+1, use controls on the bars, and if you can't reach the radio, you're probably to short to ride. Would've been funny seeing Gary Coleman trying to ride a RG, lol.

 

I would agree with that assessment.

 

I have a suggestion, based on personal experience.

I extensively test road the Road Glides (including a half day rental) when I was purchasing in 07 and again in 09.

My thoughts.

1. the RG is hands down more better at cutting through the air.

2. The RG is easier at low speed.

both are to be expected from the fairing and the way its attached.

The HANDLING of the RG in twisties at speed, never made sense to me. Its the same chassis, and at speed your not turning the bars to corner, so the weight or lack of on the front end should not be much of an issue.

My personal opinion, is that most if not all of the perceived handling superiority of the RG at speed comes not from the faring, but the flatter, wider, higher handlebars it has.

Try rotating your SG bars upward as far as they can go. Ive played with that adjustment a lot over the years. One day I put the bars on the SG back down to the stock position, and went for a ride in the twistys with my wife. The handling was HORRIBLE. It was downright scary. I did not feel in control of the bike. By simply moving them all the way up, the handling improved dramatically. It literally felt like a whole different bike. Its my contention that the stock position and bend of the bars on the batwing bikes has you reaching downward too much, and that really affects handling and the ability to counter steer effectively in twistys.

Try rotating your bars all the way up, like I have mine, and see if you don't feel (as I did) that it makes big improvement. Since you have both bikes, it would be interesting to see if you come to the same conclusion I did. They tend to position the SG bars quite low, because of the fairing mount mirrors.

You will also read how people who have replaced the stock bars on a batwing bike feel that their handling improved, which I think lends some credibility to my theory.

Just my two cents.





You can see how my bars are positioned in this photo, they are rotated as far up/forward as they can go without hitting the fairing. I have no doubt that if they had less inward wrist angle, it would be even better:

 

streetglide vs road glide custom would be more appropriate comparison in the looks dept. I would be like comparing the looks of a EGC vs. a RGC...just sayin

 

Essentially you are right, but the suspension on the SG is lowered at the rear. There are a lot of detail differences in addition to the fairings.

I agree entirely about adjusting the bars. I've had my Glide over 20 years now and just couldn't get comfortable with it when I first bought it. I messed with the stock bars a lot, then we just clicked and everything has been sweet since! Well worth taking the time to try different positions, although it was lowering mine that worked for me. Reckon I can find them in my sleep now!

 

Very interesting. In respect to cutting thru the wind,,,I have an 04 Electra Glide and its pretty good in the wind. At 70is and above it "feels" unstable on the front and everyone I talk to says "its a batwing thing".

Now a friend of mine had an 11 SG and says his is a bitch in the wind. So much so that he wont go out in anything 20mph and above winds.

The gentelman who owned previously owned my EG traded to an 11 SG also and told me the exact same thing.....His words were "this one (SG) is WAY worse than the EG was in the wind

 

Intriguing! My FLHS had a windshield (like an RK) when new and that was a bitch at speed! Seemed to me that the air spilled off one side then the other, so the shield would cause a rocking motion through the bars. I retro-fitted an old glass-fibre batwing and that has transformed things, although I made my own mountings for it, so it is not in a stock position (raked back a little). I'm very happy with it in all conditions, although I have never ridden an RG.

 

The RG has the fairing mounted to the FRAME, so that it is FIXED and the bars, forks, lights, etc. turn independently.

The other touring bikes are exactly the opposite.

 

Lights are stationary on the RG, they don't turn w/ the bars/forks.

...which GroupW knows b/c he rides a Road Glide

 

Who needs to reach the radio, the controls are on the handlebars. double headlights twice as nice.