I'm 5'9" here and put on a +1" over stock (GT Medium) Clearview and have no buffeting what so ever. I do have the lowers too though. No buffeting with no helmet or with my Bell Shorty. Love the set up.

 

Adding the lowers made a huge difference.A lot of the wing comes up from the bottom.

 

does the addition of lowers cause any heat issues with the 08's

 

At 5'5" the Street Glide is going to fit you much better, in stock form ,than the Road Glide. That is, you will have to change fewer items, handlebars,windshields,seats, with the Street Glide.
On the other hand, the Road Glide is a tall guys bike. Long reach to the cockpit and bars. Of course, this can be fixed with new handlebars and a different seat.
If you do alot of highway riding at 65-70+, the RG can't be beat. The fairing is much more aerodynamic than the Streetglide.
Once, I rode a RG at 70+ and ,then ,immediately hopped on a Streetglide. I could feel the wind resistance on the batwing much more than the sharknose. Take it for what its worth,just my opinion.You'll have fun with either.

 

Thanks for the reply's so far. I should have mentioned that i want to look over the windshield and not thru it, so i probably need less than an 8 inch windshield. I live in C.A. i would prefer to go without the lowers, as i dont ride in alot of cold weather, and prefer the look without them. I plan on changing the seat on either bike i purchase and if i go with the Road Glide i would lower it. I might even get a SE Road Glide....However their is no way my wife and i could deal with the buffeting we are experiencing now. Maybe i should be looking at a Road King ???

 

Harley fairing wings and an 8" Clearview recurve windshield did wonders for my 08' SG.

 

Two bits of input. One new RG owner told me he had Tap Plastics trim 2" off the stock RG windshield & it cut turbulence down. Another bought a windshield from Klockworks I think. It was a shorty, but it was actually angled up slightly more than stock, and that did the trick.
I still think most of the turbulence on these bikes comes from underneith. What about that little spoiler that goes in the top of the forks. It seems it would have a dual purpose w/addn'l cooling for the motor.

 

i demo'ed the street glide and the se road glide today and i got way more buffeting on the street glide , the se rg had no buffeting and it has a very short wind screen maybe
6" also i am only 5'6" and i could flat foot both bikes the se rg has a lower seat height than the standard rg i guess it must have a different seat. but both bikes road great

 

You cant judge the batwing with that 4" shield on it. That thing is all but useless. Unless your one who likes riding with NO windshield, then its probably just the ticket.

 

Like TXrealtor, I went with a 1" taller Clearview on my 08 roadie. It makes a big difference on the amount of head buffeting and I can still comfortably see over the shield. I just finished a 4600 mile trip and couldn't be happier with it. By the way, I'm 6-1.