Print

Please login or register.
1 Hour 1 Day 1 Week 1 Month Forever
Login with username, password and session length

[MIKEYTEE]

Not to hi Jack, but curious, I'm 6-3, 270. How's does a RG fit better? Is the same bike with a different fairing.

Sent from my SM-G935V using Tapatalk

The RG is not bigger, longer, taller. or whatever. It does have the instruments and dash further forward from the rider and that is what makes it feel larger/ fit better.

Mike
 

[skratch]

Thanks for the great responses.  The dealer that told me the after market exhaust was out is Thunder Tower in Columbia, SC.  They did not say they wouldn't do an install, only that the bike warranty would immediately be voided, and they won't make the sale.  Now they did say slip-ons are okay, just can't change out the header pipe.  This is where I purchased two of my three bikes, and I've enjoyed working with them, but I don't think there is any way I'm sticking with stock exhaust.  I'll just do the research and switch out myself.

and they won't be the only ones to tell you that.  since hd got hit with that epa fine, they are very tight on the 2017s.  non-epa tuner, non-epa pipes, the warranty will be toast.  at least on the engine.  if your electrics go out, that is still under warranty....

[JCZ]

You might go rent each one for a day or a weekend and experience first hand.

There are a couple members of this forum up in Nor Cal that owned both, at the same time.  They both said that the batwing bike is their "go to" for the long haul rides.  I've been riding batwing bikes since the late 80s and I don't have any problem with them on the interstates or in the mountains of Nor Cal.  I have been accused of being an aggressive rider but that's all a conspiracy by those that just can't keep up. 

Acutally, I've put down miles from time to time over the years, on a Road Glide and it's never won me over.  I just can't get past that Goldwing front end look.

For what it's worth, I'm 6'4" and 220 lbs.

[SDCVO]

For what it's worth, I'm 6'4" and 220 lbs.

Uhh Huh.... 

[coloradotom]

I'll add this too since I found this very hard to get used to. The headlights don't turn on the RG. My first ride home in the dark up the switchbacks to get home was, different.

If you have switchbacks, I'd try to demo ride one at night and see how that suits you. Tight turns are fine, its the 180's that get ya.

[FlaHeatWave]

You might go rent each one for a day or a weekend and experience first hand.

There are a couple members of this forum up in Nor Cal that owned both, at the same time.  They both said that the batwing bike is their "go to" for the long haul rides.  I've been riding batwing bikes since the late 80s and I don't have any problem with them on the interstates or in the mountains of Nor Cal.  I have been accused of being an aggressive rider but that's all a conspiracy by those that just can't keep up. 

Acutally, I've put down miles from time to time over the years, on a Road Glide and it's never won me over.  I just can't get past that Goldwing front end look.

For what it's worth, I'm 6'4" and 220 lbs.

Own both (the '05 SEEG is "father of SG")

I'm just the opposite,,, the Shark is our go-to Bike for long distance, hi-speed trips,,, we prefer the Bat for local or mountains,,, 'Have both Bikes dialed in, I prefer the aero on the Shark, "The Ball & Chain" BSR prefers the aero on the Bat... Both Bikes have been to the 4 Corners (No Tom, not the 4 Corners of Florida,,, the 4 Corners of the Continental US.. LMAO)

"On the Pin" there is "0" Drama with either Bike,,, no wobble,,, no float,,, the Shark just feels more stable,,, the Bat feels more nimble at lower speeds,,, easier in the twisties... The difference in tire sizes (05 vs 09) might come into play here???     

Keep in mind, both of my Bikes are "pre-Rushmore" (no vents)

YMMV...

Just my way of agreeing with everyone else here,,, not a huge difference...

[ultrafxr]

I had fixed fairing bikes exclusively in the 70s and 80s - metrics with Vetter Windjammers - so I'm well acquainted with them and have no problem at all riding them.  But I (and very importantly my co-rider) much, much prefer the Harley batwings over the fixed fairings for several reasons.  I had an '11 CVO Road Glide Ultra and we both hated it - the fairing was great in the winter but in the summer it kept all the breeze off and it was hot, hot, hot.  Yeah, I know remove the lowers but we just don't like that look and feel.  And in cold weather on a fixed fairing your hands are in the windstream while on a batwing they are more protected. 

