Fatboy as a daily bike?

Davel

Davel

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Right, pretty much decided on one for my next toy but which is the easiest to live with - the loads of chrome version or the darker (is it a satin finish)?

I want to use it most days if possible and just wonder which won't deteriorate the most.

I know a decent coat of ACF50 will help and I know that it have to be cleaned a lot but I really don't want to do it every bloody day.

I really fancied a Softail Slim but not sure that it would be very good with a pillion.
 
I had a Fatboy from new, it was fine, i really like the bike and the way it handled (iffy in cross winds though), the finish was awful , my 95 road king is in better nick now than the fatboy was after a year, the chrome peeled on the primary after a couple weeks, it didn't get any worse but i was still unimpressed when HD refused the warrantee claim.

I'd have one as a daily drive as long as i could get some nice luggage to fit, it's not going to be the best for the job but generally you just ride what you've got don't you.

Try a Road King i was very impressed, the handling and brakes are a fair step better than my old FLSTF.
 
Had one in 2001 Made a good daily rider and solid wheels esay to clean , but high maintanance on the cleaning in the winter . crap for Filtering as well . I thought it handled/was more chuckable than the Road King/Glide I'd had before
 
If by 'satin finish' you mean denim black then don't go anywhere near it :eek

It's allegedly designed to 'wear' like a pair of jeans, which is Milwaukee for rub off leaving exposed metal and scratch easier than a baby's skin :blast

The gloss black versions are much better. :thumb
 
Robbo1200ADV said:
Had one in 2001 Made a good daily rider and solid wheels esay to clean , but high maintanance on the cleaning in the winter . crap for Filtering as well . I thought it handled/was more chuckable than the Road King/Glide I'd had before
Click to expand...

That's weird! Mine was a '91 perhaps major changes in handling when they became FI and twin cam perhaps? Understeer was its main problem plus the single disc up front, the 96 road king is great by comparison (mind you there's a few years since i road the FB)
 
Shit, I thought I done well to narrow it down to a bloody Fatboy.

Will now have to look at a Road King too then.

Ta!
 
I like the FB, thought about getting one but didn't want to part with my GL1800 so I bought a Sportster 72 for a wee toy. Met a guy in the shop on the day I bought the Sportster, he was buying a FB, an anniversary model, it certainly looked the business, I've met up with him several times since we bought our Harleys last September. He loves his FB has added a stage one with short pipes and a lower registration plate hanger but in his words "the build quality is shite" several issues with the finish.
 
Shep said:
That's weird! Mine was a '91 perhaps major changes in handling when they became FI and twin cam perhaps? Understeer was its main problem plus the single disc up front, the 96 road king is great by comparison (mind you there's a few years since i road the FB)
Click to expand...

i loved my Road King , had it 3 years and did some big miles on it . I found it a bit twitchy in the rain , The Fatboy I could throw around a lot more , and it was easier for me to handle . They are both great bikes , but I guess I preferred the FB . It was a beauty in Pearl Ice and looked like an early one . Yours is one of the best EVO's I have seen in a while . I guess decent tyres would have improved mine as the OE tyres were known to be bad in the wet . I still Hanker for a Harley , maybe get one when I quit work full time next year . My Dream was to set up a Harley shop in Sitges near Barcellona when I stop being a GP , but looks more like that won't happen as Spain is Fecked !!
 
my road in the wet was awfull to the point of scary at times im certain it was the tyre choice though ,as i now havee melchs old bike its a whole different ball game its well set up with good tyre choice and the touring link kit ,i have a load of confidence in the set up of the bike ,especially the front end i can shuffle alomg as quick as i like to go i cant take any credit for it its all down to melch passing on to me a well set up bike .
the difference between my old road king and my new)ish) one is they are worlds apart .
 
Glides are incredibly sensitive to tyre pressure, and also need to run higher pressures than you'd expect due to their weight. OE HD tyres are absolute shit in the wet as well. Couple that with cheap suspension and a frame with a hinge in the middle (pre 2010) and they get 'interesting' above 50 mph in the wet. They can be made to handle predictably if never like a GP bike ;)

  1. check tyre pressures
  2. swap tyres for something quality (I run Avon Cobras)
  3. fit a Touring Link
  4. fit progressive suspension

Sooner or later everyone wo actually rides their Harley goes Glide :ymca
 
Mutley said:
Glides are incredibly sensitive to tyre pressure, and also need to run higher pressures than you'd expect due to their weight. OE HD tyres are absolute shit in the wet as well. Couple that with cheap suspension and a frame with a hinge in the middle (pre 2010) and they get 'interesting' above 50 mph in the wet. They can be made to handle predictably if never like a GP bike ;)

  1. check tyre pressures
  2. swap tyres for something quality (I run Avon Cobras)
  3. fit a Touring Link
  4. fit progressive suspension

Sooner or later everyone wo actually rides their Harley goes Glide :ymca
Click to expand...
all of the above are what melch has done to my bike
 
How do you know if you have a touring link fitted? Mine has a rose jointed link at the front of the engine? Is that standard?
 
There's no touring link on yours Shep, and it would be at the back of the engine - I noticed there wasn't one when I looked at it. There are various manufacturers around but essentially they couple the rear of the engine (bottom of the gearbox) to the frame, a link that Eric Buell designed in but for no logical reason the MoCo left out. Most do look like the rose joint one on the front, but have an additional mount that connects to the frame and also on the sump. The rose joint rod connects the two mounts. Supposedly stops the whole motor, and hence the swing arm, from moving laterally rather than vertically, which the arm in it's standard configuration is free to do - and will do more, the worse the wear on the engine mounts and cleave blocks.

Have a look here and here for two of the most popular ones. I'll probably be getting the Progressive one at some point, but my handling is surprisingly good considering the horror stories I'd heard about them... either that or I really am Captain Slow...
 
Jason P said:
There's no touring link on yours Shep, and it would be at the back of the engine - I noticed there wasn't one when I looked at it. There are various manufacturers around but essentially they couple the rear of the engine (bottom of the gearbox) to the frame, a link that Eric Buell designed in but for no logical reason the MoCo left out. Most do look like the rose joint one on the front, but have an additional mount that connects to the frame and also on the sump. The rose joint rod connects the two mounts. Supposedly stops the whole motor, and hence the swing arm, from moving laterally rather than vertically, which the arm in it's standard configuration is free to do - and will do more, the worse the wear on the engine mounts and cleave blocks.

Have a look here and here for two of the most popular ones. I'll probably be getting the Progressive one at some point, but my handling is surprisingly good considering the horror stories I'd heard about them... either that or I really am Captain Slow...
Click to expand...

Cheers!
 
Shep said:
How do you know if you have a touring link fitted? Mine has a rose jointed link at the front of the engine? Is that standard?
Click to expand...

Rose jointed link at the front is stock...
 
Note to self: read rest of post before responding....
 
Nippy Normans supply Touratech, Wunderlich, Desert Fox and many other makes of accessories.
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