I love the RKC look but MUST have the hard bags with the way I ride daily and use the hell out of them. The soft bags just dont look like they'd hold up to the same abuse over the long term. And the hard bags are water tight, etc.

The extra cost of the RKC is the leather, cruise control, chome spoked wheels, wide white walls, etc. Great looking bike.

 

My CHP friend who was a motor officer for many years thinks the Road King is by far the best Harley on the road because of practicality, better forward vision and price. They do look pretty cool in black with a shorter windshield. Also probably the least popular touring rig out of Yorktown... -L-

 

I ride an 07 classic. To do over I would like the hard bags for extra security. The non spoke wheels without whitewalls and the extra expense of a tube and liner. Rarely use the cruise control. It's a nice toy and some extra comfort on a long highway.

 

Style and beauty cost extra.

 

I have the 09 RKC. I like the cruise control and use it daily. Once I got the bars and seat correct for my size, I thought it was perfect.

 

The leather bags don't hold as much, are not lockable, and require more care but damn they look good. The white walls are hard to keep clean and limit your choices in replacement tires but damn they look good. The spoke wheels are hard to clean and it's nearly impossible to check the rear tire pressure but damn they look good. The Road King Standard might be more practical than the Classic but this time I don't care. I love my Road King Classic cuz damn it looks good!

 

Funny thing is in my area, Road Kings have a higher resale value than a Classic...purchased used so it guess it worked in my favor.

Oh, one thing that everyone says is the bags don't hold as much. I've found that the bags can be "distorted" to fit odd sizes that wouldn't fit in hard bags, plus you can leave the lid "open" to fit long objects that you can't do with hard bags.

 

Shee - Yit !!! - who needs practical? It's a motercycle!

 

I reconsider what I said. Just got done giving her a bath. Does look real sweet.

 

How is it hard to check the tire pressure? I just pop off my right saddlebag and put it in the greass at the gas station, etc...my whitewalls are easy to clean, I put the bike on the lift every two days and scrub 'em up and polish my wheels. Never been a problem for me.