I had an 07 Road King and now I have a '10 Heritage. I rode the RK from NC to CA and back a couple of years ago. The RK was nice, a little more stable on the interstate in truck traffic than the Heritage and the cruise was a plus, but I didn't use it that much, especially in traffic. My wife was more comfortable on the RK than the Heritage. That said, I love my Heritage and would never go back to the RK. I am more comfortable on it, the little extra buffeting in traffic doesn't bother me and if my wife wants to go with me, she just has to deal with it. I am hoping to ride the Skyline/Blue Ridge Parkway and go ride around the bayou in LA this year. We'll be doing it on the Heritage and I don't see missing the RK while doing it.

Either way, have a great trip. It sounds like a great time. Try and make pass through southern Utah--Zion, Bryce Canyon, and those other 2 national parks, names I can't remember, will not dissapoint. It's kinda on the way if you are doing the North Rim of the Grand Canyon

 

Never had a heritage but when I added my Road King to the stable it became my instant favorite. One of those things where you can't go wrong. Have a safe trip.

 

Heritage vs. Road King -
STRICTLY IMHO - Road King with cuise control!
I swapped out seat and bars, put on a backrest and some highway
platforms and have been clocking miles since. While I love the fit / feel of the Heritage (sportier), for putting the miles on, the Road King works for me.

 

I have a Deluxe and we have gone across Canada to the east coast and back to Alberta through the USA one ride. Down the Oregon coast over to the Grand Canyon and back on another, and a few other trips. We go two up and with our camping gear and clothes, and are quite comfy. I have a throttle rocker and it's about the best twelve dollars spent. It would be hard to put in the long days without it. Head out and enjoy your ride.

 

Having the right seat and suspension made all the difference for me on long trips regardless of the bike I was riding. I had a Mustang wide solo tour w/backrest on my Street Bob for several 2 week trips - very comfortable.

For my Heritage I have a Signature series HD seat w/backrest. I find I don't need the backrest on the HD seat due to the deep bucket and excellent back support. The Heritage also has a lot more suspension travel than the Street Bob. It didn't matter much on the interstates. But the longer suspension travel was nice around town where the roads weren't as smooth.

 

Like the man said, you sit on a RK while the seat on a Heritage is kind of a part of you. Very comfortable. Also, even a manual c/c is a real asset on a long trip. Mine is a Cruise Buddy and a small lever just flips back and forth. Hold the miles per day down to 3 or 400, makes the trip a lot more fun to stop alot. Don't forget the rainsuits.

 

I'd think there would be a pretty big difference between a Heritage and a Road King. Not as big a difference between the Road King and the Street Glide since they both share the same frame. Anyway, my pick for a road trip out of all three would be the Road King. The bike is aptly named.

 

Maybe I am totally off here and will probably get burned by some but...

If I were in your shoes I don't know that it would make a lot of sense going from a Heritage Classic to a Road King since for all intents and purposes they are the same type of motorcycle with the King just being bigger in certain respects. I know that "under the hood" the King may offer an amenity or two that the Heritage may not but then is it worth the money for just "a couple" of nicer features? I think if I were going to switch to a touring bike then I would want the change to be as significant an improvement as possible and for some reason I don't see the King being that compared to a well equipped Softail. Seems to me that if the Street Glide catches your eye then that may be the way to go and you will be getting a much more significant change in features.

I myself don't care for the Street Glide since it just looks like an unfinished Ultra, plus everybody and their brother rides one and I hate blending in. I much prefer the Road Glide and that is the touring Bike that I would go for if I ever thought my Springer Softail was no longer suitable. It's got a unique look, lots of feature upgrades from a Softail and that fixed fairing is amazing when it comes to handling the bike down the road.

Anyway, that my two cents.

 

At 62 and having owned Our 07 Heritage since May of 07 and have 36k on her I think I can give a pretty good view.


Wife and I ride mostly 2 up 95% of the time and most of those rides are on county road and some state roads between 35 and 60 mph. We usually ride 2-3 hrs each time we go out and We still love Her.

The longest trip I've took was last summer, Son, a friend and I did a 5 day 1800 mile vacation.
Even with my bad back all I did was take some Ibuprofen in the morning and I never had pain one anytime during the trip.
I really like the stock seat, and if I ever needed another one I'l buy another stocker.

The Ergo of the Heritage fits me like it was made for me and it fits me perfect.


Back in 09 when the bigger frame came out I got tired of hearing so many riders say the RK is a lot better ridding bike so I went to a dealer during a Harley day riding event and rode a new 09 RK.

After a 45 min ride on the new RK, I went back to my Heritage and rode the very same roads so I could get a real comparison between the two.

I just wanted to see for myself if there was that much difference. If so, there would have been a new RK in the garage.
Money for a new bike would not have been a problem so the little test I did was to see which one I liked better.

The Test ride.

First thing I noticed was the Ergo of the Road King just didn't fit me at all. Didn't like the bars and the seat made me feel like I was sitting On top of the bike.
With a new seat and some different bars It would have been better, but I didn't want to spend another $1500 to start with just to make her comfortable.

Then, I really paid attention to the ride of the RK during the 45 mins, we took in rough country roads, a little state roads and a short jaunt down the Interstate..

Bottom line for me was both are great bikes.
But overall I just Didn't think the RK ride was any better at all than our Heritage. Wasn't worse, just not any better IMO.

So after that little test I did, If I'd thought the RK was better, there would have been a new RK in the garage,,,

But My conclusion was If I wanted to buy another bike I'd be looking at another Heritage, It's the perfect bike for the way we ride 95% of the time and now after last summer's trip I know its also a great road bike.

I know I am still totally pleased with the Heritage.

Thats my opinion, What U need to do is the same test,
Ride both and see what U come up with as which one works best for U.




.

 

I don't think you can lose either way as long as your on a Harley. I had a Heritage before this Deluxe and I could not imagine going back to the Heritage after being on this bike. I can't help you pick but I can wish you all the luck in the world, just be safe and watch out for the other guy who has no idea about motorcycles out on the road. I wish I could go with!!!