I have a 2001 Road King, and a Kawasaki 1500 vulcan. I'm looking to get rid of the Vulcan and maybe replace it with a new 1200 Sportster. I haven't sat on one yet or ridden one, but I am concerned about the seat height. The Harley web site lists the height as quite high. I know seat heights can be deceiving. Anyone have any thoughts on this.

 

I havea '06 1200C and I'm about 5'5 and it fits me perfect. Very easy to handle.

 

Nice RK, Tim. Sportsters are much narrower than your RK, so it doesn't take as much leg to stradle one. My 1200C was too low for my 6' height and I raised it. HD does have the Low model which might fit you. I dropped by the dealer and sat on the various versions before I decided which one fit me best. Hope you find one that suits you; it's a really fun bike to ride.

 

Yes, compare to Softail and Touring, they sit a little higher. There are different ways to lower it by 1-2 inches, seat, shocks etc. I have the 1200 low with a different seat, my feet are flat on the ground, I can even lower a bit more but I leave it as is, don't want to scrap the exhaust. Nice RK you have, for some reason, I do not like leather saddle bags, that's why I like RK more than RKC.

 

my feet are flat on the ground,I am 5'9' with the sundowner seat. I have ridden a road king, the biggest difference is how much wider the road king isvs the skinny sporty.

 

5'8" and flat footed with room to spare on stock seat with my Roadster and it has the highest seat height.
One warning though, the Roadking might become the "second bike" if you get a Sportster

 

I'm sorry if my use of "second bike" offended anyone, I certainly didn't mean too. In fact I really expect to ride the sportster more than the RK. I ride 46 miles each way to work in NY traffic, and find the RK just a little too big for round the town riding.

 

Be careful. Be very careful . I bought my 05 1200 C to be a second bike and a companion to my 02 BMW R 1150 RT. After several months of not riding the BMW even once I finally sold the Beemer and have never regreted it. The Sportster is the most "fun" bike I've owned in years. You will love it.

 

A Sportster should be perfect for your trip and riding in NY traffic.

I also own a RK and until recently had a 2005 1200C.

You will notice a difference in the seating height of the Sportster, but you will get use to it very quickly.

At 6'2" I've never had a problem with a bike being 'too high', and as you can see from other posts in this thread people shorter than myself don't have any problem 'flat footing' a Sportster.

I also own a Dyna, and a Softail, and they seem 'nimble' in traffic compared to my Road King. A Sportster is narrower and shorter even compared to a Softail or Dyna, and much more so than a RK.

Should be a perfect bike to use for your city commute...

 

None taken, I'd love to have a Roadking for highway trips and my Roadster for around town, it doesn't get much better than that!...someday.