I say go for it!! Got my bike last year at 27 and I'm glad I didn't wait. This is my 1st bike and just took the riders course before I got it. I'm 5'7 and 160lbs , so planting your feet to the ground should be easy for you. (stock hight was a streatch for me) Good luck!

Edit---->F**K I was 28 last year. Damn I'm almost 30!!!

 

take the class + get the bike = ride and enjoy.

 

My story

Stats 5'10" 190lbs 45 years old

Had a honda when 21

Fast forward 2007 June 07 bought a 1200 Sportster, 7 weeks and 700 miles later Aug 07 bought a Fatboy. 5 months and 5000 miles later, Mar 29 08 bought the 08 Ultra Classic.


Look at the money I lost going this route and go easy with the SG

 

take the class, then maybe rent a couple. I bought an 06 Ultra right around christmas because it was a good time to buy so I got an awesome deal. But I never got to ride it before hand and didn't try out any of the other models. I ended up not really liking it an traded it for a SG. If this is your first bike I would suggest trying out a few different ones to find the one with the right fit.

 

Do yourself a favor: go with the SG. I was in your position last year. I went back-and-forth. I ended up purchasing a Dyna...great bike. After a mere 2500miles, I took a RG out for a test ride...HOOKED. Like that day. It was an expensive decision, but I don't regret it. Take the MSF course. Respect the bike and its power, but you won't have a problem. One issue, you are taller (like me). Focus on the seat/windshield and/or forward controls. Make sure it fits you right. Wind buffeting bothers some, but there's always going to be wind. Enjoy the ride.

 

Funny, I have been riding for years, and this is the FIRST thing I did to my 09 SG (see pic). The reality is that there are 2 types of bikers- those who have dropped a bike, and Liars. It happens - the crashbars work great. It is cheap protection.

One other thing- don't get anything except an 09. Sorry, completely different bike than 08 and earlier - I know.
A big guy like you will be fine with a SG if you respect it.

Ed

 

Good luck it's always nice to hear about another Bostonian taking to the two wheels.
Be Safe and Enjoy the one way trip called life.

 

Now watch me get flamed, but you asked.....I think everyone's first bike should be a dirt bike. While I can't comment on these courses like MSF I do know that most newer riders can't ride for beans! My friends and I laugh at the footdraggers who can't even park their bikes let alone hold a line in a high speed sweeper. One idiot on a Road King nearly head on-ed me, in Sturgis a couple of years back. They fall down in parking lots and are scared of the rain. Why? I don't know for sure, but if you learn on a putt putt riding around pylons in a parking lot, you're not qualified to ride a bagger up a gravel road at high speed, or in the rain storm that turns suddenly to snow, at least in my opinion. Ride in the dirt off road, do burnouts, broadslides, get crossed up in turns. You'll get the feel of the bike and reaction will become second nature. You'll need that someday. Sorry, flame away newbies, but you can't learn to react in a classroom. Yeah, you'll probably fall down a few times, but when you feel you ride well in the dirt, get that Streetglide. You can get custom paint, extended bags, whatever and not worry about falling over in a parking lot and scuffing it up. Best of all other people will compliment you on your riding skills and you'll have more fun riding that glide. That's how we did it in the old days and I'm still riding, well over 40 years later.

 

Get it, I got an Ultra after a 20 year break, haven't regretted a minute.

 

I've been riding for more years than I care to admit to. Terrie's been riding for about three years. When she attended the MSF (motorcycle safety foundation) course, I tried talking her into a Street Glide but she was afraid of it (she thought it was too big).

Two Dynas later, she finally got an 09 Street Glide on Nov. 15 and now she will tell you "I should have just listened to JC all along......what a waste of money those Dynas were".

By the way, I'm 6'4" and 220lbs. so it sounds like we're pretty damn close. You'll do fine on that bike. Let me just say that you'll end up riding it a lot more in the city than you're thinking, too. It's just a very easy handling bike! You'll be surprised at how nimble that bike is, considering it's size.......everybody is who rides one for the first time.

By the way.......at 6'4" you'll need one of the 8" lipped (Windvest, Clearview, etc.) windshields in order to be comfortable and to get rid of the wind buffeting of the helmet. Be sure it's one of the lipped windshields and not a Harley windshield......a Harley windshield will have to be even taller because they don't have the lip at the top.

I had to wait a long time for my Clearview but Windvest had them in stock!