I went with the 8" shield and the batwings on the fairing on my 12 SG and the buffeting is very minimal now. I have heard that apes can cause the buffeting to be worse on some occasion's but myself i've never had a set so I can't speak from experience. Good luck whatever you decide.

 

I put lowers and wings on my batwing, buffeting was reduced a lot, apes cause buffeting, know a few guys that have them and thats what they say, get your hands and arms behind the faring and a lot of it will go away, is what I am told anyway.

 

So am I reading this correctly. Will I have buffering issues on a RK with NO windshield?

 

I think that your are foolish to go from what you have to what you think you want, and you will lose your shorts on the $ end of it anyway.

If you want to eliminate "buffeting" then get some fairing wings.
Kuryakyn's whicgh I have are adjustable.

I had some wind deflectors too that eliminated the majority of the buffeting.
I put that half moon looking device on called a fork baffle and I think that it helped some too. Never the less, I would try to fix the problem first rather than try to run away from it if I were you.

A larger windshield will do wonders too.
I am 5'10" and run a 9 inch shield and that is with a Sundowner seat too on my 09 SG.
All of those things mentioned if bought would be less than $600 which is a far cry less than what you would be losing if you trade.

 

In most cases, the windshield is the cause of the buffeting. You should be OK. I made the switch from a SG to a RK and am happy. Buffeting was not the issue for me; I wanted a lighter front end did not like the batwing blocking my view of the road immediately in front of me. Good luck on what you do.

 

I have the stock windshield on my Streeglide and I am 6 feet tall, no wings, no fork baffle and don't wear a helmet often. I haven't experienced any buffeting in any sort of manner that would make me want to trade. It blows my mind that each rider/bike combination can be so much different

 

The FLHR is a great long distance rider. With the OE windshield, buffeting is barely noticeable at speeds greater than posted freeway limits. I wear a Shoei Q-West comfortably. Without the windshield, riding freeway speeds is something I would not recommend.

 

No, you'll have full wind in your face.

 

Well after seeing your earlier post when you first got that SG I would not trade that bike for anything - love the way it looks.

 

I never made the switch but I agree with what he said. However I would be concerned that the apes may be the problem. I would look in to that. Now if you like having a large fairing then I would make sure you did every thing possible to get rid of the buffeting first, before you jump to a King.
Myself I have a 11 King and I love it, I have driven lots of SG but the King is what I like the best. But that don't mean you will.
As for no buffeting without a windshield, that's true, you will get a lot more wind but it's a smooth wind. Anytime the temps get over 80 degrees my shield comes off and that feels great...Good luck.