harley all say I HAVE to get a touring bike because of the suspension.Of course everyone in my crowd has either a road king orelectra glide. They all seem to just roll their eyes everytime I talk about a heritage and I can tell I'd get getting nothing butstupid comments if I got anything otherthan a tourer.

I"m 6'6" and 300 pounds. Would I be wrong in getting a fatboy or heritage for my size? I'd like to get a harley for cruising around town or within a hundred miles of home.They make cars for long trips, sotakinga bike cross country isn't even a factor.

What would you do?

 

A Fatboy or a Heritage would not be too small since they are pretty big bikes. Don't listen to what anyone else has to say and you get what you want! A Softail is not exactly rough riding ya know. JMO

 

What would I do??? I would go for the one that draws me to it. I have always done it that way and I have never had any regrets.

 

Honestly Here, No BS, do not buy one of them you listed. I'm 6' 3 1/4" 310 lbs and would not want to spend any amount of time on one of them bikes. Also they don't handle well at all. Listen to your friends because they ride them and they know. Nobody has a RoadGlide? So there you go, that was easy wasn't it. [sm=icon_cheers.gif]

 

Size makes no differance... Ride what you like...

FYI - After awhile you'll be dressing it to take on trips... You'll add a windshield & Saddlebags and then down the road - You'll buy a dresser... So you can save yourself a few steps and some $$$ - Just get the dresser to start with...

My son & a bunch of my friends went the ST route - Now they're ALL ON FL PUTTS

 

whatever you buy, do not, I repeat, do not state to the wife that the new scoot is exactly what you want, and you don't see any need to buy anything else for it, such as new slip-ons, chrome, and other trival do-dads. you will end up being reminded of your mis-interpreted statement for a long time. don't ask me how I know.

 

Get a bagger, throw some highway pegs on it. i would imagine you would be more comfortable. IMO.

 

Asking that question here is like asking what bike is best at a Gold Wing convention, and suggests maybe you already know the answer but want a second opinion. I think if you buy the Softail you'll like it, but then you'll sooner or later move to a touring bike, so you might as well just start at the top. Other than styling, I can't think of one virtue the Softail models have over the FLH group, and styling is purely subjective. The FLH's ride better and are more practical with their larger, more secure saddlebags and Tour Paks. They also handle better partly because of the shorter rake, which makes the FLH line much more nimble than their weight and size would suggest. You really can whip them around parking lots or in city traffic with aplomb.

The FLH's are rubber mounted while the Softails are counter-balanced, a totally different feel. The Softail idles like a car, yet gets buzzy at highway speeds. The FLH's idle like a Harley yet are smooth as a car on the highway. That shake at idle is charismatic and is what makes the world go around. That alone would be the deciding factor for me.

 

If you can ride already. I would suggest renting one of each. Like someone said. The baggers are just as easy to ride around town as a Heritage or Fatboy. Other than that, if you are really only going to ride local, you may just want to go for what looks the best to you. However, I personally think a Street Glide is better looking than a Heritage or Fatboy by a wide margin. In fact, I think a FLHT is better looking by far. But I'm not the one looking at it every day in my garage.

 

You didn't say whether you were buying a new bike or used? The reason I bring this up, if your heading toward a new bike. Wait a month and see what the '08s have to offer. JMHO

As far as the difference in bikes. I rented all of the bikes I was interested in over the course of a couple of years. Let me start by saying I am 6'1" and weigh 350ish lbs. My wife is not slim (but I'm not mad at her. She is still better looking than those twigs I see ever day.) When I first starting to look at HD's (came from metrics), I liked the styling of the fat boy. Rented it and took the wife for a 200 mi weekend getaway. Found it was not the bike for me. While beingvisually pleasing, it didn't fit well for the long haul, and no bags(standard). Then a RG. Loved it. Nice ride, comfy. Hated the way the fairing look (although growing on me now). EG, was next. Took it out for a long weekend. Plenty of room for gear, wife and myself. Radio is nice to have. And the saddlebags and tour pack are great for throwing your stuff. But, still not exactly the look I wanted. I test rode a Heritage softail. Nice ride, and liked the feel/position of the bars. Got back to the dealer and asked him how I looked on it. He told me I could barely look right on it, and once I added the wife, we looked terrible on it. Plus, with our combined weight, I doubted the comfort factor for a long weekend ride.

In the end, I got a rk custom. And this is why. In no particular order. Loved the black pearl color. Loved having a windsheild (which was added by privious owner), and saddlebags were different. I, at first wanted to buy painted bags, but added a lock, and now prefer the look over the hard bags (sometimes). With a rk, classic/standard/custom, you have one bike, but with the option of adding parts to make it a long haul touring bike. Or, strip it down for a bad @ss street bike. I knew I wanted to add ape hangers, and would be limited if I had a bike with a fairing. But, there are a few after market fairings that are detactable, giving you a whole new look.

In the end, I know I got the right bike for me and the wife. It handles well. Has enough power, but you can always add more. And is all day comfortable. The choice is yours, I made mine, and I have no regrets. Good luck finding your ride. This should be a fun process. Get what you like, no matter what I, or anyone says. And most of all, once you decide, enjoy the hell out of it.Sorry for being so long winded.