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Is it worth the savings to buy an 06 with a 5 speed or is the 6 speed in the 07 that much better ? Yes, I know the 07 has a larger engine. I won't be commuting on it, I will be riding a combination of around town and highway. Thanks for any info.
That is up to you. If you do a search will see many happy and many not happy with the 07s. I purchased a 2006 Road King becuase I was just getting back into riding and the dealer cut the price over $3K back in September off the MSRP. I am happy with the 06 Road King and my riding is what you plan on doing with your new ride.
Now for an objective answer based on facts and not because of the attitudes of people on this board. I ride a '05 FLHPI at work and I own a '07 Street Glide. My 'Glide gets better fuel mileage and makes more power than my police Road King. I prefer the 6 speed transmission too. That is really the only 2 areas I can compare since the bikes are so different everywhere else. Some people have had trouble with the transmissions on their bike but it seems that Harley has corrected and trouble area in regards to the transmissions and no one i know with a new bike has had any trouble. The only difference between the 2 years is the engine and transmission so for me it would depend on price. If the price is within a couple grand of one another, I would get the newer model. Not only for the engine and transmission improvements but a newer model year will be worth more in the resale market.
In my opinion it isbetter to go with the newest and best technology. In this case the 07. I have an 06 street glide and I love it, however if I had the choice now I would go with the 07.
Having ridden nearly 10k miles on my 06, and 1200 miles on an 07, I could say that I would not trade my 06 RK custom for any 07 Harley. Even in a straight up swap. (well, OK. Maybe I would trade even for a Screaming Eagle UC, but thats it)
be smart find an 01 through 04 and buy it. you'll get a much better built bike.
ask around, read alot of threads and tech info. 05 and 06 had inferior bearings in the lower end were it counts especially if u intend to modify at some point. i had an evo i wish i had been smart enough to keep and now own an 07 that is not what it is cranked up to be........
When I bought my 06, I had âguessedâ the 6-speed was going to be standard on the 07 models, but I couldnât get any firm answers from any dealers. So I decided to go ahead and get the 06. I havenât totally bought into the 6-speed anyway, so was fine with that decision. But I would have liked to had the larger engine, even though mine has proved to be more than adequate. So bottomline in my own case, I am perfectly happy with the 06. Also keep in mind there is a little Harley marketing magic involved too. If you buy an 07 model, what will they do to the 08 models to entice you to tradeâŚ.
when i bought my 06, i 'thought' the 96/6 would be coming in 07, but i wasnt sure when. at the time, i figured that HD wouldnt release something that wasnt 100% tested/proven. however, after reading about all of the 07's tranny noises and heat issues, im VERY glad that i got the 06.
i spent WAY too much money to worry about a major component (transmission) making strange noises. i would have a bad gut feeling every time i rode it.
when i had my Road Star Warrior, i LOVED that bike. within a year or two of ownership, Yamaha announced a recall on the transmission. seems as though the 3rd gear circlip failed on a few occasions which caused rear-wheel lockup.if youre familiar with japanese bikes, 99% of their powerplants are somewhat 1 piece (motor/tranny is one case, or two bolted together) and you cant really tear into the tranny without disassembling the motor.
well- even after my recall was complete, i was FURIOUS that my once 'new' bike's motor/trans was raped, torn down and reassembled.
so- had i gone with an 07, i dont know what i wouldve done.
if i were you, id find a leftover 06 (or a nice used 05/06) or wait to see what 08 has in store.
very happy with my 06 road king classic...talking with one of the salesman at HD after i brought my the 06 back for 1000 mi service, he said for the extra $3000 he did'nt think it was worth it..evan with the larger engine..
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