The Gun Counter

Friend got a new bike and now I need to show my solidarity.. I'm looking at a used Fatboy or Heritage. Best I can tell the they're the same except the Heritage comes stock with windshield and bags.. Many Fatboys have the same extras in aftermarket/HD parts..

Any other differences I haven't picked up on?

I'm looking at 2003 or newer.. Anything I need to worry about mechanically?

Any other differences I haven't picked up on?

Aside from aesthetics, they are essentially the same bike. The Evo is a pretty solid engine. But like anything w. moving parts, a lot depends on maintenance. Pay to have a reputable mechanic give the bike a once-over before you plop down any $$.

Silly me, I read the subject and thought it was another health related nature vs nurture thing

Ben Rumson wrote:Friend got a new bike and now I need to show my solidarity.. I'm looking at a used Fatboy or Heritage...Anything I need to worry about mechanically?

Skip the wanna-be rigids and get a dyna. Soft tails ride like shit, handle like shit and only bare a passing resemblance to a rigid frame. The rear suspension travel is a (bad)joke and the geometry is even less humorous.

Also, if you're not used to them, steer well clear of HDs with factory springer front ends. They turn into pogo sticks from the slightest bump they encounter while turning.

How do you plan on using the bike, as main transportation or a weekend fair-weather cruiser?

Soft tails ride like shit

There's that, too. My Bourget is soft tail. Great for >200 miles or so. After that, my lower back hates me.

If work goes well this spring, I'd love to pick up a used Road King for long trips. Personally, I'm not down w. the full-dressers. They look and ride like a couch on wheels. The Road King strikes a nice balance for me.

TheIrishman wrote:Also, if you're not used to them, steer well clear of HDs with factory springer front ends. They turn into pogo sticks from the slightest bump they encounter while turning.

One of my friends has a customized springer - raked with longer struts. It wants to fall over in corners in the worst way, plus the pogo effect. Stick with the original factory geometry to avoid this. And I got irritated by the spring rattling all the time, too, when I rode it.

TheIrishman wrote:Soft tails ride like shit, handle like shit and only bare a passing resemblance to a rigid frame. The rear suspension travel is a (bad)joke and the geometry is even less humorous.

Can you elaborate a little.. I had one guy tell me the difference in handling isn't much between the soft tail and Dyna's. Need all the advice I can get..

308Mike wrote:How do you plan on using the bike, as main transportation or a weekend fair-weather cruiser?

Fair weather and the occasional ride to work..

Jeffro wrote:One of my friends has a customized springer - raked with longer struts. It wants to fall over in corners in the worst way, plus the pogo effect.

Springers aren't all bad. Get a properly engineered and built springer from someone like Sugarbear and you're good. The factory springers or just plain old off the shelf DNA springers take a while to get used to. If a springer built to run at a "stock" neck angle is put on a raked frame, the trail will be off due to incorrect rocker length(the equivalent of running triple trees with the wrong offset). Order a springer from the above mentioned Sugarbear and it will be built to work with your frame. There will always be some bounce on turns with a classic springer due to the lack of any compression and rebound dampening(no shocks), but far less on a correct springer than the factory or off the shelf aftermarket.

Ben Rumson wrote:

TheIrishman wrote:Soft tails ride like shit, handle like shit and only bare a passing resemblance to a rigid frame. The rear suspension travel is a (bad)joke and the geometry is even less humorous.

Can you elaborate a little.. I had one guy tell me the difference in handling isn't much between the soft tail and Dyna's. Need all the advice I can get..

The Softail was a compromise from the beginning. The first concern was "How can we make it look like a rigid", then came trying to fit suspension components to it. There is little suspension travel, and far less if you lower the bike even 1". Even in factory trim it isn't hard to bottom out the suspension(without bottoming the tire on the fender or frame on the ground) on a decent size bump. This will cause the rear tire to possibly leave the ground looking for travel. Now imagine that happening on a curve.