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My old Road King was a 2012 with stock suspension and seat. It had a 26.5 seat height with 5.1" Ground Clearance.It was a perfect fit for me.
My new 2019 Special has a 27.4 Seat Height and only 4.9" ground clearance. I seriously need to lower an inch.
I have already narrowed my seat a bit to bring my legs closer, but still cannot flat foot firmly.
If I get premium shocks an inch lower than stock, I assume my ground clearance will only be 3.9" before I put my 260lbs *** on it.
Is that enough? Can I still do sharp U Turns? I imagine that would bottom out a lot. I never ran anything but stock suspension, please pardon my ignorance.
So I did it, traded in the 2017 breakout for a 2018 road king special and after my first day on it Im stoked. But maybe buyers remorse or just excitement/anxiety and have a few questions. The bike I bought is used w ~1,100 miles, any tips or ways I can gain assurance the motor is in good shape? Also are these engines oil or liquid cooled and what does that mean from maintenance perspective? Im scouring the net now looking for service manuals any tips on where to find? Anyway like I said stoked on the bike and looking forward to mods and more time on the road, and oh yeah getting through these first few days of questioning if I got the right one, paid the right price yada yada.
So I did it, traded in the 2017 breakout for a 2018 road king special and after my first day on it Im stoked. But maybe buyers remorse or just excitement/anxiety and have a few questions. The bike I bought is used w ~1,100 miles, any tips or ways I can gain assurance the motor is in good shape? Also are these engines oil or liquid cooled and what does that mean from maintenance perspective? Im scouring the net now looking for service manuals any tips on where to find? Anyway like I said stoked on the bike and looking forward to mods and more time on the road, and oh yeah getting through these first few days of questioning if I got the right one, paid the right price yada yada.
My old Road King was a 2012 with stock suspension and seat. It had a 26.5 seat height with 5.1" Ground Clearance.It was a perfect fit for me.
My new 2019 Special has a 27.4 Seat Height and only 4.9" ground clearance. I seriously need to lower an inch.
I have already narrowed my seat a bit to bring my legs closer, but still cannot flat foot firmly.
If I get premium shocks an inch lower than stock, I assume my ground clearance will only be 3.9" before I put my 260lbs *** on it.
Is that enough? Can I still do sharp U Turns? I imagine that would bottom out a lot. I never ran anything but stock suspension, please pardon my ignorance.
Well... there might be another method you haven't considered. You can always go back to a standard/upgraded rear suspension (the same one that the standard Road King has.. 3 inch travel, not 2.5). After that, go back to a wheel and tire size that the standard Road King has.
The benefits would be: Lower seat height (particularly if you went with an aftermarket low seat). AND... your ground clearance would INCREASE by almost half an inch. My favorite part of the "mod" is how much improved your ride and performance is with the standard king set-up. The taller tire wall and increased suspension travel is a game changer... for me anyway.
This is admittedly not a cheap modification. But if you are going to upgrade suspension someday, then it's a wash. In addition, those Wheels on the Roadking special fetch some decent money on the aftermarket. So that's a bit of a cost reduction.
Don't get me wrong, I effing LOVE the Road King special. I'm not sure I would ride anything else at this point. But the trade off in comfort and ride is real. STILL a great ride.. but you can always improve. Good luck.
So I did it, traded in the 2017 breakout for a 2018 road king special and after my first day on it Im stoked. But maybe buyers remorse or just excitement/anxiety and have a few questions. The bike I bought is used w ~1,100 miles, any tips or ways I can gain assurance the motor is in good shape? Also are these engines oil or liquid cooled and what does that mean from maintenance perspective? Im scouring the net now looking for service manuals any tips on where to find? Anyway like I said stoked on the bike and looking forward to mods and more time on the road, and oh yeah getting through these first few days of questioning if I got the right one, paid the right price yada yada.
Let's go through the questions one by one . Tips to gain assurance the motor is in good shape? Have it checked by an authorized H-D dealer. There have been a few recalls for the 2018, so that's probably a wise thing to do anyways. Oil or liquid cooled? The engine is air cooled, but the heads are oil cooled. It reduces the rising heat you may have encountered on your 2017 Breakout. Maintenance wise it makes no difference. Where to find a service manual? I have an extra owners manual if you're looking for one. My bike got stolen, and I'm assuming the next bike will have one as well. Did you get the right bike? Absolutely, without a doubt. I put almost 35,000 miles on mine in a little under two years, and it's glorious. I've been through the Austrian Alps, Italian Dolomites, and French Alps.
Check this short vid of me going across the Passo San Boldo in Italy last year. (Sorry for the crappy audio quality).
So I did it, traded in the 2017 breakout for a 2018 road king special and after my first day on it Im stoked. But maybe buyers remorse or just excitement/anxiety and have a few questions. The bike I bought is used w ~1,100 miles, any tips or ways I can gain assurance the motor is in good shape? Also are these engines oil or liquid cooled and what does that mean from maintenance perspective? Im scouring the net now looking for service manuals any tips on where to find? Anyway like I said stoked on the bike and looking forward to mods and more time on the road, and oh yeah getting through these first few days of questioning if I got the right one, paid the right price yada yada.
Just ride it & never look back. The Special is Harley's best build to date IMHO!
Question for the crew here--I own a 2019 Road Glide Standard which is my first bagger. I really like size of the touring bike but I am just not feeling the whole fairing thing--the radio is nice, I don't need NAV, weather radio, phone calls, etc. The bike just doesn't feel as nimble to me as others I've owned. Thinking about a switch to a RK Special but am wondering how those of you who put miles on the highway feel about the available windshields/coverage? Is there a windshield out there that can really defeat the constant pounding from the wind and head buffeting? My Heritage Classic was a great bike but I never got the highway winds figured out after several windshield changes and just couldn't take it any longer. I appreciate any insight.
Last edited by WDHGS114; Jul 27, 2020 at 03:44 AM.
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RKS Ground Clearance
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