1. 07 First year of the Twinkie 96 - I believe the fat boy in 07 had the 88 which would still have the old style cam chain tensioners. They really were kind of anemic stock. Still, a lot more power than a C-50.
2. I probably would not touch anything made before 09 at this point in time.
3. The newer the bike is the more reliable it will be.
4. The HO103 really is the best Twinkie ever made but it only lasted three years before the M8 107 came out. The M8 107 is generally problem free and it has a ton of power.
5. My 07 SG which I rode for a little over 50k miles had quite a few problems. Knock on wood, my 16 has been problem free for 10k miles.
6. The solid wheels are known to be horrible in crosswind. I would really consider avoiding them.
7. 6th gear is usable after 2010. It was too tall to be useful in prior years. They regeared the bikes in 2010. And yes the six-speed makes for a relaxed ride all the way up to about 90MPH.
8. If you are looking at the Fatboy you really should take a look at the Road King. It's on the touring platform and will be a much more comfortable ride.

 

What Fx said

 

I just upgraded to a 2017 Fat bob and have no experience with the earlier twin cam versions.... Just know I enjoy the tons of torque available to me and cause it is one of the few dynas with twin front disks plenty of stopping power to go with it. It was definitely worth the upgrade.

 

I like the looks of the fb solid wheels but never considered #6, handling in crosswinds... makes sense

 

I'm not sure about that. If you imagine a spoked wheel going at any kind of speed, how fast it would be rotating wouldnt let any air pass through anyway.

 

If you imagine a spoked wheel going at any kind of speed, how fast it would be rotating wouldnt let any air pass through anyway.

Not according to the scientific testing done for bicycle racing. I'm assuming it can be transposed to motorcycles.


https://www.sciencedirect.com/scien...7375777638fc08e9e036e8c21df2e0ab&pid=1-s2.0-S1877705812016189-main.pdf&_valck=1


"spoke wheels, because they are lighter, more maneuverable, better at climbing, and aren’t so easily caught by crosswinds, are ideal for outdoor races that are curvy, hilly, or long. That’s why you don’t see disc wheels in the mountains of the Tour de France."

 

To be fair spokes weigh less than a solid wheel on bicycles which is most important.
Im not convinced, never heard of a fatboy rider crashing because a crosswind blew him off the road. They're heavy bikes and in wind conditions like that you should really be on the ball and correcting yourself. In very strong winds it can move me on the c50 but a bit of countersteering sorts that out. Definitely not a good enough reason to not buy one, plus solid wheels are more reliable and less maintenance than spoked, which need periodic tightening or replacing if one snaps, and youre stuck with tubed tires.

 

The solid wheel issue is well discussed and well documented. Crosswinds catch the wheels and make riding difficult in windy conditions. Do some research on the topic.