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Originally Posted by DrBob For the first time in over 20 years Harley is ahead of the rest of the industry again: they have 21 cruiser/ touring models with 1600cc motors and 6-speed transmissions and fuel injection, plus 4 models with 1800cc motors and fuel injection and 6-speed transmissions. Their 1100cc V-rod line out performs metric bikes with 40% more displacement, and their touring bikes come with real fairings, lockable hard bags, electronic cruise controls, AM/FM/CD players, and other features that are only found one a couple of metric bikes. Now if they would just do something about that POS Sportster line... |
YOU have got to be kidding!!!!!!!
AHEAD of the industry???? They aren't even on par with the industry!
First off let me start off by saying I'm not one of those guys that has a grudge with harley or hates harleys at all! I love harleys for a multitude of reasons, but technology??? Let's just say it's not there strong point. Saying a Road King shakes a little at idle is like saying Bill Gates has a little money! I just rented a '07 Road King Classic and after starting it up and leaving the parking lot I turned back around and returned it for something else. I swore to the rental agent that "there's GOT to be something wrong with this bike", it's shaking like crazy! It was my first time on a FL based Harley, I usually rent softails. I wound up on a VRod (Night Rod special, talk about night and day) and actually liked alot of things about it but, let's be perfectly honest now and say, you're NOT gonna be out performing any metric bikes on this thing!!! It's fast but have you been on a R1? How bout something in it's range (performance cruiser) like a Warrior (which, by the way, it's looks very similar to (midnight warrior) down to the red pinstriping on the wheels)? Any stock warrior will literally blow the ballz off of any V-Rod (and that's before adding any of the multitude of aftermarket performance stuff offered by Patrick Racing, what they're doing to warriors should be illegal! W O W !)
But lets get back to the Road King:
The Road King is a beautiful machine and very well suited for highway travel. I happen to think the bike I wound up buying, a Stratoliner (which was mentioned earlier by Poe-Boy Samich) is a MUCH better bike than the Road King. But let's compare on paper:
Stratoliner VS Road King
1900cc/113 cubic inch engine VS 1600cc/92.6 cubic inch engine (1800cc/110 cubic inch for the screaming eagle)
124 ft.lbs @the shaft VS 93 ft.lbs @the shaft (115 for the screaming eagle)
weighs a very evenly balanced 49/51 (low COG ) 770 lbs VS 763 lbs (don't know the weight distribution)
4.5 gallon tank w/0.8 auxilary tank VS 5 gallon tank w/NO RESERVE (you're out of gas, YOU'RE OUT OF GAS)
Length 101.6 in. Wheelbase 67.5 in. VS Length 93.5 in. Wheelbase 63 in.
And lastly price, my stratoliner cost approx half what the screaming eagle road king, that it out performs, cost and much less than the stock road king.
Anyway, it's up to you. The Road King is a beautiful machine with a very nice ride. I didn't state it's good features which there are many including, but not limited to, the air ride. Which, by the way, can be added to any bike for about a grand. The six speed tranny, while sounding like a nice feature, feels cheap to me and I prefer the stock five speed, or a Baker six if money's no object! My riding buddy rides a Road King and while it's not an '07 he has what most would consider a "%%%%tload" of money into it. Performance wise I don't think he couldn't do any more than he's done to his harley engine. He loves his bike but he's getting sick and tired of me pulling away from him on the open road! And all I've done to mine is add a Patrick Racing big air kit, Power Commander, and pipe. UNREAL what these few items did to an already very powerful bike!!! That and everytime we stop for a rest people drool over my "Jap Bike" and almost knock his bike over to get a look at mine!!! The funniest line he ever gave me after finishing lunch on a ride (one of the many times we could see people drooling all over my bike through the window) was with all the money I saved buying my bike I could afford to buy him lunch, as he walked out of the joint!
Good Luck,
NJoy...