So ... After getting my orange/black FLSTSE 4th of July weekend I put almost 3000 miles on it in less than 6 weeks. Loved every minute of it. When I saw the 11's come out I thought "uh-oh" ... When I saw the new CVO brochure it got worse. While I probably get 0 points for sanity I'm absolutely in love with my new toy - an '11 SESG in black diamond.
Is it better? Worse? No ... it's different. I decided I wanted some of the features, and at 6'3 never got the fit quite right on the softy - and didn't like the number of mods it felt like it'd take to get me there. I don't do long distance touring (yet??) but a 2-300 mile day was just a little too tiring for me on the softail. At the same time no bike attracted more attention, or felt more "authentic" and I do miss sitting "in" the bike. I wish I could have kept them both, but I'm the only one here who rides and I just couldn't justify that much $$ sitting in the garage, especially in new england where we can't really ride 365.
When I first saw the black diamond it was indoors and poorly lit, and it didn't look like much. In strong light / the sun it's still understated compared to my inferno/black softail but the colors and the metallics in the paint really pop out.