Carb or Injection?

[Stone]

I'm going to look at two Road Kings - one is a '99 model and the other a 2001.
I've been told that the carb bikes are more desireable and that the injection models give problems, is there any truth in this?

Should I avoid older bikes with high mileage - 40 to 50k perhaps? Assuming of course it has been looked after properly.

I'd appreciate any advice, thanks.

[Limey_Dave]

How long's a piece of string?
Logic says that an EFI bike,in standard condition and running right,will be the better bike and engine wise will last longer.It will run with optimum settings and fuelling at all loads,speeds,temps etc.This is the reason cars rack up the milages they do plus they're water cooled,despite what oil companies would have you believe.
So,EFI bike new and Stage 1'd by dealer that knows what he's doing and serviced to the book by said dealer,bliss. Bike developes fault,owner is prepared to take it to competant dealer (H-D or Indy) and pay going rate,the honeymoon continues.
Owner does own Stage 1 or repairs on the cheap but lacks the skills and or equipment,misery,toys thrown from pram,the honeymoon is over.

I'm a card carrying Ludite and fully paid up member of Flat Earth Society and just bought a 99 with carb.There's the odd sensor but it's mainly nuts and bolts,I can fix it.
When I was looking I did a search on here for "Road King" that gave me 473 hits and read the lot.I went in with eyes open to potential probs as it had 3K on clock.
Imobiliser was option but as it was MM better without.
99 has single piston brakes,not a prob for me,but be aware.
At some time I will have to update the cam bearings and I may have soft cams.Both things would have been sorted one way or another by 40K.They weren't recalls,if it went bang they fixed it.

2001 EFI models will,I think,have MM not Delphi EFI. It is these,it seems,that are mostly the subject of carb conversions.Draw your owm conclusions.
Low milage,high price/High milage,low price you pays yer money etc.

I think a good standard or correctly Stage 1'd RK that is serviced and treated with respect can be good for 100K.
Throw into the mix that some,even newer,bikes eat cam chain tensioners faster than others and can have cranks on the outer limits of runnout tolerance(which precludes the fitting of gear driven cams) and the potential life could be shorter.But it needn't be.
There is a very good guide on here for checking tensioners.When you get the bike check them as soon as you can.If they're worn,replace,and check every year/10k miles.You will find what engine you have,one that will go 40k without replacing tensioners or one that will go 10k.
Which ever you go for,buy a factory manual,join the club,and enjoy your 100 mph armchair.