5. Harley-Davidson Softail Deluxe and Harley-Davidson Road King
With more than 1500 responses I was surprised we actually had a tie in our survey of motorcycles women are riding now, but two motorcycles share equal billing in fifth place in popularity among our readers: The Harley-Davidson Softail Deluxe and the Harley-Davidson Road King.
The Softail Deluxe has been a top choice for women who love Harleys ever since this Big Twin with the extremely low seat height
was introduced in 2005; it was number four in
our list last year. The Road King is what surprised us initially, making the top five and tying with the Deluxe here, but when you consider that motorcycle touring is hugely popular with both women and men and that more new touring motorcycles were registered last year than any other category of motorcycles, it's not that much of a surprise that Harley's second most popular touring motorcycle, the stalwart Road King, would be near the top of our list.
The Harley-Davidson Softail Deluxe possesses the perfect cruiser combination for women: lots of power, stunning looks, and an extremely low seat height of just 24.5 inches.
Other than color variations and engine and component upgrades, the Softail Deluxe's style remains unchanged since it was introduced in 2005. The 2016 model features the signature nostalgia style with whitewall tires, laced wheels, classic low front and rear fenders, and a tombstone style taillight. A Twin Cam 103B engine provides the power.
WRN reader Vicki Gibbs, from Phoenix, Arizona, rides her 2007 Harley-Davidson Road King CVO, Harley's customized version of a Road King that year, that she further customized thanks to Eric Carr and his crew at Steel Vision Garage. At number five in our list, the Road King straddles the line between being a cool around-town cruiser, yet is comfortable enough for long haul touring.
While a stock Road King can't boast that low of a seat height compared to some of Harley's other models — 26.7 inches — the bike can easily be lowered, and its hard-sided saddlebags, windshield, floorboards and engine guards make this bike tour-ready, and that's attractive to a lot of women.