2005 · Cruiser · Buyer's Guide
Factory Chopper, Street Ready
The Super Glide Custom is the Dyna built to be looked at. Full chrome covers, laced wheels and pullback bars give it a chopper stance straight off the showroom floor, and the rubber-mounted 1449 cc air-cooled 45° V-twin supplies the rest: 67 hp, 85 lb-ft, a five-speed box behind it. Nothing here is chasing a number. The torque arrives early and stays flat enough that you ride on the throttle rather than the gearbox, which is exactly what this class asks for. It is a big-twin cruiser with the proportions of a custom and the road manners of a normal motorcycle.
On the road it stays relaxed, with a 27.1 in seat and 666 lb of wet weight that mostly disappears once you are rolling. High-speed stability is genuinely good, so open-road miles never turn into work. Where it earns its keep over the years is the aftermarket. Almost nothing on this bike lacks a catalog of alternatives, and owners tend to build them slowly rather than all at once. The honest caveat is what is not there: no ABS, no traction control, no cruise control, and a 4.7 gal tank that plans your stops for you. Age brings maintenance items you should budget for.
Spec sheets don't ride bikes, but they set the baseline.
| Power | 67 hp (50 kW) |
|---|---|
| Torque | 85 lb-ft (115 Nm) |
| Displacement | 1449 cc |
| Engine | 45° V-twin |
| Cooling | Air-cooled |
| Gearbox | 5-speed |
| Fork | Telescopic |
| Front tire | 100/90-19 |
| Rear tire | 150/80-16 |
| Seat height | 27.1 in (688 mm) |
| Wet weight | 666 lb (302 kg) |
| Fuel capacity | 4.7 gal (17.8 L) |
Equipment check
Chassis
Nils has been hearing about this Dyna for years without ever asking a question. Club nights, parking lot talk at rallies, and the messages riders send him directly when they have something to say about a bike they actually own. On the Super Glide Custom the reports cluster tightly around one thing: it is the wind and the miles that owners want to talk about, and a short list of touch points they end up changing.
Crosswinds come up constantly. Riders describe the bike tracking straight through buffeting that unsettles lighter machines, and they say it holds that line at 70 mph and above without demanding corrections. The engine draws the same steady praise. Owners talk about pulling cleanly from low revs and riding on torque rather than gear changes, which is what makes two-up miles feel relaxed to them.
Where the reports turn critical, they turn specific. The clutch pull is the one that surfaces on its own: heavy enough at the lever that some owners find it wearing in stop and go traffic. It is not the loudest complaint on the bike, but it is one riders raise unprompted.
Cam chain tensioner wear (2005-2006 models)
The Twin Cam 88 engine's spring-loaded cam chain tensioner shoes can wear prematurely, sometimes leading to debris in the oil system. Harley redesigned the tensioner for the 2007 Twin Cam 96, which resolved the issue.
Fuel sending unit failure
The in-tank fuel level sending unit can fail, causing the fuel gauge to read inaccurately or not at all. Replacement of the sender is the common fix.
Starter relay intermittent failure
Corrosion or loose connections at the starter relay can cause intermittent no-start conditions, especially in humid climates. Cleaning the contacts or replacing the relay typically resolves the problem.
Rocker box oil leak
Aging rocker box gaskets can allow oil to weep onto the cylinder heads, leaving residue and drips. Often addressed by replacing the gaskets during a top-end service.
Where this Harley-Davidson Dyna Super Glide Custom FXDC pulls ahead of — or falls behind — its rivals on the numbers, and the typical bike in its class on character.
Power
Torque
Displacement
Wet weight
Seat height
Forget spec-sheet bragging. Here's who the Dyna Super Glide Custom FXDC is actually built for.
This one lands squarely in your world. The sound and stance are right out of the crate, the parts catalog lets you make it yours, and it is stable enough that you ride to the rally instead of trailering.
Made for Black Hills / Sturgis Rally Hub · A1A — Florida Atlantic Coast · Daytona Main Street / Bike Week
Built for unhurried days on old main streets and back roads. Pack light, plan your fuel stops around the 4.7 gal tank, and it will hold that easy rhythm from morning until dusk.
Made for Acadia National Park · Austin / Handbuilt Motorcycle Show · Blue Ridge Parkway
It will cover distance and stay steady doing it. But with no cruise control and a 4.7 gal tank, big loaded days two-up ask more of you than a purpose-built touring bike would.
Made for Beartooth Highway · Blue Ridge Parkway · Going-to-the-Sun Road
If this one isn't quite the fit, these are the bikes worth riding back-to-back against it.
Any price note compares both bikes at the same age — the youngest age both have on the used market — against this Harley-Davidson Dyna Super Glide Custom FXDC. “cheaper/pricier” is what that bike costs second-hand, not how worn it is.
