Sportster vs Fatboy

I have a 07 1200xl custom sporty and I am considering using the trade in program from H-D to purchase a new 09 Fatboy. My question is is this something that would be encouraged? If so why?

If you are thinking about trading , the deal Harley is giving sounds pretty good. I would trade if I could get the price I paid for it on trade.

I feel you can't go wrong with the big twin, they hold their value. I have a 07 Fatboy and cruise with my solo seat, or put on the two-up, back rest and bag or bags and cruise with my wife.

I have 3 Fatboys, guess you'd say I like them, once I got my wife to through her leg over a Fatboy she never went back to the Sportster, We traded it for one of the Fatboys we have now. Heritage is also a good ride, same thing but comes with the bags and windshield. I guess it also depends on what year and size of Sporty you have.
dw

Not by me !!! If I were to get a BT (highly unlikely) it'd be either a Dyna or an Electra Glide. It all depends on what you want the bike to do - I live in the country where the roads are hilly & curvy & a Sportster is a lot better suited for that. Also, I never carry a passenger - if I often did, a Dyna would probably be my choice. On the interstate, an Electra Glide would be my choice, but I almost never go there - I can backroad it to other towns faster than I can go over to the super slab & deal with all the idiots out there.

But although many have taken very long trips on Sportsters, including the "Iron Butt" rides, the BT's are really a lot better for that & the trade-in program is a good deal if a BT is what you really want. Cousin of mine got a Fatboy that's really sharp, but being used to a Sportster, I didn't like the ride/handling @ all. But he lives in a big city & it's exactly what he wanted - we just like different things & ride different places.

I have an 03 fatboy and am very partial to it...no matter what you do, going from a sporty to a BT is definitely a step up. I put a quick detach windshield and quikk-detach sissy bar with a luggage rack on mine...so it has everythng a heritage does except the bags, which can be substitued with a nice over the road bag on back. It is low and sleek without the extras and the back seat, and grandpa's road cruiser with the options...call it jekyl and hyde
wish i would have looked at the date before i replied, cause your decision is probably already made

Are you thinking about the Fatboy Lo? That's a sweet bike. I test rode one and loved it.

It's hard for anyone to know what's right for you. I know Art_NJr will stand up for Sportsters until the end of time. I don't enjoy riding them at all. My first bike was a chopped Sportster with a weld-on hard tail, and after that I rode mostly stripped down rigid frame Panheads. When I was ready to buy a new bike, I got a Softail Standard. It was perfect for me because it has the same feel as every other bike I rode or was around - only much more reliable. I thought about the Fatboy, but I knew I'd want to customize the bike and didn't want to spend the extra couple thousand for the frills on the Fatboy when I'd want to change a lot of stuff. I've had my Softail for over 8 years and close to 90,000 miles. I've thought about getting a new bike, but my Softail is everything I want.

The Heritage is a nice bike, but it isn't my style. I don't like studs and conchos and the details that the Heritage has. While it doesn't come stock, you absolutely can get a detachable windshield for the Fatboy. Look at HarleysLR's picture. That's a Fatboy! He's got a fairing and hard bags on it. It's a great looking bike and just as good as any touring bike for long trips. I did an 8,000+ mile trip on my Softail (which has hard bags and a detachable windshield). I should mention that when I attempted Daytona from Colorado in March that I would have been a lot happier on anything with a full fairing.

What I would look at when it comes to moving to a big twin are the big things that are really hard to change: forward controls, frame style, front wheel size (hard to change because of rake on the various stock frames, but not impossible). There are probably some other things too, but those were the important things to me and why I didn't go with a Dyna.

Edited to add: my article on the Fatboy Lo (I wrote it from a chick's point of view, but it's a manly bike

And the Crossbones is really hot. A guy showed up at the bar I work at on Thanksgiving on a Crossbones with some nice leather saddlebags. Very sexy. That would be similar to the Fatboy as far as controls and how it sits, although it has the bobbed rear fender and a springer front end. The Deluxe is a nice bike too. There are a lot of options in the Softail family.

JMO...the heritage looks like grandpa's classic bike...the studs, tassles, spokes, front and rear fender tips
The FatBoy looks just like it sounds...grandpa's Fat Boy...spoiled grandson...everything is fat and sporty....i put drag bars on mine and it looks like a low, sleek, pudgy, bad ass...no stupid frills like studs everywhere...everyone does there own thing to their bike, so therefore everything can be an option. I talked the dealer into the quick detach windshield and backrest on mine, and i know i have a huge choice of bags, just never have liked the look of softbags so i don't have em...
again i am bias, JMO, but most gotta agree, the heritage just fits an older man's style

Ahhh, the passion. That's what's so great about a Harley. You can do so much to make it your own baby. I have friends with sport bikes and sport tourers. Yeah, there are some things you can do to personalize them, but Harleys are much more personal.

've taught a few classes where, in the introductions, young students will say they want a sport bike, because cruisers are for old people. I find it funny that now cruiser people can say that specific cruisers are for old people. I can think of one cocky young lady in particular, and I'm sure my old a$$ could take her down. Maybe she thought so too, since she didn't come back to class the next day - after my introduction where I said I was one of those old farts that rides a cruiser. LOL. Everyone has their preferences; I wouldn't get caught dead with most of those gaudy satchels that fashionable women pay hundreds of dollars for. Just give me something big enough to hold my wallet, glasses, and a compact 9mm.

yeah, i know...the two are built for different tastes, but both enjoy comfort....again, don't take it the wrong way...the heritage has heritage, but i think the fat boy is more new age design...again, just my opinion

:fight:

Now your Talken Abby

I have a 357 for the right hand and a .380 semi auto for the left, I am litte weak in the left hand.

I can tell you are all from the wild west...i love a nice handgun myself, but I don't think they're as much a necessity where I am from....i'd like to get my hands on one of those .50 caliber revolvers once...now that's a gun.

kind of a weird thread considering it started in February as a Sportster to fatboy upgrade and now we are worried about guns...solving the world's problems one at a time