Going on Saturday to dealer to trade in wife’s 2012 Fatboy Lo for a new 2018 Fatboy. I’m only 5’5 so I’m a little worried that my feet will not touch the floor. I am flat footed on my 2016 Lo, do you guys reckon I’ll reach the ground safely?

I reckon the new fatboys are bloody awful.  

Well, I'm +1 with chriso, hated my test ride, but I assume you've taken a long test ride and we don't all like the same thing.
As for safety, If you have a single doubt, leave it out.
Had a short friend fall off his Royal Enfield Interceptor at a rail crossing back in the 70s.
Patch on etc and a pregnant woman helped him up, wha a laugh.

But then again, you're trading your wifes bike so if she's comfortable er, fucking keep off it man, let the woman ride :)

The one I test rode was a pig of a handling bike, and compared to the other 2018 range of softails I have ridden, it was the worst handling of the new range.
That bad that I have bought a second hand ((2,500 km) Fat Boy Low - S instead.
Make sure she has a good test ride on some bumpy curvy goat track roads we have in Aust, as they bump steer very bad.
Regards Lofty

Agree with Lofty also and think he’s being polite about the handling. :) Also the Lo S 110 has a proven reliability record. Not saying perfect but my 110’s 9 years old and running fine, whereas issues with the bubble head still seem to be emerging.

Oh shit.......not feeling so good all of a sudden.....

Muzza mate if you and the missus have taken long test rides and feel a new Fatboy’s right for you, that’s probably all the confirmation you need.

My review 2018 Fatboy 114 

Here's my 2 bobs worth,   2018 Fatboy 107

Hi BAZ, I agree with Chriso and look forward to reading his reasons, maybe we'll have a common take on the bike.
Specific goods and bads of the M8 Fatboy to me are not based solely on it being an M8.
Good, love the look, finishes are ok, tourque was excellent.

Bad, or should I say, things I didn't like
For me the M8 engine, is over engineered, firstly I confess to prefer the unbalanced Dyna engines over the old Softail balanced engines.
Reason is that the Dyna engine isn't using power to drive the antivibration (balance) shaft which also reduces the engines responsiveness.
Try the two side by side even just revving them on the side stand and you can hear (see on a tach) how much faster a Dyna engine spins up compared to a Balanced engine, the revs do not die as quickly either, you can feel it when going through the gears too.

As you know, for the M8 HD have "tuned in" 25% vibration because initial feedback was that the fully balanced engine was too smooth and lost that HD feel.

I've found balance shafts don't work fully across the whole rev range, vibration harmonics still creep in and the Fatboy I test rode vibed badly around 3000 rpm, especially when downshifting before a corner.

The 240 rear looks cool but does nothing for handling.  I used to think the Breakout was the worst handling HD but I got use to it pretty quickly and found it could be thrown around within it's ground clearance limits with relative ease. I'm 6.2 90kg.  So the ratio between front and rear tyre width could be managed.  The added problem for the Fatboy is the solid rims.  While HD has increased the width of the front wheel which helps offset the 240 rear, having solid rims adds weight so you end up with two big gyros spinning front and rear which for me made the bike feel like it wanted to stand up and not lean into corners.  Pretty much what you'd expect from any gyroscope and the same affect has been reported by guys who changed to those mega fat spokes.

Solid rims, do have side wind issues.  Have them on my old CVO Fatbob.  Have experienced some bad riding on windy days but 5 grand to change has me living with it for now.

So my dislikes aren't massive but were enough to stop me buying one.  I'd also wait till the M8 sumping issues etc are fully resolved.

I met a guy recently who has a new Fatboy, says he loves it.  He was about 6ft and 125kg  and reckons he got use to that handling and now really enjoys the bike.
He traded an earlier model Fatboy. 

Now I am getting concerned, hmmm, I’m going to delay the deal and see if I can have a fatty for the weekend and ride it as much as I can then revisit the decision. Thanks guys. 

If you want a new bike but just unsure about the fatboy, spend some time test riding other models too. 

if you can keep your wifes bike trade in prices for twin cams are shit on these new bikes at the moment and in my opinion the new models are nothing to rave about. if your like me and you love your harley for the looks the feel and the noise you will be dissapointed with the new models. But each to their own. already seen a demo street bob for less than i paid for my 103 in 2014 so i think that trading twin cams in on m8 models might be a mistake. Only my opinion but dont be surprised if your twin cam is worth more than the m8 in a few years. Ride before you buy . Cheers Potluk

Normally I reside in Perth, but I’m posted to Middle East for next couple of years, I’ve been here for a couple already. 

Yip. You get the international version here, so bringing it back requires minimal ADR conformity. 

Understood, I’ll be out of warranty by the time I’m back anyhow, however it seems a global thing this warranty issue, I had problems with my 2016, and I notice on some of the other forums, people are saying same things, so I’m learning and going to try and box clever this time, if I pull the trigger.  I really do appreciate all the things everyone has to say, so keep it coming. Thanks. 

So, dealer has zero fatties in stock, next shipment will be end of July. Took a 2018 fatbob for a good 40 minute ride, it was okay, but not a fattie ride, also the primary burns my leg when I put my feet down, it seems to stick out more than the fatboy? 

what a lot of interesting opinions, here is mine... I am short, powerful and compact, lol.... anyways I have no trouble with my new 114 fatboy, put western burleigh bars on it as well and its even more comfortable... Now I have had a 1998 fatboy, 2004 fatboy, 2010 fatboy lo, 2016 fatboy S and this 2018 fatboy handles better than all of those previous fatties I owned hands down.. It leans way more than all the previous models, in fact it takes a lot more to scrape the boards on the new one than any previous one.. also with the 160 front tyre with the 240 back tyre it is a good combination for handling compared to say a 240 back and a 140 or 120 front, the bigger the difference in width between front and back will effect the cornerability of a bike.. and finally the new m8 motor is in my opinion better than the twin cam or evolution... 

Ok I dig it man, if you’ve come off a line of Fatboys you’re saying the latest is the greatest. Ok I get that but for me, coming off an old CVO 110 Fatbob,  man the new 114 Fatboy was horrid and I was oh so looking forward to getting one, love the style, hated the ride. We’re all different.