Road King vs Softail ?

[WildBill2566]

I have been thinking about getting a Road King, a 2007 or might wait till 2008 to see if there are any issues with the new models.

I would like some opinions regarding comfort. Now dont get me wrong I love my train but you have to be pretty determined to hit the 300 mile days, and with thinking about hitting the South West of France I'm not sure me or Jane could cope with the 600 mile run down there.

Is the Road King really that much more comfortable than a softail?

Has anyone seen a Road King with the number plate located below the brake light instead of above it. Its only my preference but I think they are ok with the US sized plates but I'm not so keen on them with the UK billboards.

Is the Road King more or less stable in bends. I make the assumption that it will have even less ground clearance than the train.

I'm 6'2" and even with moving the forwards 3" further forward, the train sometimes feels a little small and cramped. The kings look like bigger more roomy bikes, would that be correct.

I know I'm not looking to buy tomorrow but I would like to gather some info now. I would like to keep the train as well, but will have to convince 'She who must be obeyed'

I guess I'm looking for the + and - from people who have ridden one or both softails and kings.

[BaZa®]

Apart from the 'Pipe and Slippers' comments that you will get when talking Road Kings.

I am also 1.88cms and find the riding position very comfortable. I have on the front crash bars a pair of highway pegs. I only use them now and again when it feels like a change of leg position will relax the muscles. Sometimes I just use one at a time.

My 2003 model did come with the # plate below the rear light so if you do buy a new model I have the brake light lense that has the clear plastic underneath also I have the plate that the # plate fits onto.

As far as taking bends I scrape both floorboards when playing around and feel like leaning it to extreme. Also soles of shoes wear at the side as I seem to ride with my feet sticking out at an angle. So yes they do handle very well just look at the USA cop demonstration videos.

The most I have done is 450 miles just stopping for petrol and a piss that was long enough in my mind for 'Tiredness Can Kill'

Bill this is one of the 'Howdoo' boy's RK's with the old style rear plate. BTW they are nice chaps....LOL



Plus with the Road King you have in my opinion two different looking bikes when rear seat and windshield is off.

My 2003 Road King Stnd

New 2007 Model from H-D Site.

[Steppenwulf]

I rode my Road King down to the Algarve this Summer along with a couple of other bikes, one of which was a 'Train. It was noticable that all the others, including Hadyn on his Night Train where much more affected by the miles and also by the wind. Weather, distance all took their toll a little more with them and I put it down by and large to me having a screen.Now just to have a screen may not be enough reason to go out and get a Road King but the other positives I found where the ability to shift around in the saddle because of the riding position and foot boards, now this helped stop my extremes going numb. I'm 5'8" so I have fitted bars with a 2 1/2" pullback but I think you'll find the original geometry perfectly suited to your height.

Handling wise I did have to work the ol gal a little harder to make the same progress through the bends but on the mountain stages I felt she was a lot more able, maybe due to the gearing? Overall they are different bikes, Hadyn's looks a cool mutha all dressed in black but for two up touring my old bus took the edge (ask Hadyn and he may not agree! ;) )

The number plate was originally located beneath the stop light and I have recently changed to a US style size above the tail light. Much, much neater in my opinion and I always felt that the plate located beneath the light always covered up the finishing sweep of the mudguard and spoilt the lines. Luckily so far it has not drawn any attention from the motorway patrols I have gently overtaken .

One other thing to consider is that with my Road King the hard panniers are not expandable and so I had to sort out a tour pak for the extra bits and pieces, the space in the panniers is limited and not as large as you may imagine. Obviously with a 'Train you can go out and buy a set of panniers that would struggle to hold a pair of ferrets but conversley you can go out and get a huge expandable set and pack the kitchen sink. Not very pretty at all (I thought his panniers looked like they needed stabilisers, they stuck out that much) but at least Hadyn was able to take more crap than was strictly necessary! But Lizi and I were able to take enough for two weeks no probs.

Hope this helps and enjoy the looking.

[Roger]

Originally Posted by WildBill2566

I have been thinking about getting a Road King, a 2007 or might wait till 2008 to see if there are any issues with the new models.

I would like some opinions regarding comfort. Now dont get me wrong I love my train but you have to be pretty determined to hit the 300 mile days, and with thinking about hitting the South West of France I'm not sure me or Jane could cope with the 600 mile run down there.

Is the Road King really that much more comfortable than a softail?

Has anyone seen a Road King with the number plate located below the brake light instead of above it. Its only my preference but I think they are ok with the US sized plates but I'm not so keen on them with the UK billboards.

Is the Road King more or less stable in bends. I make the assumption that it will have even less ground clearance than the train.

I'm 6'2" and even with moving the forwards 3" further forward, the train sometimes feels a little small and cramped. The kings look like bigger more roomy bikes, would that be correct.

I know I'm not looking to buy tomorrow but I would like to gather some info now. I would like to keep the train as well, but will have to convince 'She who must be obeyed'

I guess I'm looking for the + and - from people who have ridden one or both softails and kings.

Yes they are a lot more comfortable. I have both, the softail is lighter and lower but is hell over bumps. The RK is a bit of a beast but much more comfy. I changed the tyres from new to Metzelers, which sorted out the handling.

Surprisingly nimble at speed and very stable in bends whilst the rear dampers are in good condition. After several thousand miles (less than 10 on my first RK) they leaked and neaded replacing - Progressive or some independant make.

