Has anyone installed a bar style (straight, lights go left to right, not a dial) on their Road King? Ive got a 2017 and Ive just had it cammed, I KNOW Im going to be taking it to red line more often now. I want to stay away from the cheap import 30 dollar handlebar mounted options. Id love to have a small unit that would bolt on top of the handlebar risers that had a minimum of information and is non intrusive. What have you guys been running?

 

You didn’t ask, but I put this plug and play HD speedo-tach on my police bike to accomplish what I think you are after.

 

While I think that is a very tasteful addition, Id like something a little more in my line of sight.

 

There is a tach and mount the boots to the triple tree. Factory Road Kings have the tach mounted there and police bikes have the speedo mounter there.

 

This is your best bet, I have a 2024 RKS with the same combo gauge, its easy to read and has a lot of other display info. What you are looking for doesn't exist for your bike unless you want to go to the hassle of adapting an automotive style tach shift gauge to a can bus harley. Dakota Digital also has speedometer gauges that fit the center console that show rpm.

 

Plenty of separate analog tachs, but a separate tach is gonna get you most of the other stuff along with it. If you don't mind the other gauges, then Koso has them and Daytona. Here's one from Daytona gauges. It has a bar on top for the tach.

 

It is your machine to do with as you wish, but I can't help but question, why a digital tach? You want it above the bars to minimize eyes off the road time, excellent reason. RPM never stays absolutely steady so the ones and tens displays will be dancing around all the time and are insignificant anyway. To get the thousands and hundreds, you must actually READ the numbers, while with an analog display, needle position requires only a glance and will tell you what you need to know.

My first Road King had no tach, all previous bikes had tachs and I missed it, a lot. Break in was the period where I worried most, but following speed and shift point recommendations took care of the problem. After that, I finally realized it had an RPM limiter that would protect the engine. I stopped worrying. My current bike is a police Road King so it came with a tach and I like it a lot. However, my main use for it is to see if I am in 5th or 6th gear if traffic has required my attention and I don't recall if I have gone into 6th. I don't "race" off the line, when I want maximum performance it is for a maneuver in traffic and I don't look at the tach until the maneuver is completed.

As I said when I started, your bike, your decision. Just wanted to give a perspective to help decide how much time, money and effort is needed vs the final utility you will have. No matter which way you go, enjoy the results.

 

Digital, simply because I dont like the look of a giant, bulbous Tach Housing sitting on top of the bar clamp. Id consider a mini tach if I could find a decont one in a price range I was happy with. (In years past Ive blown thru two Drag Specialty tachs, the needle literally fell off). (I dont want to pay 300+ bucks for a tach either, so I guess I may just put this whole idea on the shelf for a while)