Hello and thanks in advance to anyone who give advice.
Like the title says I am new here, I am about to be new to HD's.
in about a month and a half I will take delivery of a 2008 road king classic 105 ann. edition.
That being said I don't know crap about harleys.
I have only owned one bike and it was an enduro. Put an unbeleavable amount of miles on it.
So, Please can you guys give me some idea of what to expect?
A few questions I have are:
Does this bike handle well, how about in bad weather ( I tend to ride here in arizona rain or shine, even some snow)
Whats the difference between a road king classic and one that isn't a classic?
How many miles will it go before I need to change a tire or drive belt?
What add ons would you guys suggest?
Hey thanks again and sorry to be such a newbe.
Ned

 

General disclaimer. The following comments are just opinion. Yes, yours may vary.

Harley's Road King is one of my favorite rides, because its built on their Touring frame but resembles the profile of a Harley built on a shorter wheelbase. It's ride is one of the smoothest, IMO, due in part to twin gas shocks that can be adjusted for the weight you expect to be carrying on the bike. At around 850 lbs wet stock, its a stable bike on the highway, and ridden without a windshield it offers the cruiser style of a smaller bike with the ride and long-distance comfort and capacity of a touring bike. Its also versatile, you can add on removeable windshields, fairings, and luggage-carrying capacity if you don't go touring real often.

What it doesn't offer is either the maneuverability of the smaller bikes, or the long-range comfort of fairings, luggage, music, and accessories of the full-dress Ultras, etc. You can morph it into something else, but that gets expensive...

But depending on what sort of riding you're into, Road Kings are great bikes.

For the rest of it, on the control bar across the top of this page - 7 selections from either the right or left side - is the Search button. Click on it, then advanced search, then enter key words regarding your new Classic. There are enough threads in the archives to keep you reading for quite awhile, and lots of your questions will already have been asked and answered. (Along with a couple you likely haven't thought of yet.)

Welcome to the board, and hope you enjoy the place.

 

If you are too old for a dyna and too young for an ultra
the king is the right bike for youand the biggest difference
between the road king and the road king classic is the
saddle bags and the white wall tires and the spoke wheels
that is about it except for the money
Hey welcome to the forum from Texas I hope you enjoy the
read between the rides

 

I have had a couple of enduro bikes, very different bikes to the Road King. I have found my RK to be very smooth on the road and very comfortable. It handles highways and fast 'A roads' really well. Even on minor tight roads it is pretty nimble for such a heavy bike, but on those types of road you wont get the same feedback as you would on a lighter enduro bike. It's a heavy bike so it is going to be slower handling compared to a lighter enduro but that does not mean it does not handle, you will be surprised the pace you can keep up.

As for bad weather when I test rode the RK it was blowing a gale with a bad crosswind, on the dual carriageway a group of bikes were huddled together hardly doing the speed limit, there was a guy on a Bandit looked as unhappy as you can look on a bike, I sailed past them at 80 giving them a cheery wave that is how stable a bike of that weight is! I find the windshield gives pretty decent protection as well.

My RK is new and the engine has not loosened up yet (takes around 5 or 6 K at least) but it does its job. You wont have the same acceleration as a street bike but masses of torque will compensate when you are doing long mile trips. The main issue you might have is the weight of it when it comes to man handling or really tight spaces but you get use to it and it is very well balanced. I have no trouble with slow speed riding on it. A bagger is a very different ride not only to other bikes but also to other Harleys. There are Harley riders who don't like the ride of baggers. The one thing to remember is that you tend to 'sit on' a RK as opposed to 'sit in' to the bike. If you find after awhile you are not as keen on the 'sit on' position it is possible to mod the bike for a 'sit in' ride. Just remember the beauty of a Harley is you can mod the way you want it.

As for add bits, there are simply too many to mention, spend a evening with a beer looking at the possibilities! Enjoy your ride.

 

you sure came to the right place to learn about your new roadking. there is a whole lot of very useful information in here. welcome.

 

The King is a very versatile bike. You can get many different looks with one bike, it's awesome! As far as comfort you will be able to easily ride 300 - 600 miles a day with the bike properly set-up. The first mods I would recommend are 1. A new seat, the stock seat sucks! 2. New handle bars as the stock handle bars also suck! As stated these are very heavy bikes but they really role down the road and are amazingly nimble in corners. The motors IMO are bullet proof for the most part. I bought mine new in 05 and have not had one single issue with it. You will here many OP's on here say they love their bike and really it is the truth. The Harley's have some much class that it gives them a 10 on the coolness factor.

 

I am into comfort while maintaining looks of bike,
you may wish to change when possible and over time:
1- original handle bars
2- original seat change-out to HD road king classic sun downer-passenger seat area is small on original.
3- get passenger detach. backrest if you carry passengers and drivers backrest if you travel longer distances.
4- windshield may or may not be in line of site, may consider a lower shield like a clearview w/recurve.
5-the leather road king classic guard bags that go in front of the saddle bags and the road king classic windshield bag add a little more space for stuff.

 

consider purchase of service manual..about $50
the parts manual is about another $50 and will provide more pictures and will have part numbers..
If you work on your bike it is a requirement to have at least the service manual.
If you take your bike in for service it is still good to have in order to save down time for really minor stuff.
Several places online provide harley parts at 20% off or a bit more and no tax.
chicago harley, surdyke harley, zannotti etc.

 

You will like the RK. Had one for a few years myself. Good handling and no problems. Things I changed/added were: added windshield, added passenger backrest, changed exhaust to V&H, changed airbox, added tuner, other bling things. Enjoy and welcome from VA.

 

RKC has cruise, others not. Has easy detach WS. Has passenger boards. Has spokes and WWW that I like neither of. Sits higher than other RKs. I will agree w/ changing seat, bars and adding bitch bar and riding bar and hwy pegs. I average 6k on a rear tire but I run the schit outta mine. With the 105, my I'd bet my $ you'll be lucky to get 5K lol. Expect A LOT of miles out of belt. You WILL NOT be disappointed in you RK. Best of luck. Ride hard!