Hey folks, Came by to learn what I can from this forum about the Road King. Rode in the 70's and 80's, started again in 2005. Haven't owned an HD before but the Road King has been calling me for sometime. Most likely be looking for a 2009-2013. One of the things I'll be search for is which of those years might represent the best bang for the buck.

See Ya.

 

Welcome to the forum!

Got a 14 RK and love it

Great all around ride, comfortable, and handles well.

Can't go wrong with a Road King!

 

the prime thing to know is that all the Touring Series models are the same frame, drivetrain, front end, brakes ...minor variations in rear suspension some are 12" , most are 13".
minor wheel differences, some badgers

plastic and speakers are the major differences between the RK, Ultra, Limited, Classic, roadglide, street glide etc.
some find that a 50 lb weight penalty is worth it for the sake of a tour pak, weather protection and stereo

I suggest you go to a nice air conditioned dealer and just look at the bikes, see what seems to appeal to you...which features do you want/need.
are you going to tour interstates, ride 2.5 miles to a bar and stand there or go cruise the high country.

Stubbs Anthem has a BBQ event coming up ( cyclerides.com has event listings), events like this can bring in privately owned bikes, and you can ask the owners questions about their bikes and which mods they have made.

mike

 

I like the 2013 model Road King.

 

Mine is a new to me, 2000 Road King with a 95" big bore kit and I love it....its 14 years old, but wouldn't trade it for anything.....except a newer one. Like most will tell you, you can't go wrong with a King!

 

2009s don't have a cat in the head pipe, 2012+ has 103's stock.

 

Prefect.

 

The King is the best combination of form & function. Great for touring, then remove the windsheild for stylin' & profilin'!

The King is the thing!
The FLHR will take you far!
The FLHRC will make you hap-PY!

 

Thanks Mike,
My typical ride since moving to AZ is 250 to 350 miles. A long day for me is 500 miles. If I were only going by looks the Street Glide would be my choice hands down. If only protection, looks like the Roady is the winner. Most versatile at least with my limited exposure the Road King. Looks like the tour pak and batwing fairing can be added to the RK. My concern with that setup is buffeting that I have read about. I have a bike now that I've fought the buffeting with. 3 different shields still have it 75 mph and above. I appreciate the the headsup on the BBQ at Stubbs Anthem, great idea. I'll be checking to see which models have the 13". I have a 29" inseam but don't care if I can flat foot. Rather have more lean angle in the corners. Bought a Sport Touring machine for my 60th BD and intend to add a Touring HD for the upcoming 65th. 96 CI or 103 CI is the difference really noticeable?

Thanks again.
Dave

 

the stock 96" is about 66 HP and the 103 is about 68 hp.
BUT the 103 makes better torque by about 15% ( the 103" is a bored 96"...same stroke).
( the screaming eagle catalog has dyno charts)

the 103" does make a difference in city and canyon riding- but cruising is is much the same, a 96 will be more comfy in 5th gear to 70, while the 103 you can drop into 6th at 65...level roads, no headwind.
the 103 will come with an oil cooler and auto comp releases...runs a little hotter.
most of the 09's have no cat in the header but some AZ dealers ( yuma for one) sell CA spec bikes, so there are a lot of catted 09's around..all models have cats 2010+

Buffeting is a fact of life.
there are all kinds of ways to deal with it from posture to headgear, deflectors, windscreens etc etc.
do some test riding- if the HD demo fleet comes to town, thats the best way to compare 6 or 8 bikes back to back under same conditions.

the batwing fairing is a 60's holdover- tradition- it also unloads the front end at air speeds above about 85 so some caution there.
I find that riding about 70~75 is comfy for traffic flow and gets me about 43 MPG ( 09 FLHTC 96")

take a close look at these models the differences are really minor...

while I kinda like the classic styling of the RK line- the thing is just too darn huge compared to a 40's, 50's or 60's FL on which they pull some of the styling cues.
to my eye the RK just looks out of proportion ( I have a '53).

but the beauty is in the eye of the beholder, that's you. don't rush.

what you have as a huge advantage here in AZ is no sales tax on private party sales- so you save almost 10% right there ( you do pay sales tax on a dealer purchase, new or used).

the tough thing is figuring which mods an owner may have done on a used bike and which are good...which bad- I have seen some screwed up bikes dumped on the market.

most add on gee gaws have little impact on the resale value- one mans awesome Live to ride 18 piece chrome bolt on flag kit is another mans "wtf?"

mike