I recently went through a similar situation. I was in the market for a new bike and decided on a Streetglide. Test rode back to back an '08, and a '10. Both pretty much stock. The difference to me what night and day. The best way to describe the difference is the newer frame is effortless to ride. I didn't end up with either of those two bikes, but I did settle on a '09 with the new frame, and am very VERY happy that I did. Although to be fair, I didn't think that the '08 had a bad ride at all, I just felt the newer frame was better/easier.

I'm sure you would be happy with the bike, especially if you are going to change it up to something of your own

mikebaby

 

I own a 06 ultra you cant go wrong in my book mine took e from washington state to Florida and back and not a bit of trouble i have bought two new harleys out of the five i have owned this is one of them.....go for it if you like the deal''

 

Man, you ride your hand? Some things are better left unsaid.

 

man, thats some hard riding! bwahahaha

 

My concern would be the 5 speed been there done it love the 6th gear. Good luck on whatever you choose.

 

The biggest difference for me would be going from a six speed down to a five speed. However, even now that I do own a six speed, I am still looking for seventh sometimes, but not nearly as often as I was looking for sixth gear on the five speed.

 

Actually, in some cases, the pre-09's did move a bit. Not everyone had an issue with it but enough that there seemed to be a fair business in frame stiffeners with plenty of comments on this forum about the merits of one brand vs another. The 09+ models don't have that issue. I rented an 08 Ultra back in the spring of that year. I put 1100 miles on the bike in 2.5 days and loved it. I did get a slight wobble out of it, once, while passing a farmers truck on a two lane country road. The lanes were not even and when the tires climbed up it wobbled, and when the climbed back down, it wobbled again. Was it a big deal? No. Was it something I'd felt in other bikes through the years from time to time? Yes, although it had been a very long time. Was it a deal breaker for me? Not in the least. In fact, I tried to buy a new 08 Ultra in the summer of that year but some unexpected household expenses prevented that from happening. So I wound up buying an 09 model in February of that year and I'm very glad it worked out that way.

I'm not putting the pre-09 bikes down at all, they're fine rides, but the 09+ models are an improvement IMO. It's cool either way. Best of luck!

Ride Safe,
Steve R.

 

The older frames can be upgraded to handle just as well, if not better than the new bikes. The frame wasn't the problem, it was the swingarm and rubber mounts. You've just got to put a little money into a touring link, upgraded swingarm bushings, front motor mount, better shocks and tires. You can tighten up the older bikes if handling is really the issue. You'll be getting increased vibration as a tradeoff, same as the newer bikes. I've got a 07, and I can grind down the footboards just as well with this bike as I can with a new one.

The 6 speed is a nice addition, but a properly geared 5 speed works fine, too. I'm not shopping for a bike, but if I were, I think I'd be looking for a carbureted 02. A guy I know has a big inch carbureted evo motor Road King with forward controls and a BDL belt drive. That might be the coolest Road King I've ever seen, and I'd take it over any new frame bike any day of the week.

 

dont go backwards

 

When researching the purchase of my bike, I found that I did not notice much of a difference between the 96 and the 88, except that the 88 runs much cooler. on the other side is the cam tensioner problems with the 88. I rode a 05, 06, 08 and a 10. I couldn't feel a difference in the new frame design, but I was only taking 10-15 mile test runs.

As you can see from my sig. I bought an 06. Price, condition and dealership was what made my decision. In my opinion, You can't co wrong with either. both are great touring engines.