I've owned an '07 Road King Classic and a '13 Electra Glide Classic - I guess I'm a sucker for those classic Harleys. The Electra Glide was just too much machine for the riding I enjoy on the back country roads surrounding my cabin at the foot of the Blue Ridge Mountains, and as I think about bikes, I can't help but wonder about getting the beautiful, lightly used Road King Classic at a nearby dealer vs a new Road King with the upgraded motor and counterbalancers. What do you think????

 

If money is not a problem, I'd say get the new one. I like the tech, the fact that it's slightly more powerful...
That said, I'm rocking a 2009 classic road king, with 103" upgrade, and I'm perfectly happy.
So... there... if $$$ isn't a problem, get the m8. If money is tight, get a used one, it's an awesome bike either way.

 

in 09 many major improvements where made again in 14, and only the 17 has the counterbalance. i would never buy the first year of anything, warranties dont do ya any good when u want to ride and the new bike is in the shop.

 

Even a '14 - '16 would be a fairly upgraded model over a '13 and prior. Guess it depends on if you'd want your old RK back as is or if you're hoping for a little more pep...all good bikes, the '17 being the most expensive flavor. I rode a '17 and liked it, but not more than my '16. If I was buying new I'd get a '17...if I was going used I'd start with '14 - '16.

 

Personally I'd find a nice Evo Road King..

 

As a prior owner of both: The 2016 new is a bargain right now, the 17 is high dollar bike when compared. The spoke wheels and tubes in the tires are a deal breaker for me on the Classic. RK's with low miles and clean are few and far between at dealers. There is a glut of late model FL's on the floor right now, excluding the RK. I sold my Ultra and bought a late model RK (with a Heritage in between) I never looked back. Better handling, less heat more unique then the "batwings"

 

Never in the market for new, but after tons of research, I decided to get a Rushmore King. Asumming similar milage, the '14 I bought (this past summer) was not much more than most '12s or '13s I looked at, and less than many.

 

I know I'll get bashed for this, but...

Which one do you like better? Is money the issue that should make you consider the M8 over the 103?
If I didn't have a bike but had the cash and the itch for either, I would get the one I can get the best deal on (I am frugal like that) and the one that offers me most for my buck.

I am 5"-11" and 200 pounds and my 2000 RKC with stage 1 and a power command lets me get up to 80-90 mph on the highway faster than I need, and when I ride 2 up, either my son or my wife are with me and they don't enjoy anything faster than 60 mph
I never understood the power thing, but the motor companies do understand the way us men feel about it, or having the latest and greatest...
Trucks, cars, motorcycles... they keep adding (literally) a couple of HP to entice the masses to dump the obsolete 1 y/o vehicle and get the "new and improved" one.
I just don't see the M8 being $3-4K better thank the 2016 103, but that's just my opinion.
New is not always better, history has more than prove that time and again. As far as the M8 goes, specially the 2017 one, only time will tell.
On the other hand, we already know what we know about the 103.

 

NO COMPARISON between a '17 RK and an earlier RKC. To each his own, but the M8s really are da bomb!

 

If i had it to do over....I would look for a nice evo!!!
You don't need FI and cruise control for riding around town and back roads.