I may be biased since I own an Ultra, but I would say get a Limited or Ultra Classic. Take it from a guy who has driven a road sofa (Goldwing) on a 7,500 mile vacation trip and an Ultra Limited on a 6,500 mile trip. An ultra is the way to go. The gold wing was great on the highway but sucked around town. In the Limited I now have the best of both worlds; everything you need when touring and maneuverable around town. It will provide the comfort your wife will need on the longer trips and the feel you will want when riding one up. With the wife you will probably never have the packing room you would like, so you may need a trailer regardless. But I can tell you this; the Limited has a lot more storage room than my Goldwing did.


My Ultra Limited in Colorado. With the bag on the tour pan rack, my tour pak was basically empty and just my normal stuff in the saddle bags (i.e. tools, rain gear, gloves, etc.).

Don't be fooled by the emptiness of the Goldwing in this picture at the Badlands. Everything was in the cabin I was staying in. I had every compartment full, a bag on the trunk rack, and a bag in the back seat on that trip.

 

If my wife still rode I would have an roadglide ultra. My new to me Elecrta glide standard has the road king leather bags and I'm seriously thinking of putting a cheap tour pac on my it for a cross country trip next month. Nice to have lockable storeage and them things are just so handy to throw the leathers and helmet in!

 

RoadKing & Ultra same frame--just a lot of extra crapola on the Ultra. Do you need that crap? I dunno. I don't. Personally--I don't like fairings, so a RKC is my ride of choice.
Just fit it with a tour pak & good to go.

Remember--Bronson did it with Bonnie Bedelia on the back on a Sporty.

 

You ask about first year of fuel injection. Does that mean you are buying used and possibly something more than a few years old? If buying used the person may have done things to the bike that nullify a lot of the suggestions in this thread. If buying new and money isn't really an issue then definitely get the Ultra. You will not be disappointed and more importantly the wifey will be happy. Oh, and you'll be riding it a lot more than you think.

Another thing to think about is how much it'll cost to add that Tour Pack to a RK. How much it'll cost to add anything to the RK that would come stock with the Ultra.

Usually I hear about guys that have wives limiting their purchase. Yours wants the Ultra, and you should be more than happy to give her what she wants. *nudge nudge*

 

Buy an Ultra and take off the tour pack or buy a Road King and put on a tour pack...it seems like that is your choice? See my sig picture for my Road King set up for touring and passenger comfort. Tunes are the only thing I am missing -- and perhaps a little additional protection from the elements. I don't listen to music on a bike. I rented an Ultra for one week and never had music on once.

My two cents is that the Ultra is wonderful on the road. The reduced weight of the Road King gives it an advantage over the Ultra for in-town traffic and slow-speed maneuvering. I am certain others will disagree.

 

Had a Road King Classic for 5 yrs and it was great. We did some fairly long trips on it and it did the job fine. In 08 I got my 05 Ultra and I don't know why I waited so long. We do longer trips now and my wife is very comfortable. We did a 7 hr ride the first year we got it and she said that if we didn't have a hotel room already booked, she could ride a few more hours after dinner. Never would have said that on the Road King.

 

I find these type of threads curious. Does the OP really need a forum to tell him which bike to buy in the future? Unless you're a complete noob, the benefits and weaknesses of each model are obvious. About the only thing the OP might need to do if he has never ridden a fairing bike is rent an Electra Glide Ultra, a Road Glide ultra, and compare riding them to riding behind a windshield (which I assume he's done already).

He'll obviously need a tour pack, so factor that cost into a RK purchase. If he doesn't like a tour pack all of the time, factor a quick detach into the price of a EG, RG, or RK.

 

You could get FI in '95. But when did they start to do FI exclusively?

 

I have a 08 Ultra Classic and take a big trip every year. Riding two up, your wife will love the Ultra. Try and test ride both and I bet she says the Ultra. Good luck and ride safe.

 

Do it for your wife,get the ultra...........