Been awhile since I've been in a dealership and never bought a new one. The new 17's have caught my eye the Road king in particular so I decided to take the plunge. Didn't know it was going to be a be trip down the rabbit hole. Yes I know it's early on with the new models but damn you'd think the dealers would have been just smidge prepared for dealing with the public on them. I've learned a few interesting facts and some frustration so far. Looks like my search is going to have to expand .... a lot.

#1 Dealers around here are only getting the more expensive models in as yet and few of those, the lowly RK doesn't seem to rate.

#2 Sales people while eager to help are completely clueless to most questions and run to ask somebody or will get back to you in a call that I'm still waiting for.

#3 Doesn't seem the web based email system rates with a lot of dealers out here, out of 5 only 2 have bothered replying and haven't heard from them again either.

#4 No literature in the showrooms or available from the sales peeps , we'll get back to you again.

#5 2 sales managers seemed completely indifferent to talking hard numbers on anything. They also seemed a lot more interested in the crew walking around in all newish moco clothes and bling.

#6 interesting tidbit is the 17's no longer have the modify it at the factory option if you want to customize the bike being ordered, you buy the base model then you have to purchase anything through the dealer and they install for a fee of course. That blows in number of ways.

#7 got a few different answers to the EPA and stage 1 & II upgrades so they haven't a clear clue yet as to what you can actually do and not to the bike but of course it all has to SE parts and they do the work, could or would not answer the question about warranty issues if it is done and this was 2 dealers I asked this of.

Heard the stock pipes versus the SE's and honestly didn't hear enough difference to justify the money they are asking for them and the install.

Stock 107 air box is ugly as a goats *** in person, pics are deceptive on that beast so you will dropping $500+ for a better one be warned.

Just doesn't seem anyone around here is interested in selling me a bike unless I want a SG or a CVO of some kind.

 

All I can say is...yup.

You were commenting on a thread about how the Harley rides have changed over the years...many dealers are right there playing along or making it worse. Plenty of good out there but tougher to find.

Also, many dealers will tell you they have to do the work to maintain warranty, but that has been proven false in court many times. There are a few items that will only be covered by the factory warranty if installed at the time of delivery, but most mods will not affect the warranty to the rest of the bike.

 

I hear Ya,Road Kings are few. Im looking for a Road King in the Hot rod Red version, have yet to find one, closest has been a street glide. Im chilling out till spring.

 

Might be better to wait a couple years & buy a garage queen for half price. The warranty will be expired & you can do what you want to the motor, too. At least that's what I would do.....

 

If I was inclined to that I'd have bought an FXRT a couple decades ago......

 

I'm sure that the "Feeding Frenzy" will quell soon and they ( dealers ) will come to the realization that there are a lot of tire kickers and few will pony up for the new scooter. The more peculiar part of your quandary is that YOU are actually lookin' for a new scooter. That really surprised me. Good luck with your search :>)

 

Thought about that one and saw the scheme on an RG , damn good looking paint with the big metal flake under the candy clear. Figure that's going to be the popular one, got my eye on the billet silver figure that and my shovel should look very good sitting together out in the sunlight.

 

It's not unusual that only the most expensive models have arrived. Stopped by one Dealership today and that's all I saw. Not looking to buy but wanted to see them. They asked if I wanted to test ride one and for now I declined. We were heading home from a ride and it was getting warm. Give it a month and you will probably see that RK your looking for.

 

Completely opposite at local dealer here as evidenced by my recent test ride. They did have a couple of Road Kings and a lot of Street Glides. The bikes are just getting to the dealers so inventory will come.
More information is available online and at Harley's site than you will find in a brochure.
Any screamin eagle stuff made for 2017 and up will not affect your warranty, period. It specifically states this in the description for each item, including the tuner by the way. They basically eliminated the wink wink off-road use only and instead made everything EPA compliant and warranty compliant.

The HD1 site is not fully functional yet but when it was for the 2016's, it was really just for a few models. It would let you select other models, but if you paid attention, in small writing it would say dealer installed item.

Your best bet is find a better dealer and wait for more inventory to arrive or get them to order a bike in the color you want and do the add ons afterwards.

It mightactually be more rewarding this way, by gradually making it what you want over time instead of going for the instant gratification.

Just trying to help here and hoping I don't sound like too much of a jackass.

I like the looks of the Black Hills Gold / Black Quartz Road King as seen on YouTube. On Harley's site the gold looks like faded yellow and terrible. I like it because it reminds me if the New Orleans Saints I guess.

 

I'm kind of liking that Billet Silver too ... Vivid Black is getting too hard to keep clean. Of course a new scooter isn't in the plans right now :>(