FJR or HD Roadking

[Waaane]

I have had the opportunity to ride a nice RK that belongs to a relative quite a bit. It's kinda fun cruising along on that big boy. I wouldn't kick it out of my garage if one happened to show up there, unless it meant I had to give up my FJR.

The FJR is way faster, way more versatile, way better in the twisties, more comfortable over long distances (IMHO) and way cheaper to maintain, especially with the info available here at the forum. What can I say. If its one or the other, for me the FJR wins this battle easy.

 

[FJR Bill]

Good advice so far I think. But I'm surprised of mostly favorable comparisons. Maybe my knowledge of HD is out dated. I rented a fuel injected 98 Road King that year and drove it for 5 days on a road trip. I did this to see if I wanted to do motorcycle touring. Previously I owned several lighter twins and nothing that was worthy of long trips. My opinion of the RK was that it was heavy and ponderous, soft suspension, unimpressive acceleration, poor cornering characteristics, and not very confidence inspiring above 65 MPH. I returned it to the vendor then test rode a 98 Moto Guzzi EV. In every aspect except sound the EV totally outclassed the RK. Bought it and now it has 115,000 miles on it. Only replaced the clutch about 20,000 miles ago. Performed all servicing myself. Recently bought a 2009 FJR. Its everything the EV is but more and better. Very powerful, comfortable, high performance machine. Can't even imagine comparing it to a RK. Two different worlds. If you want to putt around at 55-65, and have no desire to enjoy performance cornering then maybe the RK is for you. The price differential also is significant even more so on a used bike. In any case good luck with your decison

 

[Bustanut joker]

I got my FJR 2 1/2 years ago, and got my first Harley in 1999 - that was a Wide Glide, and last year I traded that in for an '09 Ultra Classic, which is the same chassis as the RK.
They are night and day.

I was gonna go into a long-winded blah blah blah, but the bottom line is, you're right - they are 2 incredibly competent and completely different motorcycles.

Go ride each of 'em, and keep in mind what your riding style and preferences are.

And welcome to the forum!

Finally a well reasoned response from this jackass...

Tough call. The FJR is a competent machine that will out handle, accelerate, and be happy at triple digits..... Hyper..

The king is in my opinion a wee bit more comfy on the long road.. rather sedate and less hurried attitude when you take the long road..

YMMV..

:jester:

 

[phroenips]

There's also this South Park episode to take into consideration.

 

[Slosey]

 

[griffithds]

Anyway, any input regarding my decision, especially from you folks with both an HD & FJR will be appreciated.
Also any smart*++ comments are encouraged!

We're an FJR forum...so we unilaterally sway people from FJRs here. It's a rule we have. FJR's suck and you should never consider one of them....no matter whether your options are a Harley, C-14, or BMW with a final drive leaking oil and making grind noises.

Don't buy an FJR. Go get anything else...including a Zundap.

Watch it now ! A Zundap was my first and fondly remembered bike. My High School dream machine.

 

[rushes]

Anyway, any input regarding my decision, especially from you folks with both an HD & FJR will be appreciated.
Also any smart*++ comments are encouraged!

We're an FJR forum...so we unilaterally sway people from FJRs here. It's a rule we have. FJR's suck and you should never consider one of them....no matter whether your options are a Harley, C-14, or BMW with a final drive leaking oil and making grind noises.

Don't buy an FJR. Go get anything else...including a Zundap.

Watch it now ! A Zundap was my first and fondly remembered bike. My High School dream machine.

Zundap's are too cool...

I'm with Barb...This thread smells trollish.....

 

[kenporider]

:bike: :lol2:

 

[LAF]

Well I must have come full circle here.

I rode a lot of bikes but in the last 15 it was HD, a Sportster which was a girls bike but a hoot to run, then a Road Glide that was my first experience with a frame mounted fairing. Both were great bikes. The Road Glide I had a BUNCH of money in to get to the elusive 100/100 club. Still I ran it anywhere and everywhere and it was a great bike. I then traded that for a BMW K1200 LT. Just a fantastic bike that I loved and ran 30,000 before I totaled it in July.

So I get my insurance money and start figuring what I want. What I wanted was a BMW RT style Sport Touring bike but did not want another BMW.

The FJR was my final choice but I also looked at a C-14. The choice was close but the security on C14 I did not want, as BMW went rounds with Antenna Rings disabling bikes, the C14 had/has issues not letting you start your bike, I would go ballistic and kick it over myself.

