Dropped by my '15 Ltd off for a 16K Km (10K mile) service yesterday and was offered a 17 RK for the day.

As much as I thought I was going to be happy for life (or a few years anyway) with my current bike I was blown away by the RK. It was smooth power across the board and compared to my Ltd, handled like a superbike.

A '17 Ltd starts at $32K CDN. I was told my '15 should be worth at least $23K on trade.

Not sure if I'll act but it has me thinking for sure.

One thing I know is that 1st year or not for the M8, if I was in the market for a new scoot I'd be all over the '17s

 

Yup, same here. I'm on a Dyna Switchback and I found the 2017 RK, a bike which as listed is 106lbs heavier than my bike (which has upgraded cams and suspension), to handle better, was smoother by a long shot and had a gutsier low end.

 

It's always time to buy a Harley if you don't already have one. When my 15 is worn out it will be time for me too!!

 

While I'm sure the M8 LTD is a great running/handling bike, not going to test ride just yet as Barb says, "You have a perfectly fine bike"...too much $$ into my 15 LTD at this point...

 

Well i had the opportunity to test the '17 Limited for a day. I rented on when i was down in SW Fla. Took a trip from Naples to Miami & Back. put a bit over 200 miles on. I will say the new motor and suspension were an improvement over the stock previous Rushmores.

I think renting one is the best way to test a bike not a demo. you get to use it for the entire day go where you want and really put it through he ringer. If you haggle maybe you can get the price of the rental off the price of a new one.

The improvements i have seen/felt

• The motor is smoother
• The motor is more powerful and as others have said the torque curve is more linear.
• The ride is better than stock.

When comparing my Ultra Classic to the new Limited, i have this to say. The increase in power was not much more than mine. But mine has been modded with Full exhaust, Air Cleaner, and has been Dyno Tuned. The specs from the dyno are similar to the new M8, but the M8 does have a little bit more. (can feel it with my butt Dyno)


The suspension is very similar but i have progressives front and back.


My bike has been modded to get improvements comparable to the '17 but that comes at a fairly large cost.


My only complaint was the handle bars. I felt the bars were being gripped by my knees. But this is probably because i put on WO 578's 10" mini apes. took a bit to get used to but still didn't like it.


So should you get a '17 over a '16? If you don't mind spending some $$ on the '16 to get it similar to the '17.


Not sure if you can mod the motor on a '16 due to the EPA restriction or this is only being applied to '17's ??


I will not be rushing out to get a '17 anytime soon (maybe several years from now) i have way too much into mine to dump it and get into a new one and start from scratch, plus i have it just the way i want it.


There is just not enough better to justify buying new. Plus there really is no good option to improve the motor performance without affecting warranty & rath of the EPA.


If you are starting new go for it, it really is a nice bike. With that said take a hard look at the RGU as the bars are a little higher, which would help the only gripe i have about the new bikes.


Good luck dude!

 

Same here. Now that it fits and I know it, no reason to sell.

 

Went with a friend yesterday, he wanted to test ride a '17 Road King. Salesman talked me into coming along, at first I told him I wasn't interested in getting rid of my bike but then I said what the heck and went along! He gave me an Ultra to ride, VERY nice. Motor was great, I for one like the smooth and quiet, heat was not noticeable but it was only mid 70's. I liked the clutch, seemed to feather a lot easier. Additional power was nice too but the thing that really got me was the suspension, a major improvement. I rode the same roads with my bike going home that we rode on the test and the '17 handled them MUCH better then my '14. When I bought my '14 Limited I was riding an '06 Ultra Classic, a BIG improvement from the '06 to the '14. Right now not that much of a difference for me to dump my bike (which I love) for a '17, maybe in 4-5 years but not now. Still, good job on the '17's Harley...

 

I think Harley has done a great job on these bikes. Looks like they have a few kinks to get worked out but nothing to major. The epa and warranty stuff is still be a big question for me. The biggest thing keeping me on the sidelines right now is the dealership and all these BS fees. They have a way of turning 24000 bikes into 27000 bikes. It's pretty frustrating.

 

Yes I agree these dealers rob us. The markup on most touring models is 4500 on average then they rob us more with their bs fees. I guess if a guy just wanted a stock bike with slip on exhaust the 17 is a huge improvement over the twin cam but most guys want a full stage 1 and that voids the warranty.