I’m curious to see if there are many riders that have gone from an Ultra to a Road King. I currently have an Ultra and like the added creature comforts but I find myself drawn to the Road King’s simplicity. Is there anyone who has made such a change? I do have a few reservations but I think they are easily overcome with the help of the HD accessories catalog. Here are a few thoughts I’ve been having and would be interested in hearing from the RK crowd.

1) Highway riding. My ultra is a GREAT highway machine but in some instances (over 80’s and heading into a headwind) there can be some buffeting. That’s the nature of the beast with a fairing and it’s not often. My concern is that I haven’t owned an un-faired bike in several years and wonder how well the stock RK windshield works.

2) Lowers. Anyone have a picture of a RK with lowers? I love mine on the highway but hate them around town in the summer. Anyone who’s gone from an Ultra to a Road King miss their lowers?

3) Tunes. I see that HD has introduced a sleek looking windshield mounted speaker system in the “boom” line up. I toyed with it at the local dealer and it seemed crystal clear. I’d be interested in the windshield mounted system and not the bar mounted system. Anyone have experience with the new windshield mounted speaker system? Can you hear the music at all speeds?

4) Call me a Sally but I’m too damn used to riding with a Tachometer. What tach have guys and gals added to their Road King? I see a few very nice looking units in the accessories catalog but does anyone find it annoying to look DOWN at their tach while riding?


Any experiences you guys have had or any advice you wish to share would be well received. I don’t have the luxury of being able to own 2 bikes. If it helps, here is a few points that might help with your opinions. I ride to and from work 30 miles each way in heavy Boston traffic but enjoy miles and miles of secondary roads in the evenings and on the weekends. I also do a fair amount of regional touring where there decent amount of highway riding involved. I’m a small fella. 5’8” -165lbs. The weight of the Ultra has NOT been an issue but I’d expect the RK’s lighter curb weight might be a strong point if anything.

I have no REAL plans to trade in my 2010 ultra as of today but it can’t hurt to have all my ducks in a row so to speak. And ya never know what tomorrow might bring.

Thanks,
Tony

 

Some pictures for you. I love my King. I think it is the best of both worlds highway and street cruising.

 

I have been a RK owner for 20 months now and I can reply to a couple of your points;

I rode several UC's and SG's and one RG before I bought my RK

I can tell you first hand that there is no buffetting issues with an RK stock shield (I am 6'2")
the shield is perfect for me. We just did a sustained ride at speeds over 80mph and no wind issues from the side or the front.

I have HD fabric lowers on my RK and can remove them in less than a minute and put them in my saddlebags!! I'm going to convert over to Airlite lowers as they are much better looking and effective (they are fabric as well) and can be put into saddlebags as well.

There are a lot of guys that have fixed lower fairings here - one that immediately comes to mind is TexasRapier - He has a really cool RK that has a removable fairing - lowers - etc
you might want to check him out.

There is a bracket that attaches to the handlebars for a tachometer - all police RK's have them standard and I'm sure that would be an easy "fix" for you as well.

I really like my RK and love being able to take off the shield once in a while and ride without it. It just seems like it is more of a "basic" motorcycle than the "fairing" style bikes JMO

 

I too have an Ultra, and since my wife has started to barely ride along anymore I am finding my self with too much and too heavy of a bike for around town, fine on the highway though. I have also missed the simplicity of my old RKC, but I like having a fairing and tunes. I had a chance to ride a friends RGC for a while one day on a good trip we did. The RGC to me combines everything I like about the King with the things I like about the Ultra, and even better. A lot of our days down here are nice weather wise but the freeways get windy as all hell, the fixed fairing on the RGC cuts through the wind better than the batwing bikes IMHO, and the steering (handlebars) are light and responsive like the RK. Not having all the extra too dads makes the bike feel much lighter too. I know I could just as easily strip things off of my bike, but then I think I'm taking a top of the line model and turning it into something it's not. I also like the more "in the bike" feel the RGC gives you, VS the on the top "scooter" feel of the Ultra. The Ultra is a great bike and I like mine, just prefer the RG "for me". IF I have a say in it I will be on my first shark nose this riding season.

Good luck with whatever you choose.

 

I have the new HD Speedo/Tach for Road Kings , and I like it. Shows what gear you are in to. Hundreds of back colors to choose from. Check 'em out at the dealer, my dealer has one that goes thru the paces for you. Plug and play, easy install.

 

Tony - I ride my RKC around Boston and love it vs a full fairing bike. Different strokes for differnent folks. I hardly ever put on the windshield, only if I have a long highway ride, I love the look and feel of a Road King without the windshield and I don't really want to hear a radio when I'm riding. if you love hearing tunes, you might want to keep the Ultra. Take a RK out for a ride, if you like the simplicity of the bike then it might be for you. If you like the extra add ons of the Ultra, the it might be hard to replace that.

 

I traded my 11 Limited for a new 11 RKC last summer. I couldn't be happier. The RKC just is an awesome machine. The Limited was more bike than I needed for the type of riding I do.

 

You can see my tach in my sig pic. I have no problems looking at it. I actually look at it more than my speedo.

 

I have an EGC, but think the RK with a Dragonfly or Quadzilla fairing would be a bit more flexible for different riding conditions. I think being able to quick-swap a fairing/windshield/plain front, and a QD tourpack would give a platform for almost any type of riding.

I've never had lowers, but on a RK I imagine they would be the place for speakers.

 

Windshield mounted speaker was good for me and I wear a full face.