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Sep 3, 2018 | 09:38 AM

stillwater0302

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Joined: Aug 2018

Posts: 23

Likes: 3

From: Indianapolis

New to HD

Looks like this is the spot to introduce myself. I'm a fifty year old guy who has owned Hondas, Suzukis, Kawasakis and ended up as BMW rider the last few years. This change came after I became irritated with the quality of materials in some brands but was further put off by the obsolescence of OEM parts in bikes that were only 5-15 years olds. After I got my first BMW, I had found a company that still made and sold parts for their bikes that were 30 and 40 years old. The boxer-twins require more frequent, routine maintenance: throttle body sync and valve adjustment every 6,000 miles as an example. The valves are screw and nut - easy to pull the valve cover on an opposed twin and takes no time at all. I have (had) two BMWs: a RT (sport touring bike 55k) and a GS (adventure bike 78k) Both are "oilheads" from the nineties and I took care of all maintenance myself.

Fast forward. I put most of the miles on the RT but with all of the protection of fairings and electric windshield, it could be too much wind protection when it is hot. I planned to sell the GS and buy a naked/unfaired bike. Something cooler in the summer but still able to tour in a pinch. (I rode the Blue Ridge Parkway, Skyline Drive, circled Lake Erie, Lake Michigan and Lake Superior last year.) I sold the GS and had the bike selections narrowed down to a Triumph T120 Bonneville, a Thruxton (adding bags and turning clubmans upright,) BMW R NineT, BMW R1200RS and finally a Road King. The selection HAD to have factory parts support for years to come.

I was working on a budget and the R NineT was hard to find in my price plus would have been a stretch (like the thruxton) to bag up and tour. It can be done but...
The Thruxton and T120 I really like but Triumph is pushing "boutique" dealerships hard and many dealers are dropping them. I don't need a local dealer for maintenance but having a Triumph parts counter within 200 miles on a trip would be nice.
The R1200RS is a phenomenal bike but I couldn't find one in my budget and my R1100RT is only so dissimilar.
Enter the Road King. I liked the idea of a dual front caliper Sportster Roadster but - at 6'3" and 265 - I was kind of pushing the limits on ergos.

With some assistance from HD owning friends and online research, I settled in on the idea of an '09 Road King. New frame, pre-cat, six speed, & hydraulic cam chain tensioners. I liked the idea of a Road King Standard for the hard bags and tubeless tires. I've been changing and balancing my own tires for a few years now and I hate doing tubes!

However, this time like all of the the other times, the bike chose me. I found and purchased an 09 FLHRC. It has 16k miles on the clock (I did almost that mileage in 2017 on the BMWs,) ABS, and the root beer quarter color. I wasn't sure I would like the candy root beer color but, after seeing it in the sunlight, I was sold. The cruise control was a nice addition too. I got it home and ran a local loop that I use for seat-therapy after checking over fluids and such. I was running the loop at a much slower pace but I still had a great time. It is definitely a different beast but a comfortable one that has a soul.

I'm building up the maintenance schedule now and enjoying the riding! May ride this down to the Barber Vintage Fest in October rather than the R1100RT. I'm sure I'll have lots of questions, so bear with me. I'll do my best and search before asking.

Last edited by stillwater0302; Sep 3, 2018 at 09:46 AM.