So, I have been riding motorcycles for almost as long as I have been driving, and have had at least one of each of the major brands at some point in time, but have always been a Harley guy. I had one when I was young, and then went from brand to brand. In 2008, I bought a used 2006 Sportster XL883C. it was in my budget at the time, and it got me back on a Harley. But, the whole time I have been riding, there was one bike that I swore I would have one day, and has always been my ultimate dream bike…a Harley-Davidson Road King. Today, on a chance I went to Ray Price HD, and my dream came true. At the ripe young age of 52, I traded in my Sportster, after 8 good years of riding, and rode home on a new 2016 Road King. I never though it would be more than just a dream, but today it came true. I am just so psyched, I had to share.
Whoa! Beautiful! I rode bikes al through high school, Wrecked 3 or 4 of them and finally decided that I’d kill myself if I ever rode again. I envy you!
Thanks for the comments guys. Bones are in my blood. Any time I did not have one, it always felt like something was missing.
@yso, my grand daughter was born in April, so I have a long time before she is able to ride, but it won’t stop me from decking her out in some Harley motor clothes[emoji3]
Harley Davidson sure does make some beautiful machines, but as someone who purposefully lives on what I would hope to be a quiet country road, I wish they would stop using faulty mufflers!
My Sportster was on the obnoxious side with straight popes and ape hangers. I’m planning to keep the road king pretty much stock. It has a low rumble, but you can still hear yourself think. I’m done with the overly loud, and want to cruise in comfort now.
Loud pipes save lives! Nice ride. Does that have the new engine? Or is that for the 2017 models?
I’m still riding my 1997 1200 Sporty. Drag bars and Screaming Eagle pipes. And some scrapes from where my brother dropped it last year. The only thing I ever wished for was a larger gas tank.
This has the 103 ci high output engine. The 107ci “Milwaukee 8” is on the 2017 models.
This one is loud enough for me now. If I had not been able to get a good deal on this one, I would have had no problem with keeping the Sporty…it was paid for after all. I had 8 good years of riding on that one. It had some minor cosmetic issues, but mechanically it was in great condition and is going to be a good bike for some one.
I really like the tone rather than the volume. However, I was going for performance (103.5" bore, head work, cams) and unfortunately noise comes with a free-flowing engine. That is why the drag strips are so loud. Mine is on the loud side but not painful, and I hope not obnoxious, though I’m sure it is to some. No worries though, I’ll be by you in a second.
Oh! 114 ft. lbs of torque, and 105 hp. Dyno-tuned by a pro!
Sorry, Erik got me going. I’ll stop. NO ONE bring up ham radio. I can put you to sleep faster than my bike will go on that topic!
Not that any of us bores anyone talking about homebrewing…
I know there are good reasons for the noise and I think they sound cool but some go too far and obviously are trying to be loud. Honestly, I don’t know how they stand it. Unfortunately there is a spot down the road from me that is a bit of a destination so during the summer when I am out gardening or relaxing and the only sounds on my little back road should be birds and pollinators I often hear Harleys, some of which are very noisy driven by men over compensating for who knows what. I’m not trashing most riders but some are pretty annoying.
Ha! For sure. It seems that most of my extracurricular activities fall in that category. It’s about the time I start bringing up beta glucans that people start wandering off…
If I ever upgrade I’d go with the Heritage softail. But with young kids and everything else, I hardly ride the Sportster. My standard response these days when people ask if I ride a Harley is “well, I own one.”
I don’t usually have a problem with the sound of a Harley. I wonder how some of those guys can hear anything after riding their bike but that’s not my problem.
The only bike that ever really bothered me was the neighbor across the alley from a house I rented in Lincoln, NE. He would light his soft tail up every morning at 4AM and then spend 10 minutes trying to get it warm enough to idle. >:( Ten minutes of rumbling straight pipes every morning before sunrise is not a way to be a good neighbor. I have to admit I was not too upset when he laid it down on “O” street and totaled it (luckily he wasn’t hurt).
