Softail vs. road king?????
Elite HDF Member
Joined: Jun 2011
Posts: 3,832
Likes: 127
From: Coastal Carolina
Softails are great looking bikes. It depends how you want to use it. For long distance touring, the answer is simple--the Road King is way more comfortable with better suspension and ride.
Another thing I always mention when someone asks this question (and it comes up often) is that, contrary to what you might assume, the Road King handles much better than most softails (you don't say which one you are considering and some softails are better than others). This is not a matter of opinion. To get the cool low-slung softail look, the MoCo sacrificed lean angles. Most softails simply don't lean very far, which makes them much less nimble in the twisties. Don't take my word for it though, the MoCo publishes the lean angles on the spec sheets on the website. There can be a 7, 8, 9 degree lean advantage for the Road King as compared to softails. That's ALOT.
For short trips and around town riding the softails are fine. For the way I ride, I wouldn't buy one. In fact, I'd go Dyna over softail for the handling.
Another thing I always mention when someone asks this question (and it comes up often) is that, contrary to what you might assume, the Road King handles much better than most softails (you don't say which one you are considering and some softails are better than others). This is not a matter of opinion. To get the cool low-slung softail look, the MoCo sacrificed lean angles. Most softails simply don't lean very far, which makes them much less nimble in the twisties. Don't take my word for it though, the MoCo publishes the lean angles on the spec sheets on the website. There can be a 7, 8, 9 degree lean advantage for the Road King as compared to softails. That's ALOT.
For short trips and around town riding the softails are fine. For the way I ride, I wouldn't buy one. In fact, I'd go Dyna over softail for the handling.
Last edited by TKDKurt; Aug 8, 2014 at 09:22 AM.
Cruiser
Joined: Feb 2014
Posts: 205
Likes: 11
From: Arkansas
If you like your softail invest in it, but do it knowing that the money spend will not make it worth anymore if you ever decide to trade it in. I thought about trading in both of mine this last week and downsizing to one bike. I finally decided after spending over 4K in the past couple of months on my RoadKing adding comfort and performance to it. I would just keep it and continue down that road. My Wide Glide will be gone first chance I get to unload it. I'm a big guy and like the real estate and comfort of the RoadKing. I don't like fairings, stereos, and all the other electronics so the RoadKing is my choice for a geezer glide.
Last edited by BC72067; Aug 8, 2014 at 09:23 AM.
Advanced
Joined: Aug 2014
Posts: 97
Likes: 0
From: Utah
I absolutely love my road king. I was in a very similar situation. I was trying to decide weather to get a Heritage soft tail or road king. Long story short, I ended up getting a road king even thought the Heritage was awesome. I loved the style and the ride position of the Heritage, however I looked at the ride style I would most likely use. I ended up getting the King and I have not looked back. When you dump money into anything you will never get it all back. If you plan to keep your Soft Tail for a long time, I would say to go ahead and do some work. However, If you did get a King, you could use that on your long trips & play around with the Soft Tail later on down the road and build it more as a fun daily. Just my $.02
Outstanding HDF Member
Joined: Sep 2011
Posts: 3,255
Likes: 112
From: Florida
Yep, here too. Plus, I like sitting in my bike vs on a Glide. If I toured more, I'd go with a Street Glide but most of my riding is done cruising around local lakes....especially Lake Minnetonka. JMO
Stellar HDF Member
Joined: Dec 2010
Posts: 3,275
Likes: 669
From: The Rust Belt!
Its always been Softail for me as well!!! Until the 2014 CVO Road King! Never liked the styling of the OE King. For 2 up its not even close. Big differance in room and comfort when riding 2 up when compared to my Fatboy..
My wife is only 5 ft 2 inches so on my heritage its perfect and she is nice and close to me which I like. I could see if the passenger is taller it could be an issue.
Outstanding HDF Member
Joined: Sep 2011
Posts: 3,255
Likes: 112
From: Florida
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Outstanding HDF Member
Joined: Mar 2010
Posts: 2,877
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From: Hallsville, Tx.
For solo touring you'd be ok with the Heritage. 2-up, definitely the Road King. I have a FatBoy and a Road King. I have much more confidence in riding faster and longer on the RK. YMMV.
