Also keep in mind the street glide. You have the benefit of the fairing and radio, without the tour pack so its not quite as heavy. Also, I beleive it is lowered straight from the factory like the road king custom.

 

I stopped by the dealership again to validate my sanity. After sitting on an SG, Road Glide, and Road King, I have decided to stay the course with the RK. As someone stated earlier, perhaps the top-heaviness is more perceived than real but I still like the “look” of the RK. As others have pointed out, I should have said I was taking a step sideways rather than backwards. They are all (touring bikes) good choices and I don’t think I could go wrong with any of them. Thanks for all of your comments.

 

YES YOU ARE CRAZY
Ride a 09/10 Ultra and then decide. You are the one who needs to comfortable with your ride.

 

There's only one way to find out: pull the trigger on the RKC and report back here in 3 months.

 

I wouldn't , but then I have no problem handling the ultra, 1 or 2 up.

 

Not if you want a Road King.

 

I think how the individual "handles" the weight of an Ultra can be as much an issue of how they perceive the weight as anything but as an Ultra owner, I can tell you that the bike can be a bit on the top heavy side, especially when it's loaded for a trip. That batwing fairing, by itself, weighs a bit more than the RK's windshield and that doesn't include the radios and extra gauges the RK doesn't have. The tour pack is a "large" piece of luggage and holds a LOT of stuff. It's very easy to pack more weight into the thing than Harley says it's rated to carry. That weight is relatively high on the bike and you will feel it back there when the bike is loaded up. Is it a big deal most of the time? Not to me it's not but it can cause issues if you get careless.

The first trip I took on my Ultra, I was parking it at a Waffle House that had a slightly off camber parking lot. I miss balanced the bike and it got "just" far enough over that I couldn't hold it without risking hurting myself so I just guided it to the ground. The bike wasn't moving so I didn't even scratch the crash bars. The only thing damaged was my ego and the only way I was going to pick it back up again was to unload that tour pack first. Fortunately, a couple of customers in the restaurant saw what happened and came out to help me right the bike. They were both motorcyclists too and said they'd "been there, done that." I was more embarrassed than anything else but truly appreciated the help at the time.

Bottom line is, an Ultra is going to be slightly more top heavy than a Road King will be. It's just the nature of the beast. For me, the trade off is well worth it. I'm lovin' my Ultra!

Go with what makes you happiest!

Ride Safe,
Steve R.

 

I went from a Street Glide to a Roadking. Not one regret.