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2012 Heritage Softail Review

I now have about 500 miles on my new Softail and so far all the parts have stayed on it. What I like about it over my Suzuki C90T: a. Handlebar reach, b. A little more power, c. Takes holes and expansion joints smoother, d. cool tank instrumentation e. I now have 10,000 more drinking buddies. Sho...rtcomings are: a. seat not as comfortable, b. way too many oils to change, c. saddle bags too flimsily and have no internal structure to keep them from collapsing over time d. spoked wheels (no roadside tire flat fixes since they have tubes) e. clunks heavily when shifting gears, nothing smooth here. f. only one front disc brake! that takes a lot of effort to stop the bike, g. $1,500 for the 3 year warranty over the first 2 std. years - Ouch! h. terrible grips, i. Why is Harley merchandise so expensive? and j. $350+ for the first 1,000 mile check up - unreal they charge this much (maybe there is a lot to fix).

Well I'll deal with it for the next 5 years and see what happens. I still can't believe I spent almost $21k for this bike when I could have had a Gold Wing for about the same price, or my pick of any Jap cruiser. I guess I just wanted to "fit in".
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Lots of bang for the buck

I test rode 8 different bikes at the local Harley dealer and finally decided to buy the Heritage. I liked the bags and windshield as standard. The fat boy "looks" cooler IMHO but doesn't maneuver as well and can't really be taken on longer rides. The Heritage had just the right combinatio...n of ride, comfort and stock amenities for me. I suppose if I really want to I could easily strip it down and use it as a bar hopping bike.

With a great overall build quality and Harley's fantastic resale value, I feel good with my purchase. I don't have to worry about being "upside down" on my bike if I trade it in for something else after a couple years.
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