Meet Rex, my new 2022 Road King

Boog

Boog

Traveling Stroyteller
Top Contributor
Messages
1,180
Reaction score
7,702
Points
513
Location
Dumfries Virginia
For the past few weeks, I have been looking for my next bike, #32. Triumph has stopped making the big touring cruiser I have now and appears they will not make another. The current R3s are fun as hell for sure, but they do not meet my needs. The big four from Japan have also ended their run of big touring cruisers without a fairing. So, I narrowed the list to just five others: BMW's R18 Classic, Indian's Super Chief and Springfield, and Harley-Davidson's Road King and Heritage.

All five are quite worthy for sure, but I have to cut them down to one. The first two I removed are the Heritage and Super Chief. They are excellent competition for each other and if they were the only two left, I would go with the Heritage. It has a bigger tank and bigger bags. But alas, neither bike is big enough to carry me and all my work gear when I am on the road so neither make the cut.

Next to go is the R18. Of all these bikes, it has the best feel off the line. Its bags are big enough for my lunchbox and other goodies, but it does not come with a luggage rack. They don't even make one. It does not come with engine guards either and if any of these need them the most, it is the bike with big jugs sticking out the sides. It does have the most price incentives for a guy like me, but once I source the few things it must have, it is on par with the Road King in price.

I love the look of the Black and tan Springfield. Nut no one on the East coast have any though. I can order one and it would come in sometime in September. And talk about sticker shock. $27K+ out the door. I have to pass on it.

That brings me to the FLHR Road King. It took me home Saturday afternoon. I got the black one (fastest color for a bike you know) and added the back rests and luggage rack only. It rides great and can haul all my stuff when needed. Fuel range is around 235+ miles according to its computer.
20220723a.jpg
20220723c.jpg

And Pretty Pillion knows what's up, she gave me this Gremlin bell.
20220723b.jpg
 
Boog said:
For the past few weeks, I have been looking for my next bike, #32. Triumph has stopped making the big touring cruiser I have now and appears they will not make another. The current R3s are fun as hell for sure, but they do not meet my needs. The big four from Japan have also ended their run of big touring cruisers without a fairing. So, I narrowed the list to just five others: BMW's R18 Classic, Indian's Super Chief and Springfield, and Harley-Davidson's Road King and Heritage.

All five are quite worthy for sure, but I have to cut them down to one. The first two I removed are the Heritage and Super Chief. They are excellent competition for each other and if they were the only two left, I would go with the Heritage. It has a bigger tank and bigger bags. But alas, neither bike is big enough to carry me and all my work gear when I am on the road so neither make the cut.

Next to go is the R18. Of all these bikes, it has the best feel off the line. Its bags are big enough for my lunchbox and other goodies, but it does not come with a luggage rack. They don't even make one. It does not come with engine guards either and if any of these need them the most, it is the bike with big jugs sticking out the sides. It does have the most price incentives for a guy like me, but once I source the few things it must have, it is on par with the Road King in price.

I love the look of the Black and tan Springfield. Nut no one on the East coast have any though. I can order one and it would come in sometime in September. And talk about sticker shock. $27K+ out the door. I have to pass on it.

That brings me to the FLHR Road King. It took me home Saturday afternoon. I got the black one (fastest color for a bike you know) and added the back rests and luggage rack only. It rides great and can haul all my stuff when needed. Fuel range is around 235+ miles according to its computer.
View attachment 220041View attachment 220042
And Pretty Pillion knows what's up, she gave me this Gremlin bell.
View attachment 220043
Click to expand...
Great choice Boog. Bike looks a million $ (and is in Blighty!) and worth every penny. I hope you travel many miles with a smile and a Pretty Pillion too.
 
Boog said:
For the past few weeks, I have been looking for my next bike, #32. Triumph has stopped making the big touring cruiser I have now and appears they will not make another. The current R3s are fun as hell for sure, but they do not meet my needs. The big four from Japan have also ended their run of big touring cruisers without a fairing. So, I narrowed the list to just five others: BMW's R18 Classic, Indian's Super Chief and Springfield, and Harley-Davidson's Road King and Heritage.

All five are quite worthy for sure, but I have to cut them down to one. The first two I removed are the Heritage and Super Chief. They are excellent competition for each other and if they were the only two left, I would go with the Heritage. It has a bigger tank and bigger bags. But alas, neither bike is big enough to carry me and all my work gear when I am on the road so neither make the cut.

Next to go is the R18. Of all these bikes, it has the best feel off the line. Its bags are big enough for my lunchbox and other goodies, but it does not come with a luggage rack. They don't even make one. It does not come with engine guards either and if any of these need them the most, it is the bike with big jugs sticking out the sides. It does have the most price incentives for a guy like me, but once I source the few things it must have, it is on par with the Road King in price.

I love the look of the Black and tan Springfield. Nut no one on the East coast have any though. I can order one and it would come in sometime in September. And talk about sticker shock. $27K+ out the door. I have to pass on it.

That brings me to the FLHR Road King. It took me home Saturday afternoon. I got the black one (fastest color for a bike you know) and added the back rests and luggage rack only. It rides great and can haul all my stuff when needed. Fuel range is around 235+ miles according to its computer.
View attachment 220041View attachment 220042
And Pretty Pillion knows what's up, she gave me this Gremlin bell.
View attachment 220043
Click to expand...
Hope you enjoy yours as much as I enjoy my '05 RK. Bought it in '16 with 18k on it, now it's at 62k.
 
