2009 Harley-Davidson Softail® Heritage Softail Classic

The 2009 Heritage is my third bike, first Harley. I rode a Vulcan previously and it was a great bike, but I had to make some serious mods right out of the dealership to make it comfortable: Better seat, overdrive pulley, risers. The Heritage is ready to ride without any mods, although mine came with ... Cobra pipes (much improvement over stock) and a Stage 1 upgrade.

The bike handles extremely well, it is effortless to ride. Plenty of highway power and the sixth gear makes cruising at 65-75 MPH comfortable. My Vulcan sounded like it was going to explode at those speeds.

The Heritage has all the retro styling you could want, it turns heads all the time. It is a dream machine for an old school guy who isn't large (148 lbs/ 5'8") and who wanted a highway-worthy bike that is just as comfortable tooling around town as it is making road trips. It will probably be my last bike!

THIS IS MY 4TH HARLEY. TWO SPORTSTERS AND ONE ULTRA CLASSIC. I HAVE FOUND THE 2009 FLSTC, TO BE A PERFECT RIDE FOR ME. 5'11" 230LBS. GREAT BALANCE, LOW SEAT, RELAXED RIDING POSITION, POWERFUL YET SMOOTH. I FOUND THE ULTRA TO BE VERY HEAVY WHEN TWO UP, BUT THE FLSTC IS NOT. QUICK RESPONCE, NIMBLE ... AND VERY EASY TO TRANSITION FROM LANE TO LANE. GREAT BIKE. A KEEPER FOR SURE.

This is my first Harley after riding mainly yamahas for a few years. This Harley is fantastic. Excellent power and handling with the best riding position to cruise the highways here in Australia. All my mates love it and my sons just want to ride all the time.Harley Davidson certainly got it right ... once again.

Dennis

I have a 2009 Heritage and I have put 21,000 fantastic miles on it already. In 25 years of riding, I have owned metrics and will not put them down. I had a 2007 Dyna Low Rider prior to The Heritage and enjoyed it also. The Heritage is a purchase my wife and I made together. Picked it right down ... to the color and she picked the extras. (I am a lucky man!) We have loved this bike and have been on flat lands and in mountains. Don't worry about the boards, they make replacement parts. We rode the mess out it in the Blue Ridge Mountains and on the Dragon and felt just fine. A great machine for the money and I would buy another one in a heartbeat! I just rode 14 states on it for 3200 miles and was ready to ride more when I got home. What more can you ask for?

I brought the 2009 Hertiage Softail Classic in March and ride as much as i can, which is about every day. What a ride. Very smooth and powerful. I find it a little heavy but when riding, it doesn't feel heavy at all. As for the ride, very comfortable, easy handling and again smooth ride. This is ... my first H-D and although you pay for the name, i am a Harley man now and always. I would recommend this bike to anyone. If looking for a great looking,great ride buy the Hertiage Softail Classic. You will not regret it.

My first HD. Perfect balance of comfort and performance. Next month, it will be one year old with 24,000 miles. Only needed to add a couple accessories; passenger boards, & engine guard. Nimble, range, comfort. I guess I'll keep it.

I won this bike as the grand prize at a bike run, I rode a Goldwing 1200 there. I had owned an 04 but hated the fact that the next year came with the 96" motor and 6 speed.

Harley seems to have got it right this time. I'm 5-7 and had to lower the last one. This one is perfect. It is nimble ... and except for scraping the boards handles well. It definatly needs the exhaust upgraded to sound like a harley.

One thing that is wrong is the fact that for 20k you would think that they would upgrade the cheesy passenger pegs.

I ended up going with a set of Kuryakns for the wife. That would be my only complaint. As with all harleys you will find yourself buying more chrome and dodads but it is a very complete machine to start with. I love this one it fits me perfect size wise and can haul me and my wife plus all our gear with little effort over the claifornia moutains.

