Hi Touring4two,

I've owned a 2005 BMW KLT1200 and a 2007 Goldwing Airbag. Now, I own a 2010 Ultra Limited. I have never been more comfortable and pleased with the ride. Is the Ultra down on HP to the Goldwing? Yeah. Who cares. A very little bit of add-ons and the power is more than satisifying. The ride is simply fantastic compared to those two bikes, and both of them were excellent rides. Just my two pennies.

 

Pretty sure they have been improved since 1989

 

From your description, goldwing fits the bill. We just traded our 2005 GL1800 for a 2012 Road Glide and love it - but in making the move, we got some things we wanted and had to give up some things. The seating on the goldwing is wonderful, particularly for the passenger (we had an Ultimate Seat). The Road Glide (even with a new Ultimate Seat) is not as roomy for the boss. On the other hand, the leg room for the Driver is great. We miss the integrated audio / intercom / phone.......

Suspension is $hit on both, but as with the GL, can be updated. As a prior poster mentions, I suggest you try a Road Glide Ultra - there you get the tour pack, integrated audio, etc. But you still get the frame mount faring.

Our riding habits have changed - we are no longer the regular 500 mile per day riders we once were (not that the RG custom would not do that). Its just that it is not like riding on the couch (as was the GL). The RG is just a very different bike.

 

That's the infamous "Tulsa barn door" windshield. It was way taller but I cut it down to fit my preferences. My personal rule of thumb on any touring bike is that I like to be able to see at least 2" to 3" above the windshield as you can see in this picture. I currently have a 10.5" Clearview shield on my Ultra, which gives me about 4" of over view. Enough to see clearly and yet not be buffeted by the wind.

 

I've ridden ultras nearly 200,000 miles with a passenger. No trailer. they also feel a bit cramped to me but I had a custom seat built. Moved me back about 2 inches and up nearly that. Resulted in a much better fit and changed the ride characteristics of the bike. It is not as soft a ride as my friends wing and I had to do headwork to make her able to keep up. I've ridden both and much prefer the ultra. I just like the way it handles. My .02...

 

Just build up an Ultra Street King Classic and all will be right in the world.

 

not sure where you are in wis but..ukes in kenosha will have the demo fleet in early june

 

Kaukauna, about 150 miles from Kenosha. My Local Dealer is in Appleton, and probably more around here. Im about 110 miles from Milwaukee.

 

There is no comparison between a Goldwing and any Harley, they are apples and oranges. Hundreds of comparisons you can search for between all Harley models on this forum. You will get many responses to this post, most of them telling you why what they ride is your best choice, or why the Goldwing doesnt measure up to a Harley, which you know isnt true. You will ride and enjoy any Harley for what they dont do perfect. You ride a Harley because of what they sound like, not for their performance. You ride a Harley for thier heritage and history, not for their high tech engineering. What makes a Harley is not what it does perfectly, it is the character.

 

I tried hard to buy a '10 GW in the summer of '10 because of the power and what I thought was a more comfortable ride...right about the power but wrong about the comfort. I went to a Honda demo dealer and rode one for about 2 hours and I had to stop 4 or 5 times to get off and walk around and stretch my legs. I just could not get comfortable with the foot pegs on the Wing....plus the plastic parts rattled badly (2010 model with 20K miles on it). So, I went to the nearby Harley dealer the same day and rode a Road Glide and several Ultra's. I really liked the frame-mounted fairing of the RG, but I couldn't stand the wind blast over the windshield buffeting my head. By the end of the day, after riding the Wing, the Road Glide and several other HD's, I bought a '11 FLHTK Electra Glide Limited. It was August of 2010 and I have not regretted it one bit. I added a 15" Clearview re-curved shield, along with the HD chrome fork mounted air deflectors (with the stock fairing lowers left in place). Those chrome lower deflectors are not supposed to fit along with the fairing lowers according to the parts manual, but they do fit just fine. The wind protection on this bike is as good as the Wing if not better, in my opinion. I got rid of the cat converter (Vance & Hines Dresser Duals) and that took care of the heat issues (live in central Texas). The power of the FLHTK isn't nearly as strong as the Wing's 130HP, but I rationalize that by asking myself just how quickly do I need to go from 0 to 90? I love my Glide and I'll never have other brand or model. Hope your choice leaves you as happy as my choice has left me.