Road King or Heritage ?
Stellar HDF Member
Joined: May 2013
Posts: 3,145
Likes: 2,883
From: New York
The new Heritage is a game changer with its totally new looks. The Road King is tried and true. I hate to throw a wrench into this decision but I rode them both and also the stock 2018 Street Glide. The Street Glide was hands down the best of them all. There is a reason they are the best selling bikes in the USA.
Stellar HDF Member
Joined: May 2014
Posts: 2,486
Likes: 695
From: Huntington Beach, CA
The new Heritage is a game changer with its totally new looks. The Road King is tried and true. I hate to throw a wrench into this decision but I rode them both and also the stock 2018 Street Glide. The Street Glide was hands down the best of them all. There is a reason they are the best selling bikes in the USA.
Stellar HDF Member
Joined: May 2013
Posts: 3,145
Likes: 2,883
From: New York
BUT...The Street Glide seat is a little lower and comfortable right out of the box, the bars fall just right, the fairing keeps the wind off your body and over your head, and it it has tunes. It is a winning combination. Don't go by my opinion. Go by the thousands of people that have chosen the Street Glide over all the others.
Seasoned HDF Member
Joined: Apr 2012
Posts: 9,978
Likes: 5,218
From: Michigan
Everyone has their preferences and sometimes for good reason.
My first Heritage was a '92, which had the EVO "A" (vibrator engine) with the 5spd tranny and at freeway speeds the vibration was, uh...obvious.
The overall gearing was changed (I believe in '93) so my '95 Heritage was a much nicer bike to ride at freeway speeds but it too hade the "A" engine.
My wife had rode my '95 (even towed a trailer across the Might Mac Bridge on our way to the 95th Reunion in Milwaukee) but her first Heritage was (a black '99) that had the same drivetrain as my '95 Heritage.
I wanted to get my wife on a "rubber mounted engine" bike (as I had not rode a bike with the "B" engine so we ordered her an '03 RK.
I'll make a long story short here and just say that she much preferred her Heritage to the RK.
In '08, I was able to convince her that it was time for an "upgrade" so when the dealer got a Heritage in the new Crimson (red) color we bought it.
Coming from the EVO to the TC 96 (by-passing the TC 88) she was NOT happy with the difference in the amount of engine heat between her two Heritages!
A Stage I Kit with a dyno tune and a pair of mid-frame heat deflectors made the bike "acceptable" to her.
A few years ago, I tried (unsuccessfully) to get her to upgrade to perhaps a new Street Glide. She sat on the bike and her exact words were " I hate it, I can't see my front tire"!
Now that we're getting a little more "mature", I'm seriously thinking about a Tri-Glide and when we were at the dealership I showed her a new Freewheeler (in red of course) and she said, maybe in a couple of years.
My first Heritage was a '92, which had the EVO "A" (vibrator engine) with the 5spd tranny and at freeway speeds the vibration was, uh...obvious.
The overall gearing was changed (I believe in '93) so my '95 Heritage was a much nicer bike to ride at freeway speeds but it too hade the "A" engine.
My wife had rode my '95 (even towed a trailer across the Might Mac Bridge on our way to the 95th Reunion in Milwaukee) but her first Heritage was (a black '99) that had the same drivetrain as my '95 Heritage.
I wanted to get my wife on a "rubber mounted engine" bike (as I had not rode a bike with the "B" engine so we ordered her an '03 RK.
I'll make a long story short here and just say that she much preferred her Heritage to the RK.
In '08, I was able to convince her that it was time for an "upgrade" so when the dealer got a Heritage in the new Crimson (red) color we bought it.
Coming from the EVO to the TC 96 (by-passing the TC 88) she was NOT happy with the difference in the amount of engine heat between her two Heritages!
A Stage I Kit with a dyno tune and a pair of mid-frame heat deflectors made the bike "acceptable" to her.
A few years ago, I tried (unsuccessfully) to get her to upgrade to perhaps a new Street Glide. She sat on the bike and her exact words were " I hate it, I can't see my front tire"!
Now that we're getting a little more "mature", I'm seriously thinking about a Tri-Glide and when we were at the dealership I showed her a new Freewheeler (in red of course) and she said, maybe in a couple of years.
Last edited by 2AMGuy; Apr 22, 2018 at 11:28 PM.
Grand HDF Member
Joined: Aug 2013
Posts: 3,669
Likes: 5,064
From: Georgia
lean angle difference is only four or five degrees but you save over a hundred pounds of weight as well which means it will handle better. the angle is probably all about those floor boards and should be easily remedied. A hundred pounds is a lot of difference
storage might be an issue plus the bags on the RK look better but if the bike is without bags the Heritage looks better.
storage might be an issue plus the bags on the RK look better but if the bike is without bags the Heritage looks better.
Stellar HDF Member
Joined: Apr 2012
Posts: 3,117
Likes: 1,193
From: Maryland
Both those items can be tailored to one's taste.
Not something that I'd want all the time. I would prefer the flexibility of the removable windscreen that both the Heritage and RK provide.
Something I absolutely don't want on a bike. I prefer to "switch it off" when I ride.
For some maybe. Depends on what you want out of it.
Don't really care what the masses do or think. Wouldn't be a factor in making a choice for me.
Personally, I think both the Heritage and the RK are more the ideal "do it all" bikes because of their flexibility. They're more the Swiss Army knives of the lot. Those characteristics are more important to me - especially compared to factoring what's popular or some of the other considerations mentioned.
Seasoned HDF Member
Joined: Mar 2008
Posts: 9,384
Likes: 1,776
From: Central Texas
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