Harley advertising says that the Road King (or Electra Glide) have nostaglic style. So where and what year do the current bikes trace their roots back to style-wise?

 

The batwing showed up in the 70's for added protection of the rider on what was basically a "Road King" style bike. What HD has now is the natural progression to HD's ultimate touring bike the Ultra. They ar all FL's under the skin, and the change started in 1958 when the Duo-Glide went from hardtail to swingarm.

 

Nice. That is what I was looking for. The current style started in 1958 and based upon the picture, the current style is very close still!

 

Harley doesnt change much, the basic design of the FL is VERY old. They have however made great leaps and bounds in reliability and rideability. My Road King is 1000% better than my Panhead, but my Panhead has WAY MORE soul. It leaks, its cranky, it vibrates, and it breaks! The best bike I've ever owned..............................also the first HD I bought.

 

Just to add a little,the Electra part came along in 1965 with the first Electraglide,the Electra was for electric start.
The '65 Pan Electraglide was the first electric start Harley and last year of the Panhead motor.

 

yup!

 

Ran across this thread while looking for paint info on Google, but thought I'd chime in and correct some info.

The roots of the Road King is the Electra Glide, no matter how you slice it. The frame up until 2009 was based on the most current FLT swing-arm frame that started in 1980.

The Bat Wing fairing did not appear in the '70's, but three years earlier in 1967.

As far as looks are concerned; The style of hard bags you see today are direct descendants of the fiber glass bags that appeared in 1963. They have gone through a few styling and production changes, but are essentially the same.

You can look at an FL from the mid 1950's and see literally the very same styling today in the Road King Classics. The FL bikes changed very little over the years appearence wise, with the exception of hard bags and the Bat Wing.

With 1965 being the first year of the Electra Glide, you have the basis for all future incarations of the Electra Glide, I.E.; FLHS (sport) Road King, etc...

Take a look at your floor boards, the D shape florboard has been in use since 1966! The first year of the Shovelhead FL's used those, before that it was the Half Moons since 1940, with minor changes.

The Road Kings are versatile bikes, if you want retro, you can easily change the look to any era of the Glide style FL as a lot of Assc. parts are still being made. Take the Nostalgic Saddle bag guards, they first appeared in 1964. The nostalgic fender rails you can get for front or rear actually have been around since 1968. Although the same ones you can buy for a Softail are the same ones that were available on FL's prior to '68.

Hope this helps in the P&A department for looks...

 

Bumpity bump.

 

Rey - this is an old thread but I noticed you mentioned the nostalgic saddlebag rails beginning in 1964. I have a original '63 duo Glide with F-1, F-5 packages but it doesn't have the rails. I've had it for years and never really thought about it until recently as I might sell it. Old age has caught up with me and kicking on it when it is cold has become a life threatening experience! If I do sell, I want it to be complete. BUT, '63 inagurated many changes including the introduction of new fiberglass bags, same as on a '64. They're bigger than the bubble/tear type from before. You say the nostalgic rails began in '64 but there was the one year of larger bags unaccounted for. My question is if you know for sure, is the nostalgic type rails also correct for a '63? - azpaul50

 

an earlier "Touring Bike", 1953- not shown are the canvas winter apron kit with windscreen or buddy seat.
Wheels are not original, I have the original wheels and tires stored