i've had a fairing bike (2 ultras with detach tour pak) for the last 6 years....until this year. i agonized over fairing vs none for months. i like the tunes too. when the 2013 SERK cam out - it was a perfect match for me. i like the lowers and the bike actually cuts through the wind better than the fairing did. i suspect my hand will get a little colder in the next few months, but all things considered - the RK is for me. despite what others say, i've noticed a big difference in front end weight and the whole bike weighs much less. it feels more nimble to me.

good luck - tough decision.

tin

 

RKC for me. I don't like having a fairing in front of me and like others have said, I am happy with the wind and my thoughts....no tunes for me. BTW, I added a matching tour pak and have been on several long trips with no packing or fatigue issues at all.

 

How much two up do you plan on? The rear seat on the RKC (if it is still the factory seat) is very narrow. My wife said it was like sitting on the narrow side of a 2 x 4. Putting on a different seat is not a major expense after buying the whole package, but it is an extra chunk of money you might not have planned on. Beyond that, it is more a matter of taste. I spent a little extra turning a Road King Classic back into a Road King because I didn't like the spoked wheels, white wall tires, leather bags and the reverse slash on the mufflers. It is mostly a matter of personal taste, can't imagine you would be disappointed in either machine.

 

Did the same thing as above with my RKC.

Comes down to:
How tall are you, and how much do you weigh.
Street Glide is suited better to shorter lighter riders.
At 6'3" and 235, the SG felt small and bottomed out on the test ride. Had enough of that with my Fatboy.
Went with the RKC, and am very happy. I do long trips, and don't miss the radio. Much more comfortable ride. Also you get to take the windshield off.

 

This. I love my RKC because it's good at so many things. I can leave the windshield on and load it up with my luggage for a trip, or I can take it down for when I'm cruising around town.

Having a radio is nice I guess, but I can use my phone and earbuds if I need music. I just like the classic stripped down look of my bike more, and it does everything I need it to do.

 

For me...it's the RK. I can only have one bike and the versitility of the RK is fantastic. No windshield...windshield...detachable fairing...soft lowers...detachable tour pak...any combination thereof.

It's good for me. And if I want tunes I have the detachable fairing.

Besides it's HD's best looking bike.

 

I bought my RKC because I wanted a motorcycle that looked the way they did 50 years ago.

I've ridden both Ultras (Road Glide and Electra Glide) and feel that the fairings are TOO protective. In hotter weather I'm hot in just a T-shirt behind a fairing. The Road King windshield lets just the right amount of air by to stay comfortable when moving. Having said that, when it's 40 degrees in November, it would be nice to have a fairing and lowers.

A stereo and speakers on a motorcycle are as useful as **** on a bull.

Oh, I too have turned my RKC into a Road King.

 

To weigh in with what appears to be a minority opinion, I dislike the look of a fairing and hard bags and always have. Way too much plastic on a motorcycle for me. Perhaps it is my age, but a Road King Classic to me is what a Harley is supposed to look like. I have no use for a radio on a motorcycle. If I had one, I wouldn't use it. If I wanted one, I'd use an iPod and earbuds and hear better anyway.

But personal preferences aside, do a search on the forum for "buffeting" and you will see that it is predominantly a fairing related complaint. Also, there are lots of complaints about the ride on a street glide, especially for larger riders or those who ride 2-up frequently, because of the reduced shock travel. And, despite what an earlier poster said, the Street Glide is slightly LESS nimble in the twisties than the Road King. The lean angles on a '12 Street Glide are 32° right and 29° left as compared to the RKC at 33° right and 31° left. The extra weight of the fairing on the front end also hampers maneuverability.

All that being said, both are great bikes, both are GREAT for touring (I've got 15,000 miles on my RKC so far). Get what YOU like. We can't tell you what you should prefer.

 

I've had both. As much as I like a RK,I would never go back. I ride all year and to me the fairing gives the best protection. Radio,gauges,and looks are all just extra points.

 

I went with the RKC. I like how it looked better. Also the fairing really freaked me out. Behind the fairing, I can't see what's in front of the bike. I'm used to riding sport bikes, where you can see the ground right in front of you and with a fairing I can't see the road for about 15-20 feet in front of me. The sales guy said "at that point", it's too late to do anything about it anyway" but that's just stupid. It just felt like riding with blinders on...especially on a SG, since the rear is lowered an inch you're sitting even lower behind the fairing. I tried several times to lean to like the fairing, but it just doesn't do it for me.

I like my RKC with low bars (I got Wild Ones 508s) and the windshield off. The wind doesn't really bother me, even with no windshield I get better wind protection than I did on my Buell.