That 2005 Harley Road King I won in a raffle

[AJ Huff]

I didn't want to gloat but I won that raffle. I don't know anything about Harleys and legitimately wanted to know if it's a good bike to own. I wasn't trolling.

Appreciate any input.

Thanks,

-AJ

[Kev m]

Give it a whirl and see what you think.

Honestly the concept of the bike has been around for decades and I'm a huge fan.

But there are many generations and variations.

So start by seeing what you think of it

[AJ Huff]

Is there anything unique about them I should know? Anything problematic? The only motorcycles I've ever ridden are my Ambassador and my Cal Spec.

-AJ

[Frulk]

I have a 2005 Road King with 72K on it. My daily rider. Been very reliable. Had the cam chain tensioners replaced with the OEM upgrade as that’s the primary area of concern with the 88 motor. One of my favorite bikes ever.

[Ncdan]

As has been mentioned, Around 40k check the cam tension adjusters. When I check mine 03 electric glide, they were worn out and if they disintegrate you are in mechanical trouble.
Other that that there are a lot of those 1450 motors with well over 100k trouble free miles, it’s basically an ole work horse bike.

[Moparnut72]

The 88" is a good motor. As the Twin Cams got bigger the worse they got. More heat issues, noise  etc. The 88 was a good all around motor, pretty bullet proof, just keep an eye on the tensioners. I had an 88 for about 6 months, burned up in a fire. I replaced it with a 110, rode it for a couple of years, got fed up and replaced it with the Audace. Harley has tried to keep up with bigger and bigger motors, going backwards in my opinion. But they tried to modernize but that doesn't resonate with the faithful. Ride your bike and enjoy, great for what it was built for.
kk

[Tkelly]

An old Harley guy at our rally raved about that bike as the best Harley ever.

[Ncdan]

Lol, I was trying to buy tickets last night and called Luap because the site wouldn’t let me buy tickets.
Boy did I miss the bus or what?
Anyhow congratulations!!!

[AJ Huff]

Thanks for the feedback. I'll be sure to have the tensioners looked into. Trying to figure how time to get it at end of the month. Will see if I click with this bike. I am looking forward to having a bike that can easily be worked  on locally if needed. One reason I've been considering unloading my Cal Spec.

[moto-uno]

  The best replacement for the cam tensioners are a set of gears  . Some mild "bolt in" cams
 on the end of them was also very popular . They really were nice motorcycles , worked on hundreds
of them at dealerships over the years (mostly routine servicing).   Peter

[Moparnut72]

Gears are nice but very pricey,  approximately $800. Also the cam has to be straight, a bit of runout, over .003 if I remember correctly,  no go. When I had mine my plan was to replace the shoes every 30K miles.  Never had to do it, the bike burned up. Compensators can be a problem but I think that year may be OK, I don't remember what year the MoCo cheapened out on that part. I think you may have the good cam bearings also. It was around that time that Harley started cutting corners.
kk

[Scout63]

Nice going. I’m genuinely interested in your thoughts on the bike as a non Harley owner.

[Stretch]

What Dusty said...... ROFLMAO!

[Luap McKeever]

Alan,
    One thing about that bike that we noticed when I unloaded it was the sight glass on the front brake reservoir somehow got broke during the transport. The glass shards are pointing inward so that makes me think that a 1 in 1 trillion pebble made it's way to that glass and broke it. Should be an easy fix, but just giving you a heads up prior.

Oh, congrats. The poker run was a success and we in the committee are already planning next years run.

I was in awe at the live demo after the run showing what these dogs can do. It's the type of thing that made the hair on my arms stand up. I'm not easily amazed, but this one got me. Here's a link to the demo (Facebook) that I'm referring to if you want to watch it.  https://www.facebook.com/Saberlifefoundation/videos/263268035272738

Here's a link to the news coverage of the event.
https://www.nwahomepage.com/northwest-arkansas-news/pipes-for-pups-fundraiser-works-to-pair-service-dogs-with-owners/?fbclid=IwAR1FJakRtwX9omIMLPWiVi32K98p9VUFEdViDc7JOCZCNfkTeZRWacgdVPQ

[AJ Huff]

Thanks Luap.

-AJ

[rschrum]

Just donate it back, and let them raffle it again. Sounds like a good cause.

[AJ Huff]

I guess I collect white bikes. Not pictured, my white Ambo which I dropped off at Harpers on the way down to fetch the Harley. Not bad for a $25 (x5) raffle ticket!