I also like the way I felt on the FJR better than the C14. It just fit me better.

So you are going to have to ride them or at least sit them to see how they feel that way.

Then you need to think about how you ride. I have progressed in my riding tastes and style that I am for sure a Sport Touring kind of guy. A Road King is not a sport touring machine, but it is a damn fine touring machine.

None of us can answer what you are asking other then our own reasons for choosing the FJR. You have to choose what your reason is and maybe not even the two choices you mentioned. Go look at Triumph, they make some fine bikes.

On the FJR what I like the most is you do not got to put any money into it to make it run like a scalded dog. A PC V and a set of slip on mufflers will get you all it has and I know I will give up long before the FJR does. I mean in cornering and winding out the gears to top end. I see guys talking about 125, 150 MPH! Not in me, the fastest I have gone on a bike is 120 and that is enough for me.

I hope you find what you want but you are on two different bike designs and functions, so you need to figure it out yourself. I know a Road King or a FJR, man what a rough choice to have to make

 

[ice_station_zebra]

I am torn between an FJR and a HD Road King. I know the two are apples and oranges but these are the bikes am I interested in. Anyway, any input regarding my decision, especially from you folks with both an HD & FJR will be appreciated.

Also any smart*++ comments are encouraged!

Thanks,

Maddmax_33

I own them both, but if I could only have one it would be the FJR. The HD has been pretty lonely this year sittin' in the garage all by itself most of the time.

 

[64Y80]

I had a Road King Classic before my FJR, both great bikes, I sure do miss the cruise control of the Road King, but I love the handling of the FJR. Harleys have a better dealer network as well.

 

[kolonial72]

While I cannot in good conscience encourage someone to take on the HD label and all the fun things that come with it, if you MUST choose the Harley, the Road King might be the best choice. IMO.

 

[blueman]

I have owned about 40 plus bikes street and dirt. I have ridden with Harley's. I should say I rode around them! And I rode one once for a few miles. It felt like my Sears minibike I had when I was 7 years old in 1967. To each there own, but I cannot understand why people like to ride those things. I wish an American company would design a line of bikes that were on par with the Japanese or European rides. I would be first in line laying down the money. But after 100 years Harley can not come up with anything close. Ever time I ride my FJR it puts a big smile on my face!!!

 

[maddmax_33]

I don't know what to say.....you guys kick ass!

Thank you for all of the replies and advice. Much Much appreciated!!!

Maddmax_33

 

[wfooshee]

I sure do miss the cruise control of the Road King

That's not real hard to take care of . . . . . [SIZE=14pt]My[/SIZE] FJR has cruise control.

 

[Bust-A-Cap]

I'm 47 and I have been a motorcyclist for better than 26 years now. I started with a 79 Honda CB750, moved up to a 94 CB1000 and finally the 09 FJR. In my opinion the FJR will make you a better motorcyclist because it is a much more capable bike thoroughly stomping the Harley in every performance category you can think of without sacrificing comfort. I love the dual personality of my bike; a luggage toting tourer by day and a highway menace by night. Let's see a Hardly Not do that!

 

[SVTNate]

I own an '09 FJR and rented an '07 Road King this year to ride with my HD buddies to Laughlin. I put 1,000 miles on the bike over the course of a weekend.

I was seriously considering purchasing an HD for awhile, and then I rented one. No thanks. No brakes, no handling, no ground clearance, no power. Comfortable? Well, maybe with different bars. I got a horrible pinch in my right shoulder halfway to Laughlin and it stayed in my shoulder for the weekend as long as I was on the bike. Luckily, I had cruise control, so I was able to take my right hand off the throttle and stretch my arm back to the saddle back for some relief.

It ran fine, no oil leaks, no problems. The V Twin is smoother at cruising speed than the FJR. The suspension does soak up bumps nicely, at the expense of handling. It's surprisingly easy to maneuver at low speeds.

Verdict? Harley pirate stigma aside, IMO it's a really boring bike. Unless you gotta have the bar and shield, the new friends, the tee shirts, and gotta tell the world you have a Harley, it's a poor bike for anything but touring IMO. I'm 30 years old so the old look has no nostalgia factor for me. It's a decent looking bike, despite the gaudy chrome... but I no longer have any interest in Harleys. Renting the bike