Road King vs. Nightster
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Cruiser
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Road King vs. Nightster
Just wanted to Kick the "big bike" vs. Sportster dog a little. I have ridden my 07 Nightster since bought new and love it, love it, love it. I added an 04 Road King to the stable last week and have been shocked by how much easier the Road King is to ride by comparison. This thing rides itself, I feel like a passenger most of the time. The annual central texas road trip is going to much more enjoyable this year. Coming from someone who now has both, believe me when I say that the Sportster is definitly not the beginners bike.
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From: Phoenix '53, '88, '09 Big Twins
You look at any late 60's chopper/ bike club photos and you'll see that the sportster was the drivetrain of choice.
4 cams and a rigid one piece drivetrain gave plenty of performance, and great power to weight ratio,
the "girls" bike thing started in the late 80's.
30 years ago H-D would give you 100% trade value on a Sporty to Big Twin after the first year.
My fxr is 1/2 sporty.
The later version with rubber mount seem to have a higher center of gravity, and the rake/wheels choice maybe makes a little stiff handling
anyway enjoy the new ride.
Mike
4 cams and a rigid one piece drivetrain gave plenty of performance, and great power to weight ratio,
the "girls" bike thing started in the late 80's.
30 years ago H-D would give you 100% trade value on a Sporty to Big Twin after the first year.
My fxr is 1/2 sporty.
The later version with rubber mount seem to have a higher center of gravity, and the rake/wheels choice maybe makes a little stiff handling
anyway enjoy the new ride.
Mike
Last edited by mkguitar; Mar 22, 2012 at 10:28 PM.
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Joined: Aug 2009
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From: Shamokin, PA
Just wanted to Kick the "big bike" vs. Sportster dog a little. I have ridden my 07 Nightster since bought new and love it, love it, love it. I added an 04 Road King to the stable last week and have been shocked by how much easier the Road King is to ride by comparison. This thing rides itself, I feel like a passenger most of the time. The annual central texas road trip is going to much more enjoyable this year. Coming from someone who now has both, believe me when I say that the Sportster is definitly not the beginners bike.
I rented a Heritage softail classic today and agree 100%. The Heritage in my case was 2-3x easier to handle then the nightster and that was riding 2up 85% of the time today. It was also my first time on any other bike then my nightster
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Joined: Jul 2010
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From: Ladera Ranch, CA
I've been riding dirt bikes for 30 years. My first street bike is my RKC a couple of years ago. My GF got a Nightster about 6 months ago and I ride it occasionally. I am so spoiled with everything on my bike, her's seems like a chore to ride.....then again, I'm 6'4" and I don't fit well on her bike at all. 
My comparison is that I've had my SG for over a year now & totally used to it to the point that my wife's Fatboy feels small.
Just a couple weeks ago, I got a second bike that's even smaller than a Sporty: A Ducati Monster.
TOTALLY opposite ends of the spectrum, but I still agree that the touring Harley is still a lot easier and more comfortable to ride.
I love my Ducati, but it's all about being a lithe, speedy little corner demon, not comfort.
And I totally noticed that the super-slow, super-tight cornering is much easier on the SG. The Ducati's front wheel doesn't turn nearly as far. So at speed it corners on rails, but a slow "turn a 180" it sucks compared the SG.
As I put it: Riding the Ducati is fun. Riding the Streetglide is pleasurable.
Just a couple weeks ago, I got a second bike that's even smaller than a Sporty: A Ducati Monster.
TOTALLY opposite ends of the spectrum, but I still agree that the touring Harley is still a lot easier and more comfortable to ride.
I love my Ducati, but it's all about being a lithe, speedy little corner demon, not comfort.
And I totally noticed that the super-slow, super-tight cornering is much easier on the SG. The Ducati's front wheel doesn't turn nearly as far. So at speed it corners on rails, but a slow "turn a 180" it sucks compared the SG.
As I put it: Riding the Ducati is fun. Riding the Streetglide is pleasurable.
Advanced
Joined: May 2012
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From: Kelowna
I just got back into riding after almost 20 years. I didn't believe the salesman on getting a bigger bike. After 2 months on my Nightster, which was awesome, I went to a demo day and rode a Fat Boy & a Road King. Wow! They were both way easy to ride - smooth, stable - Wow! I'm one month and 2,000 km onto my new 2012 Road King Classic and absolutely love it. It's great in parking lots and on the slab. I find it easier to ride in a lot of ways. At 5' 8" with a 30" in inseam I worried about the bigger bike but it feels great.
Intermediate
Joined: May 2009
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I have both...
I have an '09 Nightster and an '11 RK. Bought the nightster in 09 and the RK two years later and I split my riding between the two. The nightster is my ride to work and bar hopper and the RK is wkend and long trips bike of course. It took me almost two years to get the nightster how I wanted it because of deployments and then a week after I bought the RK and trying to get that how I want it sooner.
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