[cliffrod]

My wife accuses me of collecting red 2 & 4 wheel vehicles.   Several are red, completely by coincidence, but still hard to miss when they're all parked within sight of each other. 

Any decision yet on the new bike's future?

[JJ]

I didn't want to gloat but I won that raffle. I don't know anything about Harleys and legitimately wanted to know if it's a good bike to own. I wasn't trolling.

Appreciate any input.

Thanks,

-AJ

Look at you...all lucky and all!      CONGRATS!   

I put >50,000 trouble free miles on a 2007 Road King.  They are great open highway / touring road bikes overall.  No issues from my side...

[LowRyter]

I'm not a Harley fan but the RK is a pretty nice bike.  I've considered purchasing one.  It's a little feet-forward/bar high for my style of riding but better in that regard vs any other Harley.  I find they are balanced bikes and work pretty well.  One of the cleaner styled Harleys too.

Congrats.  I'll bet you keep it.

[AJ Huff]

My wife accuses me of collecting red 2 & 4 wheel vehicles.   Several are red, completely by coincidence, but still hard to miss when they're all parked within sight of each other. 

Any decision yet on the new bike's future?

😀

My initial thoughts were "My God this thing is HUGE!"
Also, why does it shake so much and why is it so LOUD!

Got home and drove it around the neighborhood and around the block and was amazed at how easy and comfortable it was to ride.

One cool thing is, except for the seat, everything is bone stock which I think may make it desirable if I don't bond with it. But the mirrors got to go. One inch stalks and I keep hitting them with my hands getting to the levers.

Who knows, it may just replace my Cal Spec 🤔

-AJ

[xackley]

I see you have a California so you like bigger motorcycles.

You might find the road king to be as or more enjoyable. I've only road one for about 20 miles and could find no real fault.
I believe my brother in law's RK might be a 2005, and he beat the hell out of it and it took the abuse. He went through a couple rear tires every year.

Don

[LowRyter]

I rented one on a vacation and did scrape the floor boards riding two-up very easily.  Otherwise, it's a well balanced bike. 

[AJ Huff]

I rented one on a vacation and did scrape the floor boards riding two-up very easily.  Otherwise, it's a well balanced bike.

It does seem extra low to the ground. We bottomed out first time trying to get it into the trailer.

-AJ

[LowRyter]

It does seem extra low to the ground. We bottomed out first time trying to get it into the trailer.

-AJ

I'd bet the suspension could be fixed.  But the riding position is pretty well fixed, pretty much a cruiser.  The Cali 1400 has about the same, the V11 Cali is a little more upright and more flexible.  Of all the Harleys I've ridden, the basic tour bikes, Road King and Road Glide, were perhaps the best balanced and the most standard riding positioned Harleys but I still can't quite adjust to it. 

However, if it was free, I'd probably get some chaps and bar tassels. 

[kballowe]

We had this 2006 Road king for 60,xxx miles.  It was our go-to bike for the longer trips.
The Wife said that it had a really nice ride.  This is the "Classic" model and came with cruise.



We had two more Road Kings after that one.

[AJ Huff]

I was thinking the Harley would make a superior two up bike than the Cal Spec. Was looking at it in the garage while it was raining and noticed I'd need to add some passenger door rests though.

-AJ

[cliffrod]

That's specifically why we bought our FLH Shovelhead.  My wife (then girlfriend) made it clear that 2-up on my V7 Sport wasn't going to be our normal.  The shovelhead is much more comfortable for two people.

Isn't your Cal Spec at the end of Tonti-frame models? 

[AJ Huff]

Isn't your Cal Spec at the end of Tonti-frame models?

As far as I know, yes. It's a 2001.

-AJ

[AJ Huff]

Finally got my title and license plate so went out for my first ride before the rain came. I think I got about 40 miles in. It was good!

Not as smooth as my Cal Spec. Got all that Harley shaking going on. And it doesn't rocket forward like the Guzzi does when you roll on the throttle, a more gradual acceleration. And I think I need a different seat. You'd think that back rest would be comfortable, and it is kind of, but I'd prefer to be an inch or two farther back and the back rest seem to push you forward, sitting on your balls LOL.

BIG plus, the handle bars are much more comfortable and I had much less hand pain than I'm used to when riding either of my Guzzis. Less buzz, less cramping. I don't know if it's a difference in shape, size, width. Dunno. But very noticable.

The thing is huge compared to my other bikes but handles nicely. So far so good!

-AJ