This is my third bike, second Harley(first was a Sportster 1200 low). This bike handles great in town and rides great on the freeway. The large front tire realy smoothes out the rough roads and the counter balanced motor is very smooth at all speeds. Good touring or commuting bike with lots of ... storage. Just dropped it off to have V&H pipes, stage 1 and SERT installed. Low CG and seat height make this the best bike for short riders(im 507). The bike comes loaded with standard equipment so there is not much to add(but of course I did). My wife says this is my last bike and I may prove her right.

I have rented this bike many times and have put more than 3,000 miles on. It's my favorite H-D, but I wouldn't buy one. First, as large as it looks, it's rather small for me at 6'2". Second, the stock engine is weak for a bike this expensive.

I know many hard core H-D enthusiasts ... will be sickened by the bike I'm going to buy (unless they've actually ridden one) - a Stratoliner.

I had never owned a motorcycle until January 3rd 2009 when I made a trip to Orlando, FL and stopped by the dealership there just to kill some time.

I had no idea what I really wanted but when I got to looking at the Road Kings and Heritage Soft Tails, I was sold on the Heritage immediately. ... I purchased the bike and had it shipped to my home in Texas

I have been extremely happy with the bike. Did not know the Harley had that much quality workmanship. Not only is it a beautiful bike but to ride and own a Harley makes it complete.

This was one of the best investments I have ever made in my life.

Bought the bike a month ago and haven't had a chance to write the review because I just haven't got off the thing. "Just love it" is all I can say. Put Screamin Eagle pipes and the engine management system on it before I took delivery, the sixth gear is for cruising only but from first to fifth the ... torque is very impressive. The bike can be a little heavy until up and moving then the weight seems to disappear. Really cant lean too hard into corners as the foot plate scrapes (the first time always shocks you a little bit). I have ridden a few too many bikes over a few too many years and I can say that at this time in my life I cannot think of climbing on, and enjoying, a better machine. Harley is a name that you pay for but even though you may never, and I do mean never, get total value for money, this bike is as close as you could ask for in that regard. I have never been a "name" buyer but H-D have done their homework and with the 6 speed gear box (still clunks like the old ones did) and the bigger motor, they have transformed a good bike into a great bike. If you are looking at buying, do yourself a favour and give the Heritage a ride, before you decide. As I said before "just love it!!"

This is my second bike and my first Harley Davidson. I love this bike. I bought this bike September 27 2008 and I rode it from Pittsburgh, PA to Daytona Beach, FL in October for biketoberfest . The wife and I were comfortable the whole trip down and back. I think this bike is balanced well. This ... bike has great torque and power, in the mountain areas I didn't have to down shift very often. The stock seat was very comfortable for me weighing about 280 on this trip. The look of this bike is great with the half round foot boards to the speedometer housing and the factory mini ape hanger bars. The detachable windshield make for easy cleaning of the windshield and front of the bike. The heat from the engine has not bothered me at all.

This too is bike number 18 for me. I thought I was sold on Japanese because I have had enough of them... BUT after deciding it was time to update my bike this year, I started my test-driving.... after comparing overall costs vs mileage vs comfort vs bang-for-the-buck and overall appeal, I ( wife ... driven) chose the 2009 HD Heritage Softail Classic. It's a head turner. It is fantastic (and a pleasure) to drive. The over-heating (in heavy traffic) can be handled with the ETMS. It's a heavy bike but once rolling, the weight is gone. Why would you want a beautiful engine covered in plastic (harley doesn't), and the torque is unbelievable. Once you ride one, you'll have to own one.

The 09 Heritage lives up to the standard of the previous Heritages. Very versatile bike...not sure why its labeled as a "cruiser" when it also makes a great touring bike (same amonut of storage as the Road King, same frame, same engine, plus solid mounts and less vibration).

On my test ride I found the softail classic to be nimble on the take off, well balanced, comfortable and smooth. My wife who owns a 2001 softail found the 09 to be lighter feeling, I suppose better balanced since she is only 5'7". She liked it so well she custom ordered one the following week.