My friends wife wants to surprise her husband with a Harley for Christmas. The problem is she only has about a 12k budget. I was just at the dealer and saw a 2004 Road King Custom right in that ball park. Very nicely taken care of - prior owner did great keeping the bike up. My buddy was interested in a Heritage a while back. Since we ride as a group a lot we'd probably do some rides that are 300+ miles. Do you guys think the RK Custom would be better or a Heritage? The Custom in my opinion is probably a better bike but wanted to get other thoughts here...

 

The RK Custom has about 9,500 miles on it. His wife will be riding with him on some rides as well.

 

I had a RK custom and liked it. I think it would be a good choice.

 

The Road King would be better, but that's way too much for an 04.

 

Any particular reason why you got rid of it?

 

if friends have newer bikes sometime older engines don't have the power for 2 up riding on take offs----depending on the weight of people riding and the weight of baggage===also if the driver is shorter the feet of the passanger get in the riders way when stopping and moving the rode king bike when parking due to passanger footboards being where the drivers legs come down. i would stongly suggest taking both bikes out for a test ride this way both driver and passanger get to see how comfortable both bikes are for each person*****i know it may be a surprize gift but you real want the bike to fit BOTH the driver and passenger=====this is time well spent because long rides are to be fun
not a pain in the *** or back====hope this info helps

 

The Heritage would work, but the King would be best. And it's a whole lot easier to adjust the suspension on the King than it is on the Heritage. The passenger boards are a lot more comfortable and already on the King and they're easy to adjust up and down.

I've never seen a Harley that didn't have enough power to ride two up. People forget that a lot of folks rode two up for thousands of miles when the full dressers were only 74 cubic inches (1200cc). Any 88, or 96 inch motor is plenty. It's not a race bike.

 

I had a 05 RK Custom and it was a good bike. IMO a better bike for 2 up riding than a Heritage.

But if he has his eyes on a Heritage it might not be the bike that he wants. They are alll god bikes made to fit different peoples wants and needs. Its a gamble to buy one as a surprise unless you are sure what he wants.

My 05 did not have passenger floorboards and I dont think the 04 did either, unless they were added as a mod.

 

Buy him a nice helmet, wrap it up with a HD key chain and a plastic toy key with "your Harley awaits you" written on it.

Let him pick out his bike... the surprise is just as good. Hate to see him get a bike he does not fall in love with.

 

After thinking some more, I'd still get him the King, but I'd have those Heritage (the real ones) handle bars put on too. That may be one of the main reasons he likes it. I don't know of anyone that likes the stock RK bars.