My co-rider hated that the wind over the windshield hit her smack in the face.  Now I know the newer Rushmore road glides are improved what with the fairing vent and all but there are still limitations imo.  We both did not like that the instruments were so far away and if I had to actually reach for a radio pushbutton I had to lean forward.  I'm 5' 9" but it still felt like the dash was in the next county.  As for the buffeting at highway speeds I can honestly say I cannot tell one iota of difference between the fixed and batwing fairings.  Now I don't ride over 80 mph so maybe this is more pronounced at higher speeds but I'm not going there.  It's all a matter of preference and thank goodness one size does not fit all. 

[MIKEYTEE]

I'll add this too since I found this very hard to get used to. The headlights don't turn on the RG. My first ride home in the dark up the switchbacks to get home was, different.

If you have switchbacks, I'd try to demo ride one at night and see how that suits you. Tight turns are fine, its the 180's that get ya.


My answer to the headlights not moving with the turning of the handle bars. Do the headlights on your car move with the turning of the steering wheel?  ( Some European cars do.) Also, at speed you don't  turn the handlebars so the headlight doesn't follow the curve.

Mike
 

[Unbalanced]

Own both (the '05 SEEG is "father of SG")

I'm just the opposite,,, the Shark is our go-to Bike for long distance, hi-speed trips,,, we prefer the Bat for local or mountains,,, 'Have both Bikes dialed in, I prefer the aero on the Shark, "The Ball & Chain" BSR prefers the aero on the Bat... Both Bikes have been to the 4 Corners (No Tom, not the 4 Corners of Florida,,, the 4 Corners of the Continental US.. LMAO)

"On the Pin" there is "0" Drama with either Bike,,, no wobble,,, no float,,, the Shark just feels more stable,,, the Bat feels more nimble at lower speeds,,, easier in the twisties... The difference in tire sizes (05 vs 09) might come into play here???     

Keep in mind, both of my Bikes are "pre-Rushmore" (no vents)

YMMV...

Just my way of agreeing with everyone else here,,, not a huge difference...

being unagreeable here

I beg to differ with you on that 05 stuff,  the 04 was the concept father to the SG ,   The 05 was just add a tour pack and luggage rack and then decide to remove it like the 04 and release the SG    

[SDCVO]

I'll add this too since I found this very hard to get used to. The headlights don't turn on the RG. My first ride home in the dark up the switchbacks to get home was, different.

If you have switchbacks, I'd try to demo ride one at night and see how that suits you. Tight turns are fine, its the 180's that get ya.


My answer to the headlights not moving with the turning of the handle bars. Do the headlights on your car move with the turning of the steering wheel?  ( Some European cars do.) Also, at speed you don't  turn the handlebars so the headlight doesn't follow the curve.

Mike
 

I live about 10 miles off the freeway off kinda in the boonies without any street lights and twisties most of that way. I agree that the RG stock compared to the SG stock gets a little weird but I added the LED foglights and Custom Dynamics Ringz (to both bikes) and it fixed the "weirdness" on the RG. Overall as far as lighting goes with the dual Daymakers on the RG as opposed the the single Daymaker and the LED aux lights on the SG (and lights mentioned above on both) I would definitely say the RG lights up better. Just a FYI

[Major Tom]

Gidday Y'all,

For my Two Bob'sworth.... (20c or two bits is a near enough exchange rate),

Like most folks on here I have ridden both with and without fairings and definitely prefer to have one especially when doing the miles between the 'corners' as Ed mentioned. In my early days, before I could afford to buy a HD I rode K2 750 fours and a long line of Z900s & Z1000s most of which had bikini' fairings and they all moved with the bars. I don't know if I got much value out of the fairings and didn't really think about it to tell the truth. I changed to HDs in 85 & have had lots of fairing/screens on them since then including batwings starting with a 78 shovelhead EG Classic, I even imported an aftermarket batwing for my 99 RoadKing classic which I ran for a few years until I bit the bullet and got an EG Ultra which I kept until I moved to the far North of the world in South Louisiana.

