I am looking at buying a 2005 Road King Custom. I have always owned metrics but am really interested in this bike. I just don't know enough about HDs to know if there are any particular issues with this bike that I should look for. Any help would be appreciated.

 

No issues buy a clean low mile bike and you are on your way.

 

Nothing you would be able to notice externally, but some '05's had issues with the valve guide seals(using to much oil), and also premature wear on the cam chain tensioners some around 15k to 25k have failed. I have an '05 with 40k on the clock tho and have had none of these issues with mine. Get a service reoprt on it or have a mechanic check it out if you can and go from there...How many miles is on the bike?

 

The bike has 1647 miles on it. Just walking around it, it appears to be excellent. He had put a slip-on exhaust and a stage 1 kit. It was raining here today so I was unable to ride it. The price is 12,500.00. I know Harley has made some frame improvements and according to what I read the new ones handle better. This just may be a deal not to pass up.

 

Don't worry about missing the frame improvements on the new ones. A Harley is a Harley. The Road King Custom is not a sport bike but it is one sweet bike. That is really low mileage so you want to find out how long it has been since the 1K mile service and probably change all the fluids pretty soon just to get a fresh start. Keep an eye on those five year old tires for cracking or dry rot.

The FLHRS is my favorite Harley, obviously. Good luck.

 

Take both spark plugs out and check for carbon build up. You will be able to tell if this 05 has the valve guide seal issue. I have an 05 and know from experience. I had the problem on the rear cylinder.

 

I had an 05 RK that I traded in on my 07 with 25,000 trouble free miles! That sounds like a great deal on a great bike.

 

If you can, have a tech check it out for you but all in all, Road kings kick butt

 

1. Road Kings = AWESOME!

2. 1647 miles on an '05?!?! How does that happen? I had that many miles on my '09 in the first two weeks.

3. Bear in mind that Road King Customs are setup like a cruiser from the get-go. You'll have to do extra stuff to get it into touring mode like the Road King and Classic. Not that that matters. Just FYI.

 

Jump on it dude I had to build a RK custom out of a RK classic
you wont regret it one bit