I had the tach in the speedo on the RKC but now drive the faired bikes and really don't want to go back.

 

You're right about 1 thing ---- to each his own. I'd never trade my Ultra for a RK. I like having the tourpak. I like the fairing even more. Not saying I'm right & you're wrong. Just my opinion.

 

I'll start out by saying that I'm not dissing the Road King here. I had 5 RK's over 10 years as police motors and loved 'em all. Until I got my '08 FLHTP. I was hooked on the ElectraGlide forevermore! So much so that I bought a '04 UltraClassic Stage II 10 months later and have never looked back. If I could have a second bike, it would be a King absolutely.

OP, you mentioned buffeting. I experience a little more with the fairing bike vs. the windshield bike, but not enough to make a difference. The factory lowers don't seem to affect the engine temps one way or the other. They channel air onto the cooling fins and my '04 runs cooler than my '08 FLHTP which does not have lowers (although the '08 has the 103ci).

My advice is to rent a Road King for at least a weekend, preferably a week to truly experience the bike. Perhaps you will prefer the RK over the EG. Both bikes are remarkably similar in handling, power and ride. We actually have both in our police fleet, although EG's constitute the majority. Vitually all of the officers prefer the EG over the RK, and we ride in a city enviroment. Most have Ultras as their personal bikes I might add.

I love the Road King, and would love to own one to modify and play with. But my true love is the ElectraGlide. Don't jump too quick on this decision.

 

You talkvabout simplicity, then talk about lowers and music, etc. Keep your Ultra, put a detachable mount on for the tour pak, and a shorty windshield for the fairing. Then you can convert it when ever you want to, to a Street Glide Ultra.

 

I went from an Ultra to a Road King last year for the exact same reason. I found the bulk of our riding more around town and country twisties. I love my RK for our kind of riding. If we did a lot of long highway riding I would have stuck with the Ultra. Just my preference, everybody's different.
I find little to no buffeting with the windshield. I did not like the handlebars (you will see a lot of complaints about them on the forum) and now have Wild One Chubby 10" mini apes on it and they are just right for me.
I purchased a Boom windshield mounted stereo that I haven't installed yet. I saw a lot of good comments about them on the forum vs the handlebar mounted version. I am waiting for some cables that I ordered for it. I am using the Boom pouch to mount the Iphone on the tank. I ordered some cables online that will plug into the Iphone then split into a AUX cable to the stereo and then goes to another cable from the battery tender harness that has a charger built into it. That way you can listen and charge at the same time. I will be posting a thread when I do that.
Good luck with whatever you choose to do.

 

Man I don't know anyone that has taken that sort of step down but I would be hard pressed to make that sort of transition. I went from a perfectly good Road King Classic to an Ultra Classic mainly because of the stereo, full fairing and lowers. The difference in the ride from a RKC to an Ultra Classic was a fairly improved experience as well. If you're having a few reservations you may want to think about it for a little while longer. That is unless you already have.

If you haven't already, you might want to consider taking the tour pak off before switching to a Road King. I know the handling was noticeably different after I removed my tour pak.

 

I went from the Ultra Limited to get away from these things, the stereo sucked, I hated the fairing and the lowers made the ride a lot hotter. Definitely personal choice, but I'm happy with what I did.

 

I've had 2 Road King (FLHR's) and I miss 'em. My EGC is a great motorcycle, especially for 2-up riding, but I don't ride 2-up much and could do nicley with a Road King again. If I buy another motorcyle, I'll have a Road King in my sights.

 

The best of both worlds here.