What do you think of removing the rear bag guard bar on a Road King? What do you think of removing the rear bag guard and the front engine guard?

What do you think of removing both guards and the mustache light bar?

I mean in terms of looks, simplicity, and reducing the resale value of the motorcycle.

I feel like it simplifies the look and lightens up the bike.

I'm thinking particularly of a 1998 Evo, but generally also.

 

Those guards are there for a reason and the first time your foot slips on a wet cross walk line or wet road your going to wish they were there.I really don't know if the weight advantage would be noticeable on a full size bagger to be worth it.

 

The first 2things I bought for my new ride...as you well know, everyone drops their bikes...they should actually be standard equipment but HD knows that we buy them so why would they be standard on the bikes?

 

Well, in terms of resale, the bike will be worth substantially LESS when it falls over and those bars are gone. And thats a fact.
In terms of weight reduction?
Your riding a land yacht. Removing safety equipment to save a little weight would be on the bottom of my list.
In terms of style, yeah pulling them off does clean up the bike. I would never risk it. But some folks do.

 

I have an 07 RK Custom which already come stock without the saddlebag guards. I'm in the process of taking off my engine guard as well because I am customizing it for more of urban cruiser type look. I also plan to convert the floorboards to forward controls.

BUT, in general taking the guards off a RK takes away from the nostalgic classic look of the bike, and is not generally accepted by the Harley community. I'm only trying it because the Custom is not typical of the traditional RK style anyway.

I have seen other RKs without the guards, and even saddlebags, and making the appearance look elegant can be challenging. But, we are only talking about a few bolts and 30 minutes of your time, so I say go for it to see how it appeals to you. What's the worse that can happen?

Beary

 

I've often thought the same thing. But then Harley puts out the CVO Road King and the Road King Special without them??? Go figure.

 

Take them off - the bike looks a lot smaller without them. Just be aware that you are upsetting the balance of nature and the internet will collapse because of it.

 

I added them to my street glide. One oops and it gets expensive.

 

I don't think you can generalize like that. There isn't any consensus in the 'Harley community' - old people think nostalgic, young people think old fashioned - and even that is a generalization.

 

The saddlebag guards you can get away with, but all current and recent touring bikes still have the engine guard. That engine guard will protect a lot of parts on a tip over.