I have an 01 Road King Classic. No problems at all. 19K. Still going strong. I think any year 00 and up is good.
JL

 

i have 01 rkc no problems except shifter shaft seal started leaking at 10k 325 dollars later it was fixed. i now have 14k miles and love every minute of it.i bought mine last year with5700 miles on it and had alot of upgrades stage 1, slip ons,k@n, few chrome pieces. i put heritage bars on it and a sundowner seat now it is perfect. a used bike well taken care of worked well for me. it was 6000 dollars cheaper than a new 05 with the extras i have . no warranty but i feel the money i saved has been worth the ride. no regrets

 

Radman
I had a 2002 Road King and the only issue I ever had besides and occasional hicup on low speed take offs. I had a right rear shock leak. No other problems. I have had my 06 since the end of July and it has stalled more than the whole time I had my 2002. 99 was the first full year of the twin if I remember correctly.
Jeff

 

Lontimegone,
I believe you are right. My local Harley salesman downplays everything other than the new 07 96 6 speed. I have ridden them both and I don't think the new 96 6 speed is worth the additional 5, 6, 7 grand over an older 88 5 speed. Maybe I will get lucky and score an older road king with with the 95 big bore kit, pipes, and touring accessories. If I get an 07 I will still have to pony up for the touring package, pipes, dynotune, etc. 19k turns into 22k real fast. Correct me if I am wrong but I think I should be able to pick up an older rkc with the extra goodies for 15k or less. You guys have been great! Thanks for all the info.

 

VERY VERY VERY satisfied owner of an 03 RKC. Did have a cam tensioner noise start around 20K, took it to the dealer and they replaced tensioner, guide, chain, and sprocket at no charge (you just gotta have the warranty). I had heard that a number of the 03 model year bikes had issues with the tensioner - failing and causing some significant internal damage as you never know where those valves are sitting when the piston hits TDC. Although mine wasn't in a soon to fail condition, the dealer replaced it because they already had the thing apart and they didn't want to see me back in another 5000 miles with a failure - that might have been an ugly moment...

Have had absolutely no other mechanical or electrical problems with the bike at all... do have a problem keeping rubber under it though... and at $200 a tire for the ganster white walls it's a drag that I'm replacing them every 10K.

You won't be sorry regardless of which ride you end up with... they're all HD. It's a tough choice, but one you'll be glad to make.

Oh yeah, current odometer on the 03 is just a hair over 39k.

 

FWIW, my '04 was purchased in April of this year. When bought it had 15,752 miles on the clock. It was a Fly and Ride rental through HD so it was moco owned and had to get serviced regularly. I have all the service records. The only issue that people told me to look out for was that since it was a rental it might have been abused, but this wasn't the case. The bike is totally awesome and I paid $15k+ for it. I have had a blast making it my own with all the modifications and chrome. I think you would be fine with an '04 for $15k

 

You should be able to pick up a very good, but not new bike for $15k. Watch Cycle Trader, your local paper and ebay. Then just check it out closely before you buy and expect to do a complete service after you buy. With the money you save you can do all sorts things to customize the bike to your liking.

 

Wife rides a 99 Road King, never a problem. I did install S&S 510 G cams and gears in it at 16000 miles.

 

I have 64k on mine. No major problems to say.