I have a 2007 Dyna Street Bob and a 2009 Street Glide. I went thru the same thing you & your wife did. My wife would only ride on the Dyna for short trips. I even put YSS shocks, a good Mustang two-up seat, mini passenger floor boards, Quick Detach Windshield, etc... The wife just wasn't comfortable for more that 40-50 miles. So I bought the 2009 SG - The wife now rides everywhere with me and we have done over 200 miles in a day with no bitchin from the wife.

In fact the SG is now my go to bike - I jump on that more often than the Dyna, even for just beboppin around town. Don't get me wrong, the Dyna is still a fun ride and I do ride it when I really want to twist the wick and get the feeling of all that "extra power" and fast accelleration. But the SG with a few modifications (CAMs, etc....) is almost as fun now.

You will not regret going to a touring bike, especially if you can keep the Dyna as a second bike, but if you can't, you will rarely miss it. I even have my Dyna up for sale, and if the right offer comes along I will sell it. For now I am keeping both bikes. This year I put 7000 miles on the SG and only 1100 miles on the Dyna - that should tell you something.

As far as getting used to the weight - it only take s few days. I will admit that in those few days I did drop the bike twice on the crash bar because, with my Dyna I was so used to using the front brake much more. The touring models do not have the same front rake as my Dyna SB and if you are moving at slow speeds and have the front wheel turned, and use the front brake - You will go down, it "tri-pods" on you quickly and in a hurry! But knowing that, just don't do it.

Handling - The newer frames make the touring models handle like a dream. I would even go as far as to say my 2009 SG handles better than my 2007 Dyna!

 

Yeah, but a windshield, saddlebags and a touring seat cost alot less than a new Roadking. Dyna's are damn versitile motorcycles.

 

I swapped a Fat Boy for a Street Glide and man am I glad I did.
The salesman told me the Touring bikes were just for touring. WHAT AN IDIOT.

I found out later he drove a Heritage at the time, but now he rides a Road King and he makes fun of the Softail riders now.
Like I said, what an idiot.

Here's what I had and don't even care I took a beating on the trade at the time.
I am much happier riding the Street Glide.



Here's what I have now.

 

The wife and I road a LowRider, she didn't like scraping in the corners. The wife talked me into getting our 07 RKCustom, now she has a sattlebag to put her stuff in. What I noticed is th Rk rides lighter then it looks and handles well too, but not as well as say a BMW. I have put on 500 mile days on both RKCustom and LowRider the RK dose it better.

 

I ride my SG everywhere. It is my daily driver. I really don't notice the weight. It handles much smaller than it is. I came off a smaller bike as well.

 

The tourers handle very well. The low center of balance makes them feel a lot lighter. Slow speed or moving the bike by foot have to be done more carefully because of the weight. As one of the other posters mentioned, you need to use more rear brake and clutch. I've had both an RKC and an Ultra. I enjoy them around town. No problems with handling and the extra storage allows me to run lot's of errands.

My 40 year old son moved from a Night Train to an 09 SG this summer. He sometimes misses the NT, but loves the ride on the SG. He and his wife have taken some road trips whereas, she wouldn't ride on the Night Train.

Do you like tunes? Do you like to ride when it gets cold? This might be the biggest difference between the RK and the SG. The SG comes with a full time fairing and radio. The RK does not, but does have detachable windshield. Both can be fitted with detachable trunks. Also, I think the SG is a little lower to the ground, so that might be a factor depending on your size.

BTW, I'm 5'9" and have no problems with my Ultra... it is about the same seat height as the RK, higher than the SG and a lot heavier than either.

Good luck and if there is anything us "tourers" can do to convince you to come over to the "darkside", we'll be here :-)

 

I went from a low rider to a UC and was also worried about the extra weight and handling. After 2 years all I can say is the UC handling is alot better than the low rider and is twice as comfortable. Only problem for me is parking. I'm 5'6" and can't back up on anything but a flat surface so I have to watch where I park.

 

I went from a 2005 FXDI to a 2009 FLHX. I put 46,000 miles on my FXDI. I really loved that bike. I had a Corbin Dual Tour, Fwd controls, Progressive forks and shocks, Boss Bags and a windshield on my FXDI. I did many 500 and 600 mile days on my Dyna in relative comfort.

The FLHX is definitely superior in gobbling up the interstate miles. It feels like it is glued to the road (extra weight) and will run all day at 75 mph and more (six speed trans). Crosswinds have very little affect on the FLHX. My Dyna was comfortable cruising at 65 -70 mph.

I love the hard saddlebags. I have my bike set up with a solo seat and a Motherwell Luggage rack. I attach a small T-Bag and I can easily go for 1-2 weeks.

The FLHX handles as well or better than my Dyna. The Brembo's are light years ahead of the brakes on my FXDI. The cruise and stereo are wonderful. I didn't think I would use the stereo but it is almost always on.

While the ride of the FLHX is good most of the times, occasionally I will hit a bump that is actually quite painful to my neck. My Dyna never did this. I think this is a result of the shorter shocks that come on the FLHX but I also think this is why the Street Glide handles as well as it does. Prior to buying my FLHX I test rode a EGlide Standard and did not care for the handling compared to the Street Glide.

The only place I really notice the extra weight of the FLHX is backing into a parking spot. Even after 13,000 miles I am still always very, very conscious of the extra weight while backing up.

As I mentioned I loved my Dyna and felt I had a personal bond with it. I don't quite feel this way about my FLHX yet but I think in time we will also bond.

While I miss my Dyna I do not regret trading it for my FLHX. The FLHX is fantastic in every way with the exception of the occasional painful bump I may hit. I may upgrade the shocks somewhere down the line.

Here's a pic of my Dyna and my FLHX on a recent road trip.

 

Rebel97 I live down the road from you in McMinnville. I went from a dyna lowrider to a Ultra Classic. Yes there was a big difference in the weight and the handling, but you will get use to it. You are going to get a much better ride on the touring bikes. And MaMa is going to like the ride and comfort, may start taking longer trips.
I kept my Dyna when I bought the UC thinking that I would ride the Dyna when the wife did not ride. It was not long until the Dyna was not being ridden much and I sold it.
If you go to Bumpus ask for Dave St Clair, he will do you right.

 

Until you spend a couple of days with one, you just wouldn't believe how agile and nimble the touring bikes are. They are not a heavy feeling bike at all.

I have locking bags on my bike, and I use it for all kinds of daily errands when the weather permits. You'd be surprised how many groceries you can get into a couple of saddlebags. What used to be a chore becomes an excuse to go for a ride.