I've only had my Ultra Limited for about 6 weeks, and limited riding with wife, but she's much happier on the back than on the Road King. Stock Road King seat isn't great, especially for passenger. But that could be changed. I do have passenger backrest. And you could add tour pack and radio to Road King. I was fortunate that I didn't have to choose. I have my Road King and our Ultra Limited.

 

I thought i was going to do much more touring, i do a few trips a few 100 miles but nothing longer. My King has served me well.

 

I agree. Although I never liked the look of a fairing if I did a lot of highway riding that’s what I would have.
I’ve had my RK 5 years (my first touring) and it’s great, it is so versatile. I have hard bags and an 18” and a couple of 20” windshields that I go back and forth on, with the 18” I just get too much helmet buffeting. Taking the shield off in the hot weather is nice, it’s like a different bike. I don’t want nothing but what came on it although I wish I had a tac. I put a set of Progressive 944 shocks on to smooth out the ride and that has worked out great.
The only thing I’m missing is a seat. I went through about a dozen used seats and ended up buying a new Sundowner, that’s good for about an hour and a half. If I could find a good seat the bike would be perfect (01 RK).

 

My 2014 Road King is the perfect bike for me.

With a windshield and tour pack it is a comfortable mile eater. I recently did a 2000 mile trip through Colorado in 4 days, carrying my stuff and 2 other people’s luggage.

I can take the windshield and tour pack off and it is a great around town bike or bar hopper.

I have a ram mount for my phone for music and gps, speakers in my helmet.

I have ridden both batwing bikes and Road Glides and I prefer my King.

But I rarely ride 2-up. My wife won’t ride with me and my daughters only occasionally go on a short (<100 mile) ride. My youngest did say that with the tour pack it was much more comfortable and made her feel more secure with the wrap around backrest. So if you are doing lots of 2-up riding then a tour pack would be a necessity. Really easy to add to any touring bike that doesn’t have one.

 

I have a '20 Road King. Detachable tourpack, fork fangs and hammock seat make it as comfortable as any touring bike. My wife and I travel all over on this bike. I just got back from a 5200 mile ride out west. It was the perfect bike for the trip. We had an Electra Glide Classic before this bike. The only wind protection lost was for my hands. Soft lowers take care of the wind when it's cold. For me, and I only speak for me, the weight savings off the front end was more beneficial than the increased breeze on my hands.

Electra Glide Standard has 12" rear shocks vs. 13" on the King. Makes a big difference in ride comfort. King comes with passenger floorboards (important for passenger comfort). You have to add any passenger foot accommodations on the EG Standard ($). You're changing the seat and adding a tourpack on either one. If you want a batwing bike the EG Standard makes sense. If you want a comfortable two-up touring bike the RK makes more sense.

If you want all the bells and whistles the decision comes down to batwing or shark nose. I've never ridden a Road Glide so I can't compare the two. Just know you're gaining 100+ pounds over the Road King with either one. At the end of a very long day (or several long days in a row), especially in the mountains, that can make a difference.

 

Ive had both. The king was set up with apes and i didnt really like it over about 55. The limited with its fairing eliminates the pressure i got on my chest from being a big parachute. The windshield i had for my king gave me headaches.

 

Apologies to the OP's for asking a question in his thread.

How secure are the detachable windshields and fairings? Do they rattle?

Regards,

Mark

 

Just traded my 2008 FXDC for an 2021 FLHT all I can say is WOW. More power handles as good or better and rides better

 

The quick detach windshield is solid - 4 rubber bushings and 2 wire clips. I’ve never had a rattle or any instability with mine.

 

As far as a windshield goes it has to be the proper height or a bit taller. On the RK one of the best things to eliminate helmet buffeting I found are HD fork wind deflectors, they cut down a whole lot of wind behind a shield and make for a real nice ride.