I've been looking at buying a Road King for some time, debating between new, used etc. Anyway, my buddy just told me his father is selling his '99 Road King. It has some extra's.....and I know it is in immacculate shape. I haven't seen this particular bike of his yet, but everything this guy owns is absolutely mint. Anyway, the bike has 50,000K on it. It has always been serviced and he put new tires on front and back and new belt in the fall. He mentioned $9500 for it, I'm sure I can get it if I walk up with 9 grand cash. Do those prices seem decent??

Also, what else should I ask him, be looking out for with this year King as I have heard the earlier years of the 88 motor had some issues?? Any info or input would be greatly appreiciated. Sorry I don't have more focused ?'s, just wanting a general idea of what I should be aware of with this particular bike.

 

If it's what you're looking for then go for it...

With that said... Mileage is a little high on an avg for the year of bike...

Nada - 6935.00 - 9120.00
Kelley - 7920.00 - 11695.00

 

There were some problems with the initial twin cam. I'm not totally sure what they were. Maybe this will shed some light on the problem. I believe 1999 was the problematic year:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Twin_Ca...ey-Davidson%29

 

Cam bearings, Cam bearings although with 50,000 miles I can't believe it hasen't had them replsaced.....This was a weak point with them.......

 

...I would walk away from that deal...instead of $9K for a 99 with 50K miles(OUCH!)..scrape up about 10K and you can get into a much newer/lower mileage sled...I'm seein prices on Craigs List, and the "Want-Advertiser" of around 10K for 2002-4 RK's...remember if someone's "asking" 11,500 you can work that down to around 10K in todays used market...99's and early 2000 twins had a cam-bearing problem that many thought should have been a recall by the factory...they also use a Magnelli-Moretti fuel injection system that was changed to a better Delphi unit...now it's getting hard to re map the older unit...I would look for something fresher....

 

+1You could probably get a decentnewer model for a tad more.

 

Not a great deal.... not a great year.....

Hogback

 

Price might be a little high for the mileage and year. If it's all you can do and don't want to go into debt with a bike payment, then I'd say go for it.

I had a '99 RKC and it was a fine bike. The cam bearing is a big issue and you should find out if it was replaced. Ideally they would have also put a set of gear drive cams in it as well. This will eliminate the cam chain tensioner shoes that also cause problems. If the bike is FI, then it will have the Magentti-Marelli system which is not horrible, but definitely not as good as a newer Delphi system (2001 and later I believe).

In addition to the above concerns, the '99 model year was the last year for the single piston brake calipers. I believe they increased the rear axle size in 2001 also. Both upgrades made for a much better performing bike.

If you can swing a little more money, I would look for a lower mileage 2001 or later.

 

If he'll take $8K for the bike as an offer, buy it. Otherwise you can find newer, lower mileage bikes close to what he's asking for it. Don't let anybody scare you away from Magnetti-Marelli fuel injection systems, mine was just tuned and besides running better than new it pulls the front end off the ground. Many of the folks I carve mountains with ride MM-injected bikes and they are also baffled. Magnetti-Marelli is still a contractor for new Harley-Davidson partsas Delphi Corp. is financially unstable. Any twin-cam era bike, carburated or fuel injected, will give you reliable performance for many years. And I've never seen a broken rear axle on an FLH either! Plan on putting 6 months into your shopping expedition to find the gem your garage will be housing. Much of the fun is in the hunt!