I have 38,000 miles on my 04 Road King with no handling issues.

 

I had an 07, now I have a 10, the 10 does handle better, but as one of the other gentlemen posted buy the tour link from progressive, it makes a difference. I didn't notice too many handling issues until after 90mph, curves were fine, just depends on the way you ride and what you like. If you can afford it, get a newer bike, if not you will be fine with the 07, just don't do any demo rides on an 09 up, that's when the temptation gets you.

 

I went from a '99 Road King to an '09 Police Road King, back to an '03 Electraglide Classic. And had the Deuce the whole time too.(can't compare Touring to the handleing of an FX, different animal)
The reason,,, I thought I needed a new bike. My '99 was beautiful and never did anything to deserve being traded in. I had the '09 for 9 months, yes they handle much better. But with that their heavier, wider and I just couldn't get the warm and fuzzy with it no matter what I did to it. It also got a bad vibration that couldn't be found (crank runout.005. I knew what it was). So I traded it in and did a buyers assist on my '03 EG. My Wife's administator at work ordered it new and I talked him into selling it. 7K miles and all the extras that came with it. No looking back.

 

I say go for it! I live in the mountains and we have plenty of "twisties" here. My 07 SG was a very good handling scoot from the day I bought it. However, I did intsall a True-track in order to prevent any of the weave/wobble problems that some people have experienced. There are other, less expensive, after market devices out there that give you options.

Frankly, I could not ask for a bike to handle better than this one for the way I ride.

 

I have an '06 Street Glide with 30K on it and have never felt a wobble or had squirrals in the frame.

Seriously - unless you attempt to ride it like a crotch rocket you will never have an issue.

Keep in mind that companies are now marketing the same frame kits that were supposed to save your life if you had the old touring bikes for the "new and improved" frames on the newer touring bikes. What does this tell you?

I doubt you will ever feel a wobble with an older King. Remember - this forum is no differnet than any other internet forum. You should only believe 1/2 of what you read and question the other 1/2.

 

Guys who have put on stablizer kits seem happy. Like this one: http://www.true-track.com/
There are several companies though.

 

Riding the twisties hard is no problem with the older frame. Where I have seen problems is riding in the mountains at 75MPH+ on a sweeper and hit a dip or bump in the road can unsettle the bike. I installed the Bagger Brace and switched to Dunlop E3s, and put SE oil in the front shocks. Now if I hit a bump just wrong the rear will swing once and settle back down. So it's not really a problem anymore. I tend to think the new frame is a bit of hype. I think the D402s on the older bikes are more of a handling issue than the frame.

 

I have an 06 Ultra and I was able to keep up with the HD sporttys all day long. I had no problems even when riding double. They might get away from me on the get-go but I would catch them sooner or later. I have run the Tail of the dragon a couple of times. No issues here. Go for it.

 

+1

Everything I have read states this fixes the "wiggle" in earlier frames.

That said, the "earlier" frame was made for MANY years, and is a good setup.

Problem with the earlier bikes, especially 99-05 are the crappy cam chain tenshioners. The first fuel injection systems were made by Magnelli-Marelli and really suck compared to the newer Delphi system.

Also earlier bikes have a 5 speed versus a 6-speed.

~Joe

 

The problem isn't the frame, it's the rubber mounts.

Two or three aftermarket fixes for the older bikes make a huge difference.

1) better tires. E3s are a low-cost fix
2) swingarm stabilizer link. Progressive, Bagger Brace, true track, whatever you get a deal on. They all work about the same

These two things alone go a long way to curing the bagger wobble.

There's other things you can do, like upgrade the swingarm bushings and front motor mount, and upgrade the shocks. It's not difficult at all to tighten up the handling, and there's absolutely nothing wrong with the older frame.

The 07s are the last bikes with cable throttle and the 5 gallon fuel tank, which I prefer for its appearance (although the extra capacity of the 6 gallon tank isn't a bad trade-off).