Harley_Davidson_FLHRCI_Road_King_Classic_MY_OPINION
Consider the Road King, Harley's middleweight tourer; their retort to the big-money big rigs. It is not complex or flashy. Visually, the Road King's styling radiates Harley nostalgia: skirted fenders, sweeping highrise handlebars, burly headlight with chrome nacelle, all flanked by twin driving lights. Motorcyclists who crave the latest in electronic technology are seldom the owners of Harleys. Although the Electra Glide, the FLHTCU, has offered cruise control and a passenger adjustable radio for many years, Harleys have traditionally been refugees from the gadget-strewn world of heavyweight tourers they've pioneered. But for '96, Harley is offering an option on the Road King that truly brings modern touring performance to the Evolution Big Twin, and we're not talking about the new electronic speedo. Electronic Sequential Port Fuel Injection (ESPFI) was first seen on the 1995 FLTCU Tour Glide models, and Harley will offer ESPFI on all touring models this year.
And boy, what a difference it makes. This was the most tractable V-Twin Evo we've ever had the pleasure of riding. Harley maintains a few of the benefits of the new Weber fuel injection system include a 10% increase in torque, easier cold starts and smoother idle at all temps and altitudes, and lower exhaust emissions. The electronic system also contains on-board diagnostics that assist mechanics with troubleshooting and maintenance. Compared to a carbureted Evo, the injected version is an absolute pleasure to use. No choke required (and none is fitted) -- just thumb the starter button, and in half a second, after the starter works its way over the compression hump and finally spins the engine, it roars to life, settling into a nice smooth idle with instant drive away - no coughing, no backfiring. No problem.
Riding the 'King, you never doubt you're on a machine of formidable substance. Nothing may be done quickly or halfheartedly. Each shift is an event; the clutch must be yanked in, the chrome heel/toe shifter prodded with sustained, decisive force. Harley riders know the feel. Vibration from the Big Twin is effectively controlled by Harley's patented isolation-mounting system. Although not totally isolated from vibration at idle (sitting aboard the Road King at traffic lights, you can watch the motor bouncing around in the frame), the rubber-mounting system performs brilliantly at all engine speeds above it, and the FI system delivers spotless throttle response.
The Road King's 80 cubic inch pushrod motor may be ancient by motorcycle standards, but it's transformed into a modern powerplant with the ESPFI system, pumping out 83.0 ft-lbs of torque at 3500 RPM. Roll-on the 'King, and you're instantly rewarded with strong midrange power, pulling smoothly and cleanly away from any traffic anomalies. Lacking any top-end punch though, there is no need to rev out the RK; riders unaccustomed to Harleys have to alter their sense of speed and riding style to fully appreciate the injected 'King's power delivery. As wonderfully smooth as the engine may be, there is low speed chatter/choppiness over uneven surfaces from the firm air-adjustable suspension, delivering a harsh ride on anything other than smooth pavement. Rain grooves or other longitudinal features in the tarmac also tend to steer the OEM Dunlops off course and set up a wiggle in the front end. Apply a little more throttle, though, and that low speed choppiness smooths out to surprising suppleness. As speed rises, suspension action improves. In fact, we were amazed at how well the Road King performed on twisty roads (but then we remembered that this model is descended from the Electra Glide Sport). Decent ground clearance, coupled with a low center of gravity, wide handlebars, narrow profile and grippy rubber can make for fun times when the touring path deviates from the Interstate. The dual front discs perform well under duress; the master cylinder has been redesigned for '96, resulting in a cleaner look while providing reduced lever effort of 10-15%. The rear brake required a little higher effort then we'd like, but overall performance was acceptable, and the combination of three discs performed well.
