I traded my '06 Road King with the detatchable windshield and cruise control in on a '07 Road Glide. I loved the look of the King, but the ride of the Glide is amazing. I'm 6'4 and really like the extra roominess of the sharknose fairing. My neighbor rides a '07 Ultra, and he feels the wind and turbulence in his shoulders, like I did on the King. I don't have that with the Road Glide.

 

I'm a huge fan of the RG. I just got back from a whirlwind 3 day trip to Yellowstone and back. 1500 miles in 3 days and it was as comfortable as could be. I did have to put a Clearview windshield on the bike to minimize the helmet buffeting I got from the stock windshield, but I really like that the fairing and windshield are not "in your face" like on the batwings. Also, I think that the frame mounted fairing creates a more stable riding experience.

The stock seat works great for me, and I love the cruise control. Like many others, I have the detachable tour pak and riders back rest so that I can get several different "looks" for the bike.

Having said all of that, I think that any of the touring bikes makes a great long distance platform. Good luck!

 

You've got to get out there and ride em all. You'll know which one fits you best after a couple of hours in the saddle. You might find a dealer that will rent 1/2 days and split a full day with two models. A road king and then back to back a fairing model or visa versa. That gives a great comparison when you can just step off one, and on to the other. You do have to spend some time on them though to really get the signals. Not just 15 minutes. Sic em...

 

I'm one of the guys in the crowd that went from a Road King to a Street Glide. I just love having a little more wind protection and my theme music everywhere I go. I got the Dark Blue Denim, and love not having to polish the paint anymore. Just wash and dry! Plus, it makes me look cool as F*&K.

 

I went from an 06 Wide Glide to an 08 Street glide, and I love it! You really cant go wrong with any of the touring bikes so pick the one like best and don't look back...

 

I thought I wanted a radio also until I rode an EG that had one. Too much ambient noise for me. So I use Skull Candy soft earbuds (double as ear plugs) & my Ipod. I can be quiet or rock w/o blowing my ears out and still see the ground in front of me (RKC). I'm a big guy (6'4"/300lbs) and do most of my riding on back roads (under 70) & find little buffeting at all. Now if I had to ride the freeway 100's of miles every day, I might reconsider....but I really like the light, nimble feel of the RKC with nothing on the front....However, I still think the Streetglide is wicked looking but I'd put a decent seat & rear crash bars on it so fast your head would spin and then it might not look so cool. In other words, try them all, evaluate your riding needs, then buy and enjoy. They all rock.

Cheers, geeded

 

Street glide

 

I'm biased, but for your height you have to look at the Road Glide. I think you will find it has a lot more romm for olng legged guys than the other bikes. You'll need to do something about an after market windshield to eliminate the head buffeting but that is no big deal. For serious mile eating it is a "cruise missle!"

 

After having an '07 Fatboy, I just bought an '09 RKC this past friday and absolutely love it! It's the bike I've been waiting the entirety of my riding history to ride/own---I'm that much into this bike! When I owned the fatboy, it was, "I need this/I need that" in a feeble attempt to feel completely satisfied, but now I'm there, and the bike is bone stock---what a great feeling!
Like you, I thought about the street glide, EGS, and the regular roadking, but I've never been crazy about the batwing, and the radio doesn't make that much difference because beyond 60mph, I can't hear it anyway. I've got an mp3 player---I don't need to pay $1000 more for a radio I can't hear. I prefer the leather bags over the hard bags, and the fact that the passenger has floorboards rather than pegs steered me away from the SG. The RKC won out in the end, mainly because of the classic look that I always associated w/ a Harley.
It wasn't a terribly difficult choice for me...I wish you the best of luck in yours!

 

I think this thread proves that the MoCo knows what it is doing by having so many hard bag touring bikes to choose from. They could probably come up with several more variations and sell them all. Remember before "baggers" when everything with hard bags was a "geezer glide?" Remember when Road Glides sat on the showroom floor for months?