Touring Models Road King, Road King Custom, Road King Classic, Road Glide, Street Glide, Electra Glide, Electra Glide Classic, and Electra Glide Ultra Classic bikes.
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Old Apr 12, 2013 | 10:37 AM
  #41  
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Originally Posted by Texas Fat Boy
They are 2 Road Kings:
Road King: mag wheels, hard saddlebags
Road King Classic: wire (spoke) wheels, leather saddlebags

They are 2 Road Glides:
Road Glide Custom: Designed like the Street Glide: seat worthless for two up riding, tail lights, worthless windshield, shorter harsh riding rear shocks, no headphone jack for intercom or CB
Road Glide Ultra: Designed like the Ultra Classic, no rear speakers or headphone jack hook up for intercom or CB

Street Glide: Sporty Hot Rod looks. but worthless seat for two up riding, worthless windshield, shorter harsh riding rear shocks, no headphone jack for intercom or CB

They are 3 Electra Glides:
Electra Glide Classic: no rear speakers or headphone jack hook up for intercom or CB
Electra Glide Ultra: Old school looks with all the side saddlebag rails and big bumpers on the fenders
Electra Glide Ultra Limited: A few more upgrades than the Ultra but a more modern style without the saddlebag rails and old school paint scheme.
Good post. I know it's semantics, but I look at it like this;

Harley makes 3 basic touring bikes which can be identified by their windshield/fairing type;

Road King - removable front windshield, gauges on the tank. available as a Custom or Classic as noted above

Road Glide - frame mounted fairing, available in an Ultra or a stripped down version similar to a Street glide (no tour pak)

Electra Glide - Batwing fairing, available as a stripped down version without tour pack as a Street Glide as well as the following trim levels;

- Electra Glide Classic
- Electra Glide Ultra Classic
- Electra Glide Ultra limited
- Electra Glide CVO

...there used to be an Electraglide standard that was a plain jane version without the tour pak and looked alot like a less "customized" Street glide just to confuse things.

I'm sure I'll get flamed for calling a Street Glide a modified Electra Glide, but I believe that's exactly what it is.

I kinda laugh when people say they have an "Ultra"....an Ultra what?

anyhow, my 2 pennies.

Dave
 
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Old Apr 12, 2013 | 01:33 PM
  #42  
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Rent them all first if you can , I preferred th ROAD GLIDE ULTRA . Hardly any buffeting when behind the big rigs. You would be surprised how much resistance is put on other models with handlebar mounted fairings.
 
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Old Apr 12, 2013 | 02:07 PM
  #43  
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I went from a Heritage Softail to a new Street Glide last summer and have loved every minute on the SG. Much better handling and better ride for touring IMHO.
 
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Old Apr 12, 2013 | 04:48 PM
  #44  
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Originally Posted by Texas Fat Boy
They are 2 Road Glides:
Road Glide Custom: Designed like the Street Glide: seat worthless for two up riding, tail lights, worthless windshield, shorter harsh riding rear shocks, no headphone jack for intercom or CB

Street Glide: Sporty Hot Rod looks. but worthless seat for two up riding, worthless windshield, shorter harsh riding rear shocks, no headphone jack for intercom or CB

.
The seat isn't ideal, but far, far from worthless. Depends on your passengers ***. We did change ours to a Mustang for overnighters. For our 100 mile days with friends, it was fine.

Regarding seats, windshields & shocks - for SG & RG owners, no frickin' way are we about to get a bike and spend thousands of dollars to make it look they way we want when the actual model is already available. On a budget & eBay, all 3 can be changed for under $500. IMO, those 3 items should never sway an opinion when it comes to an overall bike.
 

Last edited by Deuuuce; Apr 12, 2013 at 04:56 PM.
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Old Apr 12, 2013 | 06:09 PM
  #45  
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Originally Posted by Deuuuce
The seat isn't ideal, but far, far from worthless. Depends on your passengers ***. We did change ours to a Mustang for overnighters. For our 100 mile days with friends, it was fine.

Regarding seats, windshields & shocks - for SG & RG owners, no frickin' way are we about to get a bike and spend thousands of dollars to make it look they way we want when the actual model is already available. On a budget & eBay, all 3 can be changed for under $500. IMO, those 3 items should never sway an opinion when it comes to an overall bike.
I don't disagree; it's all about personal preferences. I considered a street glide because I liked the 18" front wheel and lack of trim, but I would have had to add;
- detachable tour pak
- spot lights
- saddlebag crash bar
- passenger floor boards
- seat
- windshield

...so it was cheaper/easier to buy my EGC and remove the bumper, swap the front fender light to a smoked LED and install a LRS tinted 9" shield. It really all depends what you are looking for. I came to the realization that I was unlikely to remove the tour pak and that made the decision to go EG clear. They are all good bikes.....heck, they are all the same bike with minor changes really. Still might want that 18" wheel at some point...

Cheers,
Dave
 
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Old Apr 12, 2013 | 06:59 PM
  #46  
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Originally Posted by DPelletier
I don't disagree; it's all about personal preferences. I considered a street glide because I liked the 18" front wheel and lack of trim, but I would have had to add;
- detachable tour pak
- spot lights
- saddlebag crash bar
- passenger floor boards
- seat
- windshield

...so it was cheaper/easier to buy my EGC and remove the bumper, swap the front fender light to a smoked LED and install a LRS tinted 9" shield. It really all depends what you are looking for. I came to the realization that I was unlikely to remove the tour pak and that made the decision to go EG clear. They are all good bikes.....heck, they are all the same bike with minor changes really. Still might want that 18" wheel at some point...

Cheers,
Dave
Good post! Curious, how much to change the front and rear to the smooth look? Different rear fender too for the 3 lines, correct?

Spot lights are certainly a decent choice, I prefer the bullet LEDs and no on the crashbar.

Granted with the SG we didn't want the King pack and decided on the versatility of a soft bag with chopped tourpack capacity.
 
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Old Apr 12, 2013 | 07:14 PM
  #47  
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Electra Glide
Your goin to want all the stuff eventually
Best value tourer is
Electra Glide
 
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Old Apr 12, 2013 | 07:33 PM
  #48  
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Flhr.
 
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Old Apr 12, 2013 | 07:55 PM
  #49  
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Originally Posted by hapbob
your goin to want all the stuff eventually
so true
 
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Old Apr 12, 2013 | 08:08 PM
  #50  
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Originally Posted by SmokerMI
I have a sportster ans want to upgrade to a touring bike so that I can go on longer more comfortable rides.

Besides the obvious of either having or not having fairings, chest, passenger backrest etc, I would like to know some of the more general difference between the following...

Road King
Road Glide
Street Glide
Electra Glide
I'd go with a RG as it has fixed fairing like my Wing and from what I've read, (never ridden a RG), it offers the best wind protection. I don't believe that the Road King should be in your list as it doesn't offer near the amenities as a proper touring bike, it's a short distance cruiser. People that own them spend thousands on it to spruce it up to make it tour-worthy just to be able to say, "I can take it all off and have a stripped down machine". Tour packs are spendy, batwing fairings are spendy and never look like a natural part of the bike, your legs take a hit unless you install lower fairings it all ads up and then you're at, or above the price of an Ultra, Street Glide or Road Glide. Good luck Smoker!
 
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