Touring with the Road King brings mixed blessings. We found the capacity of the removable saddlebags to be close to the standard of those on other middleweight tourers, but finish and basic design are not. The lids were clumsy to operate, and the bags have no handles, so removing them to take them inside a hotel is awkward. The seat, overall fairly wide and plush, is surprisingly narrow at the front and offers little support for the rider's thighs, and shorter passengers must stretch over the saddlebags' crash bars to make contact with their floorboards. Addressing the tall, wide handlebars places the rider in a sort of alert yet relaxed cruiser posture, but forces your arms too far apart, quickly causing discomfort mid-back that shortens the amount of time you could spend in the saddle. Which is unfortunate because the excellent fuel mileage from the injected Evolution mill coupled with a windscreen that provides ample coverage from wind blast everywhere above the knees could have made the Road King a serious long-distance touring candidate.
The Road King's strengths lie in short-to-medium range day or overnight tours. The smoothest running Harley ever, it's a motorcycle for a certain type of riding and rider, more suited for slow-paced touring life. Harley have re-invented Motorcycle Touring. We found the 'King to be a relaxed, friendly mount for browsing the scenery as the miles roll by.
Harley_Davidson_FLHRCI_Road_King_Classic_MY_OPINION
Harley Classic style,drives very well,power is great,seat,hands n feet are comfortable,fuel injection,smooth,dependable.5 Star Scooter
Ive had Several HonKawaSukies then 3 Sportsters,1 Dyna,now Iam the proud owner of the best Classic bike in the world...The 2002 Road King Classic.All is great about this bike.No problems,no complaints,no Regrets.Best bike ever made.Great for town riding,Really comes alive on the Highway,Made for the road the 'Road King" name says it all.
Harley_Davidson_FLHRCI_Road_King_Classic_MY_OPINION
The FLHRCI is said to be Harley' #2 best handling bike -- behind the FAT BOY. The Road King Classic looks great and handles superbly. It's not uncommon for folks to roll down their car windows while stopped at traffic lights to positively comment to me on the bike -- it happens all the time in fact. This bike is one awesome looker!
The saddlebags are handsome and can carry a load. I ride this bike to work everyday and I can carry everything I need to. The fuel injection is flawless -- all you do is hit "start" and it runs every time. The only problem I've had with this bike is twice, while in fifth gear travelling 45-50 mph, I've looked down at the speedo only to find it reads 30 mph! What is that about? i don't know - but shutting the bike down and restarting cleared it both times. Other than those two minor incidents, I've had ZERO problems and I'm extremely happy about that!
This bike has great power too. Don't let anyone tell you differently. I weigh 240 pounds and when I hit the accellerator -- it scoots. Handles a little bit differently and is a little more sluggish when you're riding a passenger, but that is to be expected.
Things I didn't like -- The black aluminum passenger footboards (swapped 'em out for chrome). The cheap, tin foil front fender skirt (swapped it out for a chrome one). No standard passenger "backrest" (installed one on my own). And the laced wheels look great, but are a helluva time cleaning -- especially the front ones which are mostly covered on both sides by the dual disk brake rotors.
Finally, the stock sound is not quite there. You'll need to install some aftermarket pipes -- I put on Vance and Hines classic slipons and installed a Screaming Eagle air filter. That was a $900 installation in Hawaii -- but it sounds great now.
So what you end up with off the showroom floor is a bike that needs about $2K of work. I recommend you have all this done when you buy the bike, maybe the dealer will cut you a deal on installation.
I would not trade this bike for anything. There is no other bike that I want -- this bike has the best balance of functionality, style, and handling. It's the best bike in the world.
Harley_Davidson_FLHRCI_Road_King_Classic_MY_OPINION
I've had my FLHRCI since September 2001 and put on a few thousand miles so far. The only problem I have had was that the computer chip needed to be replaced (twice). The only other "had to fix" items were that my wife wanted a backrest for when she rides pillion (the passenger seat is very flat and easy to slide off, not contoured like the Road King standard) and I had to replace the handlebars as they caused me to have neck and elbow ache on long rides. However I'm 6'4" and probably just outside of being the typically-sized rider so the standard bars might work for you.
I've have, however, done a lot of work to the bike. I replaced the stock mufflers and had a Stage II upgrade for the added power. Both changes resulted in very noticeable improvements. I've also changed the look somewhat by making the appearance "fatter". But that's a personal preference rather than a necessity.
When looking at buying the bike, I had limited my choices to the Electraglide Standard (for economic reasons) or the Road King Classic because it came closest to what I was actually looking for. I do not regret for a minute buying the FLHRCI.
One gripe I continue to have with Harley though is in their use of cheap parts in some applications where they know you are going to replace the part. The one that comes immediately to mind is the cheap plastic "cover" that is around the fork lock. This 2¢ part provides no protection from the elements to a lock that faces straight up. Past experience told me that this is a rust trap and would eventually cause me problems. Harley knows this so they charge you $90 for the part that does the job correctly. This cheapness is not needed on a $17K stock bike.
That said I replaced a lot of other parts for aesthetic purposes (e.g. steel screws replaced with chrome alternatives) so I can't complain too loudly but it would be nice if they used better parts initially.
This does not, however, detract from the quality of the bike. It is well put together and a great ride. The rubber mount engine is well isolated and vibration is minimal.
I would recommend this bike to anyone who wants both a town cruiser and a touring model. It fills both roles well. The availability of a quickly removable windshield (stock) and touring pack (optional) change the look and function of this bike in a matter of seconds.
This bike is a great all-rounder.
Harley_Davidson_FLHRCI_Road_King_Classic_MY_OPINION
Only Harley Davidson, the company that gave nostalgia a part number, could have built this motorcycle. From its upright police-style screen to the leather saddlebags and whitewall tyres it’s a dead ringer for the bike Elvis Presley rode in the 1960s rock ’n roll road movie “Double Trouble”.
It’s a rolling evocation of its time and it trades unashamedly on the almost childlike innocence of Middle America before Vietnam.
Under the chrome-plate, however, the running gear is right up to date; to hold its own in the marketplace it would have to be. Just because it’s the Real Thing is no longer an excuse for poor brakes and excessive vibration. The 1449cc V-twin is the third Harley IOL has ridden which is fitted with the Twin Cam “88” motor - but this one also has the new-for-2000 sequential port electronic fuel injection developed in conjunction with Swedish carmaker Saab.
The only concession it makes to the real world is the 10-second wait while the electric fuel pump builds up pressure; thereafter the system works with uncanny crispness and precision. All Harleys breathe through the mechanical equivalent of a deviated septum and woolly, inaccurate carburetion has always been part of the deal - until now. Throttle response on the injected Hog is no faster than before but it’s modulated with micrometer accuracy: so much twist of the wrist equals exactly so much go.
Under the chrome, the running gear is right up to date.
While this means the twist grip is a little too sensitive at very small openings - a common spritzer fault - it’s worth learning the finesse required to ride this bike slowly because the results are so impressive. There’s no rev counter – like most Milwaukee products - so it’s impossible to quantify but the Road King pulls with authority from about one-third throttle until it begins to run out of steam at about 150km/h. And I mean real stump-pulling authority, made more impressive considering it’s hauling close on half a ton with just one rider.
What this machine doesn’t have is the twin balancing shafts that make it possible to bolt the Deuce’s motor solidly to the frame; instead the Road King’s motor is rubber-mounted. In the eyes of most industry people, it’s a backward step. The rest is standard “88”, long-stroke 95.3 x 101.6mm pistons pushing 51.5kW and a meaty 110Nm of torque at 3100rpm.
The clutch is also standard, which is to say superb. The Motor Company has never tried to make its clutch packs smaller or lighter, so it’s got all the heft it needs to absorb the torque and take up the drive smoothly and predictably, hot or cold. Thanks to a car-type diaphragm spring, lever pressure is surprisingly light and even throughout its travel.
Harley Davidson says it has redesigned the five-speed gearbox on the 2000 models for improved shift action; what it actually seems to have done is to have improved its quality control to make the ’boxes more consistent. Earlier H-D transmissions varied markedly from bike to bike and indeed some we’ve tried were downright embarrassing but none of this crop can compare with a superb example which was the best feature of a Fat Boy I tested some years ago.
Nevertheless, all this year’s boxes are the same - the change is light and positive, if loud, the lever throw is definitely shorter and neutral is reassuringly easy to locate, even stationary. I even managed a couple of seamless upchanges but it took concentration.
All Harleys now have belt final drive, which not only runs bone dry, thereby for ever liberating our jackets from that characteristic greasy stripe of chain lube, but the kevlar belt construction has a built-in
cush-drive effect and the final drive has absolutely no lash. A trace of play in the output gearing yields a faint but definite clonk, every time, as the drive takes up but, overall, this is one of the most civilised drive trains yet to come out of Milwaukee, which is why some dedicated oinkers won’t like it.
It’s all tied together by a conventional double cradle tubular steel frame, with 41mm shrouded forks that look like genuine 1960s tackle but have air adjustment (for the first time in Harley’s history) and twin gas-charged shocks ditto. Also for the first time, this is a Hog with brakes that are up to the job: twin 292mm discs in front with four-pot callipers and a single disc with the same calliper on the rear wheel.
This is the first Motor Company product IOL has tested that could elicit complaints from the front tyre under braking. That said, the bike still needed more than average room to pull up; it weighs 345kg dry and it’s never going to stop like a sports bike.
The Road King’s styling is pure period, from the huge chromed headlight nacelle with its two riding lights, uncluttered low and wide handlebars, tank-mounted
speedo, twin gas caps (one’s a fake, by the way, housing the fuel gauge) and a low, ploughshare-shaped saddle - which is surprisingly comfortable. There are footboards rather than pegs, deeply valanced mudguards with chrome trim, cast metal badges on the tank, spoked wheels and lashings of chrome all over the motor. The seat is covered in real leather, as are the authentic-looking saddlebags - but the skin is pulled over hard plastic cases, which is a bit of a cheat even though it makes them far more practical. Those silver-buckled straps are for real, however, and the buckles work - but behind the buckles you’ll find quick-release plastic spearpoint clips.
Despite its mass and long wheelbase the Road King steers more quickly than most cruisers. The steering head angle is steepish at 26 degrees and rake and trail are quite conservative. Once up off the sidestand the bike is beautifully poised, its centre of gravity somewhere down around ankle height, which makes it easy to ride around town but unexpectedly sensitive to crosswinds. Out on the open road, the whole plot is rock-steady in a straight line up to about 150km/h; above that the bike begins to shake its head. You can’t help feeling that if it ever developed into a full
tank-slapper there’d be absolutely nothing you could do about it.
That gloriously period screen, with its proud disdain for the laws of physics, can be unclipped without tools in a matter of seconds and even comes with its own cotton storage bag to protect it from scratches when it’s not on the bike. I tried the Road King without it and got a big surprise: the bike went right up to 172km/h (exactly equal to the factory’s claimed top speed) without so much as a wiggle and with the rider sitting bolt upright. I guess the old Britbike legend that a bar-mounted screen makes the bike unstable is true after all.
The suspension, air-assisted or no, has very short travel by modern standards and the ride is a little harsh on rougher services. I’d be willing to accept the stiff ride in exchange for better cornering but this Harley still wallows gently when pushed hard on long sweeps, just like the old
DuoGlide. The ride is the same at both ends though, unlike the stretched-fork boulevard bolides, and the Road King doesn’t pitch over bumps. Despite the bumpy ride, the bike is genuinely comfortable for pillion as well as rider, has the torque to pull anything you can strap on it and the smooth-running powertrain won’t tire you on long rides.
The 1950s ergonomics are surprisingly practical and the bike has a definite look of its own. It’s all of a piece, not a collection of custom bits bolted together. Most of all, it’s a surprisingly rideable motorcycle.
Harley_Davidson_FLHRCI_Road_King_Classic_MY_OPINION
The Harley-Davidson FLHRCI Road King Classic celebrates the heritage of Harley-Davidson with details like wide whitewall tires, laced wheels and leather-covered saddlebags, but also offers features like Electronic Sequential Port Fuel Injection, cruise control, a plush seat and air-adjustable rear suspension. New chrome aluminum Profile Laced wheels are a factory option