With OEM tyres you get some buttock clenching moments if you wander onto a white line - hence the change to Metzelers. I originally found the first one a bit of a handful at low speeds, but that was down to seat height (I'm only 5' 9), changed it suit me.

I relocated my plate to under the light, used a Kuryarkin lightbar & indicators - transformed the look

[lawnmower]

Had a fatboy in the past and frankly it handles like a rowing boat compared to my road king. had 2 kings 1 classic and now a custom both are excellent. cant say im impressed with the seat on the rk major b**ls ache after 400 miles this can be easily changed, but definately the tool for longer journeys. out in Oz i can get 700-800 miles in a day (12 hour days mind) with 10 min stops for fag and petrol and then 1 lunch stop no bother. theres no comparison to me. re the no plate both mine were located above light and when rack fitted it makes it very difficult to see no plate which can only be a good thing for me. As roger says the only handling issue with the std dunflops in whitelining but that can be sorted by a tyre change. Pannier capacity is surprisingly limited but sufficient for most shorter trips but u can always add a rack/ box bag whatever.

[MacHarry]

Originally Posted by lawnmower

Had a fatboy in the past and frankly it handles like a rowing boat compared to my road king. had 2 kings 1 classic and now a custom both are excellent. cant say im impressed with the seat on the rk major b**ls ache after 400 miles this can be easily changed, but definately the tool for longer journeys. out in Oz i can get 700-800 miles in a day (12 hour days mind) with 10 min stops for fag and petrol and then 1 lunch stop no bother. theres no comparison to me. re the no plate both mine were located above light and when rack fitted it makes it very difficult to see no plate which can only be a good thing for me. As roger says the only handling issue with the std dunflops in whitelining but that can be sorted by a tyre change. Pannier capacity is surprisingly limited but sufficient for most shorter trips but u can always add a rack/ box bag whatever.

Nice said Mark it looks that this are my words

But everthing is right

if got a Heritage and now I have a 96 Road King

Harry

[banquo]

I personally know several people who lashed out several thousand pounds to 'upgrade' from a Softail to a bagger, in all cases due to pillion discomfort, as the rider's seat isn't usually too bad. In most of these cases, they were dragged kicking and screaming into bagger world, because (generally speaking) those who like Softail looks, won't be so keen on the looks of baggers...
Baggers don't do it for me either, so I bought a second hand Saddlemen Gel seat from a Club Member and it transformed her on back's life.
We've done several trips of several hundred miles, stopping only for gas every 120 or so, with no problems whatsoever, and 20,000 in total, most on the new seat.
On the other side, those who bought the baggers still had to go out and buy replacement pillion seats, or separate gel pads, because the comfy armchair on the back wasn't nearly as comfortable as it looked.
So, my advice would be to try a different seat before you try anything more expensive, unless you have an all consuming urge for whatever else the bagger has to offer (the looks, hard bags, storage, etc.). If you like the Softail, make it comfy, rather than buy another bike.
I'd recommend the Saddlemen seat to anyone, and it compares very favourably over Sundowner, etc. according to those who have tried both.
It's not the prettiest seat in the world, and the 'whale tail' for the pillion is plain ugly (IMHO), unless you have a sissy bar fitted. With the sissy bar, it looks OK, and if you want something more stylish for shorter trips, it's only 1 screw to change the seats over...

It's a personal thing, but it worked for us...

[littleredroadster]

Wildbill
Going through the same thought processes - do I change to a RK but for me it would be the Custom. What rings true is the ride on the softail - hit a bump and it can hurt - also with foot positions - what about grounding out on the bendy - but it will be difficult decision to change and I will follow this thread with great interest.

[Steppenwulf]

Originally Posted by littleredroadster

What rings true is the ride on the softail - hit a bump and it can hurt.

Just a note on hitting a bump on a Road King. A couple of weeks ago we spent the weekend tootling about Wiltshire and came across a road with a load of sleeping policemen (right next to the donut shop! ). Anyways over one particular bump Lizi pulled a muscle in the back of her head and even now she's complaining like a big girl. On the other hand Bev on the back of a standard softail is suffering no ill at all, go figure

[banquo]

Just an add-on to that, I assume the suspension travel on the inappropriately named SOFTail will be less than on a RK or Dyna, and I too noticed a lot of jarring over potholes, etc. Found the suspension was set to the hardest of the 3 settings, and changed it to the middle setting for both solo and two-up (which is 95% of the time).
With the old seat, Nel still complained about severe jarring up through her spine when hitting potholes, but with the new seat, it's no problem at all.
I can only assume that the OEM seat was so poor that the foam compressed fully on a bump, so the shock was transmitted directly from fender to pillion. With the new seat, there is much more shock absorbtion, so it doesn't reach the limit of its elasticity.
With the suspension on middle setting, I have never felt the back end bottom out: it's the front end that does that, with a big clang .

I would never try to dissuade anyone from following their preferred choice of model (diversity is good!), but as WB has said already that he likes the train, and comfort is the only reason for change, it seems that making the train more comfortable would be a far more cost-effective solution than a new bike.

Mind you, maybe he's come on here so he can give himself some good reasons to lash out the cash on something new, in which case, let me know Bill, and I'll delete the posts ;)