Hi guys. Please help out. I think I found the "steal". It is a beautiful 2018 RK with 12,5K miles. I can buy for just under 10K which I think is a great buy. The seller is 68 and wants to sell. He has been riding since 12, is a certified mechanic and former motorcycle instructor in NH. He is about 1.5 hours away and seems to be honest. He states it is stock with no mechanical issues. Never an issue with the oil pump and Sumping. He has maintained it well and had the Clutch ( maybe clutch master cylinder replaced at the dealer from a recall). He honestly told me that he had to avoid an accident 3 years ago and skid out the bike and bailed. The bike slid for a bit causing the damage in the photos to the crash bar and under the "primary". He said it never leaked. Please let me know if I should be worried. Thanks guys. Oh yeah. He also mentions he had it lowered 1" and it can be easily put back to normal. Is that true? I am at the end of my budget.

 

I traded in my 2016 Ultra with a wet head motor and bought a 2020 Road King with a 107 motor and the differance in night. and day. On a fill up I can get about 230 mi to a tank full. At 3000 RPM your doing almost 80 MPH and that 3 grand is a sweet spot where the motor runs well and excellent fuel milage.

 

Where the bike has been "down", I would have it checked over by an HD dealership...probably cost you 1 hr in labor, but money well spent in my opinion...good luck whichever way you end up...

 

Either one of those bikes will do you well. The 2018 is easy to fix so no worries on that. I do like the color on the 2015, not into black bikes that much.

Ride safe!

 

I have had my bikes down many times, lots of scratches on those parts. I guess it wouldn't hurt to have looked at it, but it is 10k not 25k. If it rides fine, I dunno. Again probably never awful to have inspected. But not every town has a bike shop, people don't realize that.

You can't go wrong with black either.

 

I picked up a 21 FLHR like yours above for a steal with less than 1k miles. This is in CA post covid with prices very high. Like the one you are considering, it was in a small spill. I certainly would consider that bike you are looking at. I have about 500 in parts in mine and now have a like new bike for half the cost.

Bring a flashlight with you and account for all damage, ensuring it's superficial and not too costly to replace. Pop the side covers off and look at the mounting tabs for the rear guards. They easily bend... and if bent... be aware that this is considered a "totaled bike" ... as dealerships will not fix frames on bikes. However, if the tabs are slightly bent, they easily can be corrected with a wrench.

In addition, take a look at the upper mount on the front engine guard and make sure that is not bent. If there is damage there it better be very superficial or I would pass on the bike.

After inspection, if all looks OK beyond superficial parts needing replacement, test ride the bike. Make sure it tracks well, etc.

My guess is the damage is likely very superficial and can easliy be replaced... and you would end up having a like new bike for cheap.

Given the age of the bike, miles, and if it were me, i would replace the oil pump (CAM since you are there), also look to see it has the transmission cover vent to address transfer. Given all that... my target price for that bike would be 8K...but that's me and I tend to drive a hard bargain.

Good luck... my guess is the bike wont last long, so if you are serious, I would jump on it. Just do your due diligence by inspecting it.

 

I suspect I bent the tabs on my front engine guard hitting a deer. It was a struggle getting the replacement engine guard on from ebay But my guard was bent backwards into the brake. Still riding it. You could look for strange patterns on the front tire.

 

Yeah, Id want to know how much to fix it first. Take it to dealer if ya can.

 

Thank you and everybody else on here for your advise. Greatly appreciated. Cant wait to post pictures when I finally pull the trigger.

 

Pfft, that damage looks like nothing to fret over.

If you stared real hard at my old RK, you'd discern the front crash bar was slightly tweaked. Never affected how the bike rode or ran.