That's worthy of consideration.......

 

Northern Glide, I'm pondering the same change. Heading to my local dealers
Sat. to ride a RK. They have the HD demo fleet in town this weekend. Will
try to post my impressions over my LTD.

 

Tough decision indeed , been considering trading my street glide for a road king myself

 

Rent one first.

 

I traded in a 2009 SG on 21 June for a 2014 RK. Bought the SG new in 2009 with 18k on the odometer on trade-in day. I am not anti-fairing, just prefer a clear shield in front with the capability to see all the road in front of the bike. Only gauges I need are the speedometer and fuel. Dont miss the tunes. Have all my tunes on the Zumo 550 SD card with a headst and Sena bluetooth headset. The wind on the RK with the shield is negligible compared to the SG with the fairing. There is a relatively small amount of wind on the hands and the usual wind around the legs. The shield deflects the wind over top and around me and my wife when she rides. By the way, my wife said the RK stock seat has more cushion and is significantly a better and softer ride compared to the 2009 SG Sundowner seat. The RK handles turns easier and has a far better ride on stock suspension compared to the SG double forktube cartridge front and HD premium adjustable rear suspensions.

I was looking at RK's over a year before I decided on the red 2014 RK. I have no regrets and glad I made the switch.

 

If you're usually making short trips solo, get the road king. it's easier to handle and you can take the windshield off.

 

If you only do short rides, why not go with a dyna or softail and ride something really light?
ps I'm biased...

 

A good friend of mine had two RK's but one day gave in to the temptation at the dealership and bought an Ultra. He liked the UC but two years later traded back to his third RK. He told me his wife doesn't ride with him (reason #1) and the RK felt more like what he thought a motorcycle should feel like (reason #2). Says now that the RK will be his last bike.

 

Yep, been there. I went from a 11 Ultra Limited to my 11 RKC within a year. Hated the fairing and never used any of the gadgets. The RK fits my riding style much better and for me is just an all around more comfortable bike. Both were brand new bikes. Bought the Ultra in January and traded for the RK in September of the same year.

 

The wife put a down payment on a RK when it came out in '94. Rode that thing all over the country. Have had all the tourers (RG my fav). Now I have a RK and EG. RK mostly sits in the garage. I am getting old but while the RK is lighter and more "fun" somewhere around 30 miles out the extra wind and no tunes start making me wish I was on the EG...