I was looking at a local bike,1998 ROAD KING and a 1999 with 10,000 + miles. I was wondering if any of you have a 1998 or 1999 Road King and could tell me what to look for when I go look at the bikes.

 

The 98's an EVO, the 99's a Twin Cam. 99's had bad rear cam bearings. See if they were replaced.

 

Get the Twinkie!!!

 

I have a 99 I love it, it runs great, gets 49.5 MPG, it did get 52 until I put a batwing fairing on it, it has just over 60k, neither me nor the guy I got it from ever had any serious problems with it, I don't know if the bearings have been replaced or not, might be a good thing to check, anyway like I said it runs great, my son and I went on a 9 hour ride yesterday, only problem was traffic and had to put gas in it, oh yeah it doesn't use any oil either.
Terry

 

I have the '98 with an FI EVO. You'll probably be happy which ever you end up with.

 

Get the Evo!!! couldn't help it, had to make the playing field even

 

I'll second the Evo. That should put it over the top.

 

i have a 1998 road king classic. which is the last year of evo and 1 st year road king classic, FUEL INJECTED--two hose exit bottom of tank.
things to look for:
1-speedometer-the odometer LCD bleeds out on some, rendering reading of miles difficult...is speedometer original? the lucky ones leak on the edge only and does not effect anything..This may happen with other years.
2-the cam position sensor inside the nose cone melts after some time..makes starting difficult. A DIY with cut allen bits..no need to remove exhaust...(2 hours)
you would see some biege glue looking stuff leaking from wire hole on bottom of cone.
3-make sure to tighten the allen bolt on shift lever that exits the transmission. It will be loose if no one ever tightened it...and if unattended will be a major headache to repair.
The rear portion of front shift lever might be loose also.
4-the valve cover gaskets will leak do to time/age of this bike..parts are about $50..and is DIY with some cut down allen bits...(half a saturday)
5-the big gasket for primary will require replacement because of age...less than $50 and about 2 hours..must change primary oil.
6-spark plugs and tires should be replaced if they are original.
7-the fork bushing for handlebars will be dried out. DIY about 2 hours and $20
8-the fork oil and bushings should be replaced if original due to age..good time for chrome sliders.
9-the two gas lines that exit tank at bottom seem to fail because of age and are expensive....dump gas and about 2 hours fix..retaining pliers required and available at autopart for under $10
10-the rubber lifesaver looking things that hold windshield should be dried out if they have never been changed.. there are 4 and cost about $5 each..quick fix
11-odd behavior of bike is most times isolated to:
engine temp sensor-front chimney---replace
cam position sensor-nose cone---replace
*corrosion at ecu terminals..just clean
12-the little ball shift linkage can break like in most harleys--get heim joints

 

I love my '99. I did replace the cam bearings and outside of one starter, it runs and runs. Can't speak for the Evo, but my "99 carbed RK is a great bike.

 

Love my '99!!! It has been my first twin cam and will hopefully keep running for many years. I replaced the chain driven cams with Andrews 26gear cams, all of the cam bearings and had a '06 oil pump installed... as per my indy's recommendation. Had 500mi when I bought it in '05 and 48k mi today. The lifters are noisy as many gear cam users on the forum have said. She pulls over 100# of torque which gives you the feeling that you tow a boat uphill and the D&D fatcat makes her feel like a pipey screamer at ~80hp.

Get the twin cam and ride happy!