The back brake and throttle are your friends, especially at slow speeds. In fact, I have seen many people screw up at slow speed, in gravel adn many other circumstances becasue they don't understand the benefits of staying off the front brake or using the throttle in many cases instead of the brake. On gravel, the throttle will save you many times where the brake will put you down. It seems counterintuitive, but it works ........

 

They handle very well but if you do something silly like hit your front brake in a full lock turn you will probably go down. Once it starts going over there's not much you can do about it. I've done it twice both times due to stupidity on my part. Once I wipped into a friends driveway and started a uturn and hit my front brake for some reason (I knew better). Second time, kicked my jiffystand down and leaned it over without realizing the jiffy stand was not all the way down. Both times I was able to yank the bike back up from the highway bar still straddling it but there was nothing I could do to stop it once it started going over. Both times my fault not the bike. I'd say the guy you saw was either not paying attention to what he was doing or needs to take a class.

 

Like other owners state - FLHX is very numble...with right operator & driving skills. Only issue is when these touring bikes go over balance point - you'll be wrestling a 800+ lb. bear to the ground...

 

I have no problems manuevering mine. It's just heavy and you get used to it.

 

+1 ride like a pro

 

I have a friend of mine who dropped his new 1100 Yamaha after 45 minutes of riding, then took the MSF beginner course and dropped their 250cc bikes twice.

It is not the bikes fault LOL

Take your time and learn how to handle the bike and all will be well.

 

This!

Even tapping that front brake at slow speed with the bars turned just a little will cause quite a few riders to drop the bike.

 

I had a Fat Boy for six years and thought it handled very well. Now I own a Street Glide and whatever they did in 09 worked. It handles great through the mountains and IMO it is pretty agile in parking lots.

 

Very surprized & pleased with low speed handling of the SG. My son has just turned 14 & has very little riding experence on a 750 yammaha & a 1200 sporty but I put him on the Street Glide & he can do just as well on it as the Sportster, some ways even better where the clutch on the SG is smother.

 

Mine handled very well with the stock wheels. A 21" front wheel changed all that. When you start changing the rake and height of the front end then it will start to handle like a Night Train or other raked out chopper with even more weight than those lighter bikes.