Harley sells the Electra Glide Road King as two models in one. The first bike is a tourer with a big clear screen ahead of the Buffalo handlebar, a passenger seat, panniers and front and rear crash bars. Whip off the screen, passenger seat and panniers and your Road King's a cruiser.
Well, maybe. Just remember that this is the, cheapest, best-value Glide and the civilian version of the Harley many US cops ride. The Road King's a reliable bag of nuts and bolts that will do all of 108mph. Oil can weep from cylinder base joints. Aftermarket gaskets are the cure. The FLHR kicked off with an 80 cubic inch (1340cc) Evolution V-twin engine, replaced by the rubber-mounted 1450cc 88 Twin Cam unit in 1999.
Despite the Twin Cam label it's still a basic two-valve, 45 degree V-twin with the valves opened by pushrods, not overhead camshafts. A 2000 restyle recalled the 1958 Duo-Glide with a mammoth headlight in a highly polished cowling on the front fork, although retro wire spoked wheels were an extra rather than standard.
Fuel injection is standard on the FLHRCI Road King Classic - £1000 more new - and an option on the standard Road King. Well worth having are the Road King's air-sprung rear shocks, with shorter units available that reduce seat height by 19mm. Peak torque kicks in at 3500rpm and this big lazy engine releases all of its 68PS at just 5400rpm.
A relaxed ride and a good investment at the right price.
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