In Oz we did not get Road Glides (unless it was a private import) until very recently, maybe 4 years ago. We did have the old FLHS (father or very close friend of Road Glides mother perhaps?) which in my experience, anyone who had one ripped the fairing straight off, bought an aftermarket headlight and tried the make the gauges look 'normalish'. Generally they were the cheapest option for a dresser and were an entry point for the bigger bikes for many.

I first tried a Road Glide while doing some riding in the states with some mates prior to moving over and did not like it at all. Figured I would never buy or ride one again and was seriously uncharitable in my description of them for some time afterwards, My poor impression was no doubt due to taking it straight down the very steep decline at the end of Yosemite closest to Death Valley without doing any flat or straight riding to get used to the whole unnatural feel of the fairing not moving with the bars deal.

A good mate in Oz bought one and convinced me to give them another try. We hired one out of Vegas for a long day's riding and I was surprised by how much I liked it after getting some 'settling in' time before trying anything overly challenging. In fact I liked it so much I bought Bertha my first CVO, (a 2011 RGU) and enjoyed every minute on her. We did all sorts of riding, highway, two lanes, mountains, dirt (not by choice), hills, mountains, deserts, and the 4 corners of Florida! by day and night, wet, dry, windy, whatever, mostly two up and very quickly decided we had been very clever as the Road glide was a good fit for us.

We did put Daymakers on Bertha as there were some visibility issue looking through some of the tight corners at night but I don't think my batwings were any better and I put spotties on them all. For me the extra light was primarily to see the critters on the edges of the road before they became interactive but it is nice to see where you are going if possible.

Lucille has been with us for about 2 years now and IMHO the improvements brought with the Rushmore bikes make a world of difference. Great handling compared to many bikes I have owned or ridden in all kinds of situations. We have experienced a similar range of riding and once again I have put some spotties on the fairing lowers to light up the edges of the road for night riding. Its still mostly for the critters as I have no intention of doing any close range critter gawking again. Had my fill of it with a bastard kangaroo about my height.

I have ridden a couple batwings since switching to the sharks and while I still enjoy them they are no longer my preferred ride as I miss the lighter front end and I can't see myself going back.

I agree with the earlier poster, the best advice is go ride anything you are considering in as many conditions s possible. Hire each one for a day or two and give it a whirl. At the end of the day you should buy Whatever Blows Your Hair Back!

Cheers Tom

PS I may have put a dollar's worth in this time.

[Unbalanced]

Love the openness of the RG but being tall in the torso no matter what I tried I always felt like a bobble head.   Add to the the wind buffering on my passenger and it was done deal.   If you ride 2 up Lodi highway speeds with a passenger on both bikes.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[jc15025]

Here is my vote.......JC

[Dan_Lockwood]

I'll add this too since I found this very hard to get used to. The headlights don't turn on the RG. My first ride home in the dark up the switchbacks to get home was, different.

If you have switchbacks, I'd try to demo ride one at night and see how that suits you. Tight turns are fine, its the 180's that get ya.

I know Mikeytee has already hit you on this, but I have another point.

While riding twisties, I'm assuming you're running at riding speeds, not parking lot speeds.

So what happens at riding speed when you turn, or push, your handlebars to the right; which is the direction the headlight would then point?

You go to the left... 

So with a Batwing your headlight actually, to "some" degree, goes in the opposite direction than your motion of travel.

Just thought I'd throw that out in defense of us RG guys...

[FlaHeatWave]

being unagreeable here

I beg to differ with you on that 05 stuff,  the 04 was the concept father to the SG ,   The 05 was just add a tour pack and luggage rack and then decide to remove it like the 04 and release the SG

Doesn't that make the '04 "The Grandfather" of Street Glide

I agree with some of the others about the low speed lighting of the RG, (daymakers) like turning into a dark driveway or really tight 1st gear switchbacks,,, can get kind of scary at times... The '05 SEEG (Has passing lamps) offers much better "flood" lighting in those situations due to the Lights turning with the handlebars...