I have had a 2010 RKC for almost two years now and here are my thoughts. I love the look of the bike, and the ride is excellent. I am tall, so I put the Tall Boy seat on it and that gave me a little more room. What I didn't consider is that the leather bags require more attention than the hard bags to keep them looking good. Also, they don't lock. That is my biggest regret. I know you can put on aftermarket locks, but I have read that they get out of alignment and are hard to lock sometimes. I bought locking luggage straps to go around the bags, but when the pipes are hot, you have to be very careful to avoid a burn to your hand or to the strap. I always ride with gloves on and I'm glad I do because many bugs and bees have hit the gloves. Still, I am very happy with my RKC. It is a dream to ride.

 

A simple and satisfactory bag locking solution that I found is the Ponderosa Saddlebag locks which replace the existing latches on the bags. http://www.saddlebaglidlocks.com/ Will they stop a determined thief? No, but neither will the locks on hardbags which you can jimmy with a screwdriver. But they will thwart an opportunistic thief who wants to see what's in the bags. Here is a video about the install. The video shows installation on Heritage bags, but it's the same on the RKC.

 

Must be a fairly common issue. I started shopping for a RK that was a couple years old. Starting thinking about how I was going to use the new bike for the long rides and that meant windscreen.I have my Fatboy for around town and I know me and if I can take the windscreen off the RK, I'll be leaving it at home because I just dont care for the look on any bike. So then I started looking for a couple year old SG. Man that was an education. Two year old SG's around here were only about a thousand less than Brand new. I went with the new SG, and its my first new motorcycle of any type.

It's also my first fairing bike, and the stereo meant nothing to me. I didnt even ride with it on for the first 500 miles. But now at 1000 I am really liking it at times. The SG's ride great but so do the RK's.

Something you might want to consider is that if this is going to be your only bike then you might like being able to take that windscreen off a RK for cruising around town making noise. I personaly think you can make a SG look pretty sporty too but some may not agree.

You've got a tuff decision to make, but its a great place to be.

Good Luck to you!

 

If you put the faring air deflectors on the faring it will help with that up draft you are getting the lowers also help a lot

 

I have owned and loved both. One is classic and the other sporty. I wish I could still have both but not realistic. Traded in my 01 RKC on an SG and although I miss it, I would not go back.

(However, after spending a couple hundred miles on a loaner RG today, I could see an RG project in my future.)

 

I was lucky and my last harley was a RKC and I really liked it but then in 07 I saw the SG and fell in love with it. Personally I really liked the fairing with all the gauges and radio so for me it was a no brainer. After having both I don't think I would ever go back to the king given the two choices because I just love the looks more. I thought the rides were similar so that didn't make a difference in my case. I don't think you will be unhappy with whatever your choice is as they are both fine bikes. BUT...go with what moves ya.

 

My Road King Classic, looking for an old Idian Chief that's needs some major TLC to passify my old school urge.

 

I just traded in my SG for a 2012 RKC. I wanted the look and nostalgia of the King. I find the ride is better than the SG on bumpy roads and tracks etc due to the 1" longer shocks on the RKC. I have 14" Wilds 1's on mine and I definitely feel in the bike, more so than the SG. I think what's most important in the decision is what bike moves you. I was happy with the SG and it had more to offer in amenities (tunes, gauges, fairing, hard bags that lock, tach) but that didn't matter. I fell in love with the RKC, WWW's, chrome profile spoked rims, no fairing, headlight with nacelle, passing lamps, leather bags. I guess the whole package spoke to me and it didn't matter if the bags locked or it had music. If you can get a feeling like that over any bike I'd say buy it.

 

I'm debating a RK and SG. I want to be able to go to Sturgis and/or Daytona or wherever and also want to be able to just ride around whenever/wherever. I'm leaning toward the SG for the better hand/arm coverage and the radio and gauges but haven't made any absolute decision yet. Good luck with your choice.

 

I had a very similar dilemma in 2008. I knew I was buying one, but I was stuck between a Heritage, a Road King, and an Electra Glide. Not a big Street Glide fan, they just don't look right to me.

Anyways, I bought a Road King then bought a detachable fairing. Best of both worlds IMO. I chose the Tsukau, but if I had to buy again I would go with the Dragonfly. Just seems better built to me. Also the radio it came with was useless when wearing gloves, I switched it out for a kenwood and I'm happy. I can use CD, radio, USB flash drive, or MP3 player with it. Also the fairing has 6x9's, so it sounds a bit better than the Harley stuff. The paint is a bit off since the bike has the Harley custom paint set, but it's not too noticeable unless you get close to it. If you had a normal Harley paint you'd probably be able to find someone to get it close.

With windshield:



Fairing: