Originally Posted by DMN
What he said.
What he said, he said, he said.
You are making a mistake by being so absolute on the softail decision. That's like saying that you want to do some Baha dune riding, but you have your mind set on a Ferrari and no one's gonna change your mind.
You will get inferior components if you think you "need" a full suspension bike in the $600.00 range. Your money is really better spent on a hardtail. You will get much better components on a $600 - $900 hardtail, then you will on an equally priced full suspension bike.