I like to ride and I like to write, so here is my detailed write-up on the 2018 Road King. I wanted to wait until I'd passed the 500 mile milestone to make the write-up meaningful, and here we are. I hope someone gets something out of this little write-up.

Initial Selection of the Road King
I never thought that I would upgrade from my 2015 Fat Boy, as this was and is a terrific bike. However, a month ago the 2018 Road King at the Dealer caught my eye. I had never really paid much attention to the Road King as I considered the Touring bike line to be overweight and mostly for 2-up riding, which I do not do. But the Road King did not strike me like that, sitting there in the showroom in chrome and vivid black. It was as though Harley had designed the bike to my specifications. It has seven attributes which I really like and which no other Harley combines: 1) the big headlight nacelle and auxiliary cruising lights; I really like these; 2) mag wheels, not spokes. For various reasons I do not like spokes; 3) sits low to the ground such that I can easily flat-foot the bike; 4) dual front disk brakes -- not an essential, but very nice to have; 5) a traditional "Harley" look-- simple, no complicated fairing contraption, just a basic bagger motorcycle profile; 6) chrome, lots of chrome -- not the blacked out look which is OK, but I prefer traditional chrome; and 7 of course, the M8 107 engine. The Road King just hit me like no motorcycle since my Fat Boy had done, and which none of the other 2018s did. The Road King Special is very nice, but the traditional Road King has chrome, has the auxiliary lights as standard, a good windshield as standard, and has each of the engine protector and saddlebag protector as stock. So I wanted the standard Road King.

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In order to "think outside the box" I decided to at least look at the Road Glide and the Street Glide. These bikes are very popular around here and are undeniably cool. For whatever reason, those big complex fairings are not my cup of tea. My Garmin Zumo and iPhone function quite well as my entertainment system -- the Garmin Zumo 595 is widely considered to be the best GPS for motorcycles, and of course with the King it would be easy to upgrade to a newer unit when and if Garmin ever comes out with one. Not so easy with the fairing setup. I don't really need the gauges. The Garmin allows me to control all my tunes from the Garmin as well as my phone calls, gives me traffic and weather updates, so I am not sure what the fairing would do for me. At the end of the day I decided that I like the classic simplicity of the Road King over the sophistication and complexity of the Glides. Nothing against the Glides and I can understand their appeal.

At purchase I scheduled a Stage 1 upgrade with the Two Brother Racing slip-ons and SE tuner and A/C, Daymaker headlights; Custom Dynamics LED lights, and luggage rack, and Garmin Zumo 595 GPS. I have done separate reviews on the TBR slip-ons and the Garmin GPS, and I am very happy with these.

Riding and Handling.
Seeing the Road King got me interested, but the test ride sold the bike. The M8 engine imparts an entirely different feel to the ride as opposed to the V-Twin 103 I was used to in the Fat Boy. It is a smoother, more powerful, and more refined feel. It makes the bike feel like it could do 60 mph in first gear. In fact, during break-in it required care to keep the bike below 3,000 rpm for the first 50 miles and below 3,500 for the first 500 as the manual specifies -- the bike is very smooth at higher rpms. It is hard to describe the different feel of the engine, but it is real. Otherwise the King handled very similarly to my Fat Boy, which is a good thing, as the Fat Boy is a forgiving bike, easy to ride and handle.
One area where the Road King was different than the Fat Boy is in braking. The Road King requires, insists really, that you use proper braking technique, i.e. braking with liberal use of the rear brake. If you overuse the front brake on braking with the Road King, the effect is jarring. I realize now that my Fat Boy was oddly forgiving about this, and I had developed some bad habits i.e. overuse of the front brake. I don't know if it is the dual disk brakes, the King's greater weight, or what, but the King really wants you to use that rear brake when stopping, and it will jar you if you do not. It is very mannerly with proper braking technique. I almost had a bad day when braking while overusing the front brake. Won't be doing that again. I hope that this part of this review helps someone -- watch that front brake.

Other than the braking issue, the King handles very much the same as the Fat Boy, which is to say, very well. The King does not feel overweight and handles very nimbly in parking lots and so forth.

On the high speed Freeway, the King is King. It has all the power you could want, and it is absolutely rock-solid at any speed. In South Orange County the Freeway speeds are typically 80+ (emphasis on the "plus") and there is no getting around the need to cruise at high speed. My Fat Boy could handle this fine, but the Road King loves it. In 6th gear the King really comes into its own. It feels very much at home at high speed highway speeds.

We've all heard about the sumping issues with the M8 engines. So far, my manufactured in March 2018 bike has been fine. My buds at the service department claim that the sumping thing is rare and that they are not seeing it much anymore. Hope that's right.

Anyway, I hope that someone gets something out of this review of the 2018 Road King. Yes, I would do it again...

 

 

GREAT write up, thanks, Im still good with my 2014 RK but, maybe two possibly three years Ill replace the current RK for a new RK as I own one for the same reasons you do.
I dont understand the comments about the brakes but maybe you are just used to your other bike, also I dont think the 2015 Fat Bob 103 was the same as the touring bikes 103 HO engine.

Good luck with the bike, Ill have one in a few years, holding out so far, still loving my 2014, just awesome (do A LOT of interstate) and of course wondering if they will update the frames in the next year or two and possibly fix any remaining bugs in the 107/114s.
In the meantime I will make sure not to test ride one so I dont see what I maybe missing ... )

I know one thing for sure, it will always be a King.

 

I understand why you like to write; you're very good at it. Excellent review!

 

Excellent review. Best of luck with your new “best friend Thor”

 

Why are glad they don't make them anymore?

 

I'm happy with my 05 RK Custom, but after reading your review, a new RK is VERY tempting to me!

 

Long live the King!

 

Having just upgraded from a 2004 to a 2013 Road King I can definitely feel the difference. Firmer ride and more planted handling as well as more power. Definite improvement. I rarely listen to the radio in my car so don't need the extra weight and gauges etc.

 

Darn it, there is always something you forget to put in a review. The Road King has a lot more lean clearance than did the Fat Boy, which is notoriously easy to scrape floorboards. I can really lean into turns with no scraping; haven't scraped yet. I am probably not as aggressive as some of you folks, however.