Not really a road trip, but don't know where else to post it. So a colleague at work has been trying really hard to find a bike to buy, HD. I've really been working him on the RG, but alas he decided he wanted to get a street glide. Last Friday he asked me if I would go look at an '09 black street glide. After giving him the appropriate level of shit for buying the most popular/common/stereotypical bike possible I agreed. He has ridden, but it's been 10-12 years, and he was a crotch rocket guy. I looked the bike over the best my non-professional eyes could. It only has 13500 miles, with the original rear tire. The front was a couple of years old because of a nail. The tread on the bike still looked decent, I wouldn't hesitate based on the wear to ride it , but suggested he get new shoes anyway because of them being so old. The guy selling is about 70, a couple pieces of chrome and pipes, that's about it. As I'm looking it over the old guy tosses me the keys and says, take it for a spin. I say ok, take it around the neighborhood and on one main street, get it up to about 60, no more than a mile ride. Everything feels good, I'm pleasantly surprised how nimble it feels. Mike buys it. Today is the day he was finalizing the deal at the bank. He was going to ride it home, but asked if I would since he doesn't have his endorsement yet, not even his permit since he let it lapse. I agree. We didn't beat the rain, so I had to ride it about 10 miles in a light rain. Again, really surprised how well it handled and felt so much smaller than my Ultra. Now to the point of my story, I used to own a batwing, '96 Electra Glide Classic with a tour pak. I went from it to my 11 RGU. I've been thinking about a bike for me solo, hadn't really considered a street glide or RG custom/non ultra. My question to those with experience, is the lack of a tour pack the main reason the bike felt so much nimbler and smaller? Could the lower rear end be what felt so different? I love my Ultra, especially with the better half and road tripping love the space the tour pak gives. I wasn't really expecting that much of a difference, but it was really significant. Now I want to find a RG custom or special to ride to see what it feels like.