starting point...Help

saving for a Harley (going to keep my 1150, as i have it "sorted" for me!) ... but... i'm tall at 6'8"... now the softails seem "short" and the dyna's seem "longer".......

so, a Dyna it will be, but i will need forward controls so, where should i look?? Harley? Zodiac? Kuryakin? will need to be a sensible price i guess.... also i believe you can get a "tall boy" seat which may help?

i know the wide glide has forward controls, but can these be extended further?

i do not like "bling" it must be black, have a single seat, low ish straight bars or Apes (can't decide) and forward controls.... what do you recomemnd as the best starting point?? Wide Glide, Fat Bob, Street Bob, Dyna Sport???

budget will be around 8k for the bike, the rest i can "hide" !!!!

whats a good forum, can't stand all that HOG shite so need a good honest place for advice!!!...

looking forward to some constructive comments!

You could do a lot worse than have a look at these boys http://www.harley-davidson-hangout.com/forum/

They are certainly not HOG and they'll be really helpful to non members

All the HD models can be endlessly customised and many of my friends are on the tall side but have found solutions. There are loads of independent dealers as well and they will be more than happy to advise.

The choice of things like forward controls is down to budget and taste more than anything. Just avoid stuff manufactured in China as the chrome will be poo.

Best advice is to go and test ride a few. Main dealers have fleets of bikes to ride. You'll be amazed at the difference between the models.

Thanks Mutley, the Dyna Wide Glide has come up as the best physical fit both for my legs and budget.

you can get nearly new black engine 2009/10 SH for around 10K... i've also found 2" ext plates for the forward control which when combined with the seat gives me another 3".... considering the WDGlide is 4" longer then the street bob/superglide then this extra space seems to help..

thanks for advice ref "HD Hang out" i'll have a lurk and see what happens...

thanks for your advice.,....

I'm not sure that there is any difference between the frames of the Dyna range, just rake & trail and rear suspension length, so it may be worth looking at others too.

The Dyna range are certainly easy to fit forwards to and the Wide Glide comes with them as standard so that will save some meoney. You've found the extension kits but I'd take each change one step at a time. A friend fitted really wide beech bars to his Fat Boy and found it made it unrideable

i've been told the frames are the same.... the additional rake and trail on the DWG looks more in proportion for longer legs.... i tried the street bob with forward controls and the "fit" is the same.... but if you look at the side profile i looked more cramped due to shorter rack etc....

i do not want to look like a "monkey humping a football!"

My advice would be to test ride as man as you can before buying. As Mutley has already stated there is a massive difference between the models.

I have a street bob with forward controls and at 6'3" they are not comfortable. Your legs catch the wind and it is a physical effort to keep your feet on the pegs at speed. The wind blows up your legs lifting them off,my trousers flapped so much they wore holes in my legs on a long journey! The lack of weight being pushed on the pegs also means your feet can vibrate of them especially on the right side? I would advise you to try and test ride one with mid controls and then forwards so you have a comparison.