I ride long days on the highways and super slab. The only thing I'm interested in is comfort. I hate music on a ride. I live in a warm climate so keeping warm is not an issue either.

Which bike is going to give me a more comfortable ride with "cleaner" air flow and no helmet buffeting..... The RK windshield or EG fairing?

I cant test ride or rent the RK or the EG to find out for myself cause we dont have that luxury here in Western Australia!!!! and the dealer only has a SG which I'm not interested in.

So, to all you experienced and helpful folk..... Thanks for sharing your experience.

 

I had a 2006 RK and just traded on a 09 Ultra. Ultra is the ultimate comfort bike, you can change shield, take lower fairings on or off, it now has adjustable fairing wings and adjustable wind deflectors on lowers. The RK was a more nimble ride, maybe a little more of a hot rod ride. I enjoyed both equally. Only changed because I had owned an 03 Ultra and wife showed a def pref for the Ultra, so to keep her riding with me, switched back.

 

X2 on the RK part as I previously owned RKC, Love the bike so much especially it's beach handlebars, but comfort and storage wasn't there so I upgraded to Ultra too. Can't beat a Lazy Boy recliner bike, LOL. My Linda agrees and loves to ride on our trips.

Good Luck with your choice,

Thorey

 

This is my second king, I love the hot rod factor but I throw on the shield for a longer cruise, I'm sure the ultra is as comfy as a couch, but storage for a long trip can be accomodated with a tourpak. Just my .02 pennies.

 

Having had both, my preference for a hot climate would be the RK. Never had wind buffeting especialially if you fit the fork mounted deflectors. The only downside would be no tour pak or radio, which you don't want anyways. The RK can be fiited with a batwing if later desired as well as a tour pack or luggage rack. Easier low speed handling and less weight.

 

I had both and the rk was just as comfortable as the eg

 

Before I bought my Ultra, I rented a RK and EGlide for a day each. I thought I was buying a RK and only took the EGlide out for something to compare it to. By the time I finished my day on the EGlide, I knew I couldn't make the smile any bigger with the RK.

With all the vents on the Ultra you can control the amount of air around you. Both will be hot if you are caught in downtown Perth in the middle of your summer. As far as comfort goes, I found them both very comfortable for long days.

 

Think of the Ultra as a sedan and the RK as a convertible. No matter what the weather, you've always got a fairing in front of you on the Ultra. But on a nice day you can pop the windshield off an RK in seconds and enjoy the breeze. Or leave it on.

I've got the shield on my bike during the winter and it, together with the handlebar covers shown below, I get wind protection equal to that afforded by the batwing.


About buffeting, it all depends on your height. I'm 5'7" with a 30" inseam and the RK's windshield fits me to a T. Buffeting is not a problem. And with the windshield off the bike it's all clean air going around you.




That said, all our opinions really amount to nothing. You really need to test ride both bikes though, and see which one YOU like better.

 

I rode my '99 Road King and loved it until I bought my '07 FLHTC. Having said that I will say that I found the stock Road King seat and bars to be much less comfortable than the Classic. For that reason I put a tall boy Electra Glide style seat and bars on the Road King and loved them. I also put a tall boy seat and detachable tour pak on my FLHTC. In stock trim I would say the Electra Glide is the more comfortable.

 

I just came from an '05 Electra Glide Classic and am now on an '09 Road King. Both are equally comfortable. Remember the RK and EG are the same bike, just one has a batwing and tourpak and the other does not.

The RK with the standard windshield gives good wind protection - about equal to my EG Classic with a 10" windshield on it in my opinion. Yet of course the RK has the option of no windshield at all which in HOT weather is a nice alternative as I found my EG blocked a bit too much wind so that the zipper-vents of my leather jacket didn't really flow air as well as they should.

If you want a tourpak it's an easy add-on for a RK. If you don't care about a radio then that's one of the biggest points of the batwing fans.

I went to the RK this time cuz I've always LOVED the RK and it's Classic/Retro styling. The radio on the EG was nice, but I can do with or without it. An iPod works fine for me and there are some compact speakers that will play an MP3 player thru them if you want some sound at some point in time later.

Either is a great bike. If you want a Tourpak and batwing then you'll save alot of money by just going with the EG Classic and using a detachable mount for the tourpak when you need it for bigger road trips. I kept my EG stripped down 99% of the time. Now with the RK I'm very happy - the ride is very comfortable, the bike is easy to handle and a joy to ride.