Agreed, and put the rest into some serious engine work! Or an SE120R.............

 

Definitely get as new as you can afford. The 09 and up have the better frame. Make sure the compensator has been replaced already, or be prepared to have it fixed. And there is nothing wrong with the TBW that tuning can't fix. Mine is stock and works great.

 

09 and up is what you should be looking for. Winter should help,deals are out there,you just have to look.

 

I left my '95 last year for an 09- I waited so long because the '95 was great and I didn't think following models were good enough to take on the expense.

I was on an 8000 mile trip last summer and over 80,000 miles on the bike and a little concerned about reliability- my riding Pal on an 06 had all those creature comforts...and he was looking at new bikes everytime we went near a dealer, so I started doing my research.

for me:

2009+ new frame a big plus ( and the 08's and earlier have dropped in value because of that)- increased carrying capacity, wider rear tire, great tire compound, hard in the center, sticky on the edges. Superior Brembos

96" is good enough for me- the 103 isn't worth the $2K in would have cost me

6 speed is nice- most of my travelling is at 3000 rpms +/- 200

MPG about 43 MPG at 65-70 MPH

ABS is awesome- wouldn't buy with out it

cruise control is great, never thought I'd use- wouldn't want to be without it now

security system- piece of mind travelling

49 state bikes have no cat in the header, the factory fuel injection does a great job compared to earlier versions



value- a year ago I bought a 2009 EG Classic for $15k- sold the 95 for $6500.


Classic vs Ultra, why I prefer the Classic:
tour pak lights chew up space
CB- ? breaker, breaker...
some trim
rear speakers block my Tbag/ from the pass seat- I'd rather have the bag than speakers, I use the bag for a back rest.

less complicated wiring for the detachable tourpak


I really dig my 09, and it was worth the wait.

I saved up my pennies, waited for the improvements in product and watched the market for the exact right bike for me- I checked out a street glide, and checked out a bunch f Ultras- i looked into buying a new bike in Montana ( no sales tax) - and found the deal that worked great for me.

Happy Hunting, enjoy the new bike if you go that way.

BTW it took about 4 months of craigslist ads to find the right buyer- most of the callers had no idea what i had for sale and were a waste of conversation. The buyer who came was specifically looking for an evo in great shape with uncomplicated carb/ ignition etc.
My asking price was $7500 to filter out idiots and we settled at $6500 , fair both ways.
New tires, battery perfect shape all service records, added racks and spare seat.

mike

 

I got my 2011 without...