OK.....hoping for some advice from seasoned Harley owners and experts. I've decided that my next bike is going to be a Harley - a Road King to be precise. I like to take long road trips (did a 2500 miler last year), and have been riding Hondas till now - a Magna and a Valkyrie. Great bikes but lacking in the comfort area. I've ridden every big cruiser by every big manufacturer, with the last one being a 2015 H-D Road King. The RK was far and away the most comfortable for me, considering riding position, engine smoothness, etc. However, a 2015 is more money than I want to spend on a bike. Around here on Craigslist, the RK's seem to fall into three different categories:

Pre-99 EVO Road Kings. Can be had between $5000 and $7000 miles in good condition with reasonable miles. I'm familiar with the Evo potential issues - base gaskets and inner cam bearings - but I'm also fine with turning my own wrenches, and the simplicity of the EVO has some appeal.

99-08 Twin Cam Road Kings. Pricing is all over the map, but 7-9K seems to be about the normal for a good one. Again, familiar with the camchain tensioner issue as well as the inner cam bearings.

09-10 Road Kings - can be had for 10-11K, which is the tippy-top of what I'd want to spend. The new touring chassis, which is what I rode, plus a 95CI engine for more power (but not as much as the 103 I rode).

Whatever I buy will be both an around town bike as well as a long-haul tourer, coast to coast.

Here's my main question - how much of the ride quality that I liked about the 2015 would I give up by buying an earlier Twin Cam or even an Evo?

What are some other things I should know?

Occasionally I see ex-police bikes with better prices on them than the above - but the conversion from cop back to civilian can leave something to be desired. I once had an ex-fire chief Suburban that had no end of electrical issues because of the way they basically hacked the fire accessories out. How does this work on ex-cop bikes? Is that a needless worry?

Thanks in advance. Hopefully soon I'll be riding one and be a contributor and not a beggar of information.

Oh, and I love the 'turn a classic into a classic' thread. That's what I plan to do with the RK when I get it.

 

slow n steady. Take your time in getting the bike just how you want it. Make sure you build it for you and not for others, if you like that little bobble that everyone make fun of, get the damn thing.

Take others opinions with a grain of salt. Get yourself a shop manual if you plan on doing the work yourself and spend the extra $ in getting the proper parts, bargain prices rarely pay off.

Ive had my FLHR for 2 years now, its a 2011, came off a softail, and I absolutely love the thing. Perfect bike for me .

enjoy it, have fun, ride safe.

 

all the touring models are the same bike- changes in how much plastic hangs off of them, how many speakers and badgers, trim and wheels.

same motor, chassis, front end, brakes, efi, tranny, geometry, power etc

the 2009+ frame is great- MAKE SURE you get ABS which is packaged with cruise and security.
the brembo brakes are great any fuel injection 2007+ is finally sorted out.

take time kick tires

STAY AWAY from anything heavily modded or customized- these can be a mess or a mystery should anything need repair

correct on cop bikes, they can be great or an electrical nightmare if all the cop stuff has simply been hacked off- the pursuit motor went away with the evo models. ( I have an 88 CHP pursuit FXRP model)

I would suggest either a 93~98 evo model for cheap- CARBED only.
with this the dealer will be useless ( for anything more then 10 years old)- you'll need to find an independent shop and/or be willing to do stuff your self

or look for a 2009+ model.

the 103" has 15% more torque than the 96" and 3 more horsepower.
that comes in handy in city and canyon riding- the torque to keep pulling- and you can drop into 6th gear ( OD) at a lower road speed...65 MPH rather than 70 with the 96".
But the 96 is a great motor and when I was shopping the 103 was a 2K upgrade...happy with the 96".
the 96" may have a marginally longer service life due to the smaller bore-


welcome to the forums!



Mike

 

I bought my 05' ex-police bike for $4200 and did all the custom work I would have done to a civilian bike saving a ton of money after I went through the basics on maintenance and ride it on long hauls whenever I can. Love it.

 

I have an 02 and a 12 road king.

The 2012 is better suited for highway cruising due to the 103 engine and the six speed tranny. The 02 has a 5 speed. Both mine have cruise control which I enjoy.

Both are great for running around town, mountain roads, and comfort.

In 07 they switched them to six speeds with the 96ci engines.

If you get a 88 engine, make sure the cam chain tension shoes have been upgraded/replaced...they do have a premature wear issue.

I totally enjoy both bikes.

 

Looks like you've done you homework very well. After you make your purchase, you will always second guess yourself so find a bike you like and go for it. You know the basic pro's and con's of each so now it's just a matter of finding a bike that has the combination of what you like as far as looks, age, mileage and of course, cost. That's the most important thing especially if you enjoy your own wrench twisting.

As far as the ride difference, I own both a 08 RKC and a 13 Limited and jump between the two all the time. The only time you will notice a real difference in the frame is in long sweeping high speed turns. You can feel the rear end move in both but the 08 has a little more wobble to it but not a big deal. Going down the highway, to me, there's no difference.

The only thing I would suggest is that if you get one with the old style cam chain tensioners to eventually upgrade to the hydraulic.

Good luck and have fun choosing your new ride. I love my RKC and prefer it to the limited any day when I'm by myself. I tell people the Limited is my wifes bike because she wont ride on the RKC anymore because of the comfort for her of the Limited.

 

oh yeah....I actually find my 02 to be more comfortable but that is probably due to the number of seat options I have purchased over the years....and I have the air shocks set pretty soft too.

just haven't done too many seat options with the 12 yet....the 12 is probably better for 2-up riding also.

Inner cam bearings on the 88 were good until the 2003 model when Harley cheaped out. (Main crank bearing too...I think) The tension shoes are better material now, but hydraulic upgrade is best.

 

these were recalled on the 99 model...as was pinion bearing on all twin cam motors pre 10/98

etc etc.

the early twin cams are/were a mess

http://www.baggersmag.com/twin-cam-e...twisting-crank

Mike

 

Have had an '07 Road King Police model with 6 spd. and 103 inch mill. Highly recommend the 6 spd. and 103 inch motor. That would be 07 and later. Plus the cam tensioners were fixed '07 and later.

 

When I did my cams, I put timkens in, but I thought in 03 they went cheap on some of the bearings? (again)

88TC was first out in 98? 99? on the RK. Before that was the 80 Evo I think.

I did the hydraulic cam update, my TC 88 runs great! The 02 only had the weak cam issue...and if left stock, the new harder pads from Moco did better.
If I'm not mistaken the newer 96 and 103 has the pressed crank issue also?