mmmm...10 mm as in caliber, I do believe...

 

I have two bikes and love it. The only thing better than a Harley in your garage is two Harleys. Nothing better than opening the garage door and asking yourself, which one today? I use the 08 Road King to commute and the Limited for touring. My 08 has 130,000 on it now and 18,000 on the current build. Like you, it's not really worth anything so I plan to keep it until I cant repair it anymore. Any repair bills you have over a year will never equal monthly payments for a year. Your decision needs to be on how you feel about the bike in general. I can't get enough of my Road King but if you look at yours and think, I'd rather ride the other and rarely take it out anymore, then it's time to get what you can out of it and get rid of it. Get something you enjoy.

Another thing to keep in mind is that you built a high performance motor and should expect some issues. Especially when the bike is older and doesn't get ridden much. The more you ride it, the more dependable it will be as you keep everything lubed up and loose.

Good luck with your decision but I think you've already made it.

 

Quotes from EdwardK

Your decision needs to be on how you feel about the bike in general ... Yep, if you don't trust it now you're probably never going to fully confident ( it's a head thing? )

you built a high performance motor and should expect some issues ... There is some truth to this but if plans are executed proper;y chances are good for dependable scooter

 

I was quoting my dad who was a service writer for Honda cars for many years. I was telling him how much fun the BMW 335I I bought was to drive. 300hp. 300ftlbs torque, twin turbos. and drove like it was on rails at any speed. I then mentioned how much time it spent in the shop and he laughed at me, "You buy a high performance vehicle, expect it top live in the shop." After many regular minor repairs along the way, at 75,000 miles the turbos started leaking and it was going to cost more to fix then the car was worth. Sold it quick and never looked back.

You are right, if it's well planned and put together, it should be very dependable.

 

So the bike should have only let you down 2 times.. Starter should not be a problem.

I've got a good bud that still occasionally tours on a 61 pan. He rides it regularly locally.. My 02 RK has 79K on it and would not have any problem touring on it but use a 07 EGC with 87K on it instead since it has a GPS.

 

It's left me stranded 5 times. Granted, 3 were in 2014 just after the engine build all within a few weeks(stator, belt, EFI wire) and once in 2015 (Lifters) and once in 2016 (clutch cable). So really, outside of 2014, it's been okay. The lifters grenading the motor, well, a bad gatorman. The builder shouldn't have used them. Regardless, the build was done right and I don't question the build or tune. I think it's *mostly* in my head.

I keep. For now. Keep learning. Ride. If I decide to sell it, it will be when I'm ready. Still on the fence.

 

trade them both in on a newer one.
Never had the desire to own two bikes. I suppose if you have the time to ride them both, maybe. But my 2nd ride is a camaro. I have enough of a problem deciding which to take.

 

I thought this was about having to look back at your bike when you park it and are walking away.

 

Thing is, she's at the point where all of those "little" things are starting to fail. It's not any fault through lack of maintenance, just that those parts have reached their limits. If you want to keep her, then you'll need to get together with somebody who's very familiar and start making a list of all the things that could fail at this point and start checking each one of those out one at a time. Repairing/maintenance as you go. Great place to learn quite a few of the basics, but will also mean that you'll be dumping money to make sure she's reliable. The other option is to sell to somebody who you know would do exactly what needs to be done in order to have a dependable ride. I'd never sell her to a first time rider, but if you have friends who would love to pickup a good bike cheap and they love to wrench...then that may be the home she needs. Because you are likely over time to let her sit more and more, collecting dust. Take her out once in awhile, but without that confidence, she will definitely be staring at you every time you climb on the RG. It's hard, my last bike is now with a friend of mine who has way more time to wrench than I do. We would get together, have a few beers and replace parts to make sure the reliability is there. The best thing is that I know she is getting ridden every day by his oldest son. But ya, you'll have to make a decision and either get dirty (drop some cash), let her sit and collect dust out of sentimentality, or let her go to a good home. It's hard, I know. Put a lot of blood, sweat and tears into mine on top of the cash. Making it even harder lol

 

Regardless of all this other BS, there's no point keeping a bike you don't like to ride as much as another you have. Why on earth would you ever ride it? And if not, why keep it collecting dust in the garage? Send it down the road and let someone else learn zen and the art of motorcycle maintenance with it.