Hello everyone,

I am new here and I have never owned a Harley. Currently, I own a 2004 Moto Guzzi LeMans. Recently I test rode an 07 Street Glide, 07 and 06 Road King Classic, and an 07 Heritage Softail. Consequently, I fell in love with them. I think I am beginning to understand what all of the hype is about. I want a black road king classic and am condidering a used one. Are there any specific model years I should avoid. I have been looking at everything from 2000 to 2006. My local dealer advised me to stay away from 2000 to 2003 but didn't tell me why. I love the 07's but am afraid of financing 20k. I would appreciate any input you guys are willing to share.

Thanks

 

Welcome aboard You might be able to find one heck of a deal on a brand new 06 leftover. I would check around first. I bought an '04 used and have no problems with it. Don't know what the issues are with the 00-03 models. Some of the 06's have the 25 and 8 degree injector issue where they swap one for the other to correct the problem.

 

Buddy of mine has a 2001 and hasn't had a bit of trouble, and another friend has a 2006 and it's been fine since the 25 injectors were installed.

Should be some '06 left overs at "decent" price.

Sammi

 

IMO the 02 to 05 are the best if not buying a 07 however there are plenty of great bikes out there in any year. 02 was the first year of the current fuel injection system which is much better than before or carberators models were good as well. The 06 is good but has had a host of little problems, radio, bad motor mounts, fuel injectors and some had a 4th gear whine. You can find all this by searching on this forum. It really just depends on you finding the right bike at what you want to pay, when looking for used I always try and buy from the original owner who has kept records on his bike. You never know the story on used bikes from dealers although a lot of those one owner bikes will be at your harley dealer and a warranty can be purchased on them.

 

Welcome to the forum and the world of Harley- Davidson. I would like to know why your saleman advised against motorcycles of the model years 2000 to 2003. Was he refering to the Road King only, or all models? I bought an '01 Electra Glide Classic and it is a very fine piece of machinery. I have not heard any of my friends complain about their bikes and there are several Road Kings within those years you mentioned. I don't think you can go wrong with any of them, so go for it. Be forewarned, you are about to fall insanely and hopelessly in love.

 

a friend of mine bought a 99 rk that was fuel injected and hasn't had a minutes trouble out of it. I think harley owners tend to take better care of their machines than some of the other folks. not sure about that just speculating. The people I know with harleys are pretty careful with them and sticklers for the maintennce. Staffford

 

I know of no issues with the 2000 to 2003 year models unless they are injected. I think there was a problem of sorts with early fuel injection, and there might have been a cam bearing problem with the 2000 and very early 2001 model twin cams. Other than that you should be fine.

My wife has a twin cam 2001 Heritage and she has had no problems with it at all.

I agree with the others however, you should be able to find a very late model at a decent price due to the 2007 craze that is prevailant right now.

Regards,

Bill

 

Take a look at mine, it's an 06 with LOTS of extras and 5000 miles. Only 3 months old....pics here:

http://www.pbase.com/pkohler/inbox

16,500 with 21000 invested....runs awesome. Let me know if you need my number.

Paul

BTW I have an Ultra on order...that's why I'm sellilng

 

Just purchase a 2006 Roadking Standard for $16,000.00 with 9 miles. Two weeks later 420 miles and no problems.

[IMG]local://upfiles/18560/45756B1DC3554EF1A709FFEC2AD68C99.jpg[/IMG]

 

There were lots of changes made during the early years of the twin cams. Suspension, brakes, axle sizes, EFI, etc... The '99 and early '00 had cam bearing issues. In '00 or there abouts they changed to better brakes. Then in '01 or so, better suspension. In '01 they moved to Delphi EFI that was better than the MM EFI. Some '01-'03 Delphi EFI's have a vin number issue in the ECM that is easily corrected by a dealer. In '03 is when they changed the left side engine case bearing to a weaker bearing type. IMO, the '01-'02 HD's (not model specific) are some of the better chassis to build on if you want to build the engine a little more radical than a typical street build. My personal opinion is that the 2002 models have all the improvements and engine designs that I am looking for. That doesn't mean all the rest are junk. All the years are good but the price should be considered according to what year and future maintenance will be required. I would pay less for a '99 with 3 miles than I would an '02 with 30,000 miles.