[dgansen]

My wife and I are looking at purchasing our first Harley. Since we are both interested in riding, what bike would you suggest that would be comforable for a passenger? We would prefer to stay with a Softail or Dyna, as we are not quite ready for a touring bike. I'm guessing the farthest we will go will be day-long roadtrips, no extensive traveling. I enjoy the feel of the Night Train, however my wife doesn't know if that's the best choice for her, since she will be on the back. I would appreciate any comments or advice.

 

[Straydog]

dgansen,

Go with what you can afford. Just make sure that SHE'S comfortable. That'll mean that you'll need a passenger backrest as well as a good seat. You can go with the quick release backrest and use it whenever she goes with you.

As for the seat, the selection is wide open. If you (I mean SHE) don't like the stock seat, pull out the wallet and buy a new one! Hey, it's only money!

Good luck.

 

[skydoc]

I guess it depends on what your wallet will tolerate. Softail or Dyna is a good choice for comfort. A Road King or Heritage (classic or springer) would be a good choice. They give you the best of both worlds, looks and comfort without the "touring" look. I have a Heritage Springer and love it. Just my 02. Good luck.

 

[JimmyK]

Personal preference. If you can afford it, a RoadKing is perfect for what you are asking.

 

[rstover]

I think most Harley owners would agree that the Dyna family has better suspension and handling than the Softail family. And, the Softail family has a lot going for it stylewise. Best thing to do is go test ride as many as you can. Most dealers have one bike, sometimes more, from each family for test rides. If you're in an area where you have access to mutliple HD dealers you can probably ride most models.

My personal experience is to have owned a 99 Dyna Super Glide Sport which rides and handles great. Made my wife happy by fabricating a wider foam seat that I could slip on when we rode two-up. Also added a sissybar. Nice as this bike is, we just weren't comfortable after a couple of hours.

Recently I took delivery of a 2002 Electra Glide Classic w/EFI. Much different than the FXDX, but oh so comfortable. I love having the big fairing and windshield, the footboards, the big seat, and the stereo, and my wife really likes the passenger seat and (almost) full backrest.

Go check em out and enjoy the shopping!
Roger

 

[guido]

Having never ridden a Dyna I can't comment on it's personality.My wife & I both love our Heritage,it does it all for us,comfort,looks,etc.I guess it all depends what model just does it for ya.

If your not sure what to get I think some test rides are in order.You never know,you might just fall in love after a spin around the block.Good luck & let us know how you make out. guido

 

[sglide]

"We would prefer to stay with a Softail or Dyna, as we are not quite ready for a touring bike"....................

My own experince is with a 2001 FXD, my wife and I put around 6000 miles on last year. The FXD is a great bike for two up riding, we put the dyna passenger footboards on, along with a backrest and pad for her comfort. The bike handles great and the postion for the rider and passenger is more upright and comfortable than some softails which tend to have a bigger rake.

We have just placed our order on a 2002 FLHRI (Road King) Firefighter Special. A Road King was something we were planning a few years down the road from now, we would not have made this jump so soon but the FF Special is a one time deal, firefighter's only being able to order them, with orders only being taken until March 11th. So we decided to make our move to the RK now, but the FXD was more than enough bike.

As you can tell I am having a hard time letting go of the FXD, but as JimmyK said "If you can afford it, a RoadKing is perfect for what you are asking." I believe he is right on the money with that or we would not be doing it ourselfs.

My opinion as some of the others here have stated, would be to go and look at, sit on, and talk to, anyone that you can, and make your decision on what feels right for the both of you.

GOOD LUCK!

Here are a few pics of the FXD:
http://www.dabros.net/images/sglide/clean1a.jpg
http://www.dabros.com/images/sglide/pipeside2a.jpg
http://www.dirthurts.com/images/sglide/clean4blink.jpg

and the FF Special:
http://www.dabros.net/images/sglide/img_flhri.jpg

 

[mtrickel]

My wife and I had to make the same choice recently and like yourself narrowed it down to two bikes. In the end we decided that the Heritage had a little more attitude than a Roadking, so a Heritage it was. No doubt it was the best choice for us. Now she wants her own bike so I'll have the Heritage all to myself before too long. I'm sure you'll be happy with either. Good luck!

Mike