This is probably going to surprise most of you; I joined a Harley forum last week much like I do for each bike I own. So far, I have one welcome response and one like. That got me to wondering about the difference there to here.
1. Do HD riders have no time to read the forum because they are in their garage cleaning their bikes?
2. Are HD riders just not as welcoming as folks here?
3. Do folks here simply give a hoot more than others?
4. Is it simply that so many Harleys are around that our other bikes are rarer thus more special?

Inquiring minds want to know...
 
Boog I’ve been a member on the HD forums for years but rarely spend time there. The members are not as friendly however there are several that are very helpful and knowledgeable. I will say you need thicker skin on that forum as it’s a pack mentality when someone asks a dumb question it’s usually a pile-on. Sometimes I find it amusing other times a little embarrassing how grown men act although I’ve seen it a few times in this forum as well.
 
Boog said:
they are in their garage cleaning their bikes
Click to expand...
And for a lot of those guys, that's all they know how to do. Many of those folks bought the Harley strictly for the head trip. H.D. is selling image, costume and a over-imagined lifestyle, not a particularly great motorcycle. Wanna know how to spot the poseurs ? Look for the chrome oil filter.
Old saying: You can always tell a Harley rider, you just can't tell him much.
 
It’s an interesting question and one that I have given thought too as well. I have belonged to other forums for different brands as well as cars. They are all so different. The popularity of the vehicle is a big thing, also a big factor seems to be if people do their own mechanical work I would suspect a lot of Harley riders don’t do much of their own work ( of course that is not a blanklet statement ). Here are some of my forum experiences,

Stromtroopers: For Suzuki V-Strom owners, very active, very large membership worldwide. Owners do everything from Adventure riding to commuting and they love to share tips and product evaluations. It was a little too tightly moderated forum, an example being , not being able to discuss something if it’s already been covered before.

TriumphRat: Open to all Triumph bikes, categories for all models old and new. It was pretty useful to me when I had a vintage Triumph, some of the other categories don’t get much love.

BonnevilleAmerica.com : Very targeted forum , just for Bonneville America and Speedmaster owners. It was very active until Triumph discontinued sales of those models and then it was dead.

AdventureRider.com: Very active, well ran forum. Open to all brands of adventure bikes. I found that forum to be filled with good riders with good mechanical skills, happy to share what they know.

VolusiaRiders.com : This forum is dedicated to Suzuki Boulevard owners ( Volusia was the models previous name ) Suzuki has made this model for a very long time. What I soon realized was that this forum peaked around 2005-2009, Its funny but they have about 9 moderators, none of whom own one of these bikes anymore. As activity has declined it has devolved into a hangout space, and all they want to talk about is politics…non stop.
I checked outa there.

Britbike.com : Open to all bikes British, a very interesting forum if you’re into old British bikes. A lot of knowledge there for sure, interesting projects and good mechanics. A little slow moving.
 
Last edited:
Wingedwheel said:
I like the chrome oil filters I use on my HD’s. What does that have to do with posing?
Click to expand...
To each his own. I am an oil change freak. To me, you've got 3 quarts of oil with a dippy little filter in an engine that gets hotter than all get-out and leaving the oil in the engine for more than a couple thousand miles is beyond me. Regardless, when you change the oil you're throwing away something that's chrome and that too, makes no sense to me. Wouldn't the black filter dissipate heat better anyhow, or are we just looking good ?
 
I’ll will speak from my own experience. A sample size of 1. I owned a Dyna for a good bit. It was a fantastic bike and I do love Harley’s. That said, I would rather listen to Fran Drescher recite Shakespeare everyday for the rest of my life than associate with modern Harley riders. Notice how I said modern. The Only Harley riders worth speaking to tend to be the old schoolers who would rather keep their shovel and pre shovel motors going and end up working on their bikes because they are out logging on serious miles. They are die hard Harley guys, but are motorcycle cycle enthusiasts that enjoy talking two wheels. Modern Harley guys tend to be all about the bling, and the bike is to puff their feathers and stroke their ego. They want the badass image and that’s it. These are the types that frequent the forums the most, having been there done that. Best to save the forums for reading info that’s out that, rather than participating in the nonsense. Now, all Harley riders are not like this, obviously, but this tends to be the crowd taking over the Harley segment, unfortunately. You’ll still meet a lot of great guys on Harleys, they just don’t tend to be on the forums. Check out pacific mike on YouTube if you enjoy a good dude working on bikes.
 
JesseeS, I think you nailed it. That Fran Drescher comment is hilarious!
With respect, Boog, there are obviously many Harley riders who are riders and motorcycle enthusiasts, yourself included. When I finally got my first Harley (2004 Sportster 1200R) in 2005, having wanted one for 20 years, I was ultimately disappointed to realize the high poser content of Harley riders I encountered. I was not too sad when I sold the bike two years later. That said, I do like them and I've got good friends and relations with Harleys. I want another one one day. Bummer about all of the posers.
 
My comment meant absolutely no disrespect to Boog or anybody of the like. It was a blanket statement from my personal experience as to what the modern era of Harley has become, and by default, the types who tend to spend time on the Harley forums, having experienced it myself. I believe that is why Boog didn’t get a warm welcome or the welcome he was expecting
 

Similar threads

Kevin Werner
XS650 Adventure Bike?
4 5 6
Replies
112
Views
5K
gggGary
gggGary
NewToXs
To restore or to ride?
Replies
1
Views
372
jpdevol
jpdevol
M
Not a BMW guy but just got this...
Replies
6
Views
233
gggGary
gggGary
S
Rock River Run
Replies
0
Views
291
Smorg
S
Downeaster
Not necessarily motorcycle related, but TOOL. (cue Tim Grunts...)
Replies
8
Views
455
gggGary
gggGary
Back
Top