Having owned and built a few Sporties, and having ridden and rejected the Shadow, I'd like to see the Yammy V-Star 650 thrown into the mix. The Silverado (Heritage Softail lookalike) costs about $6400 real price at the dealer, and it's the sweetest handling cruiser I've ever ridden. With only 40 hp, it won't set performance records, but it's plenty adequate for a cruiser. Also, anyone who's ever ridden Harleys knows that the Sporty is the WRONG bike for short people or beginners. A Softail is much more forgiving, has lower center of gravity, has a lower seat height and is MUCH easier for a short person to ride. The Yammy V-Star 650 is evn easier because it's 300 pounds lighter. And lowering involves nothing more than a drill bit to move the forward shock mount! It has only two shortcomings: the valves are manually adjusted and the the clutch releases to suddenly.
john, rider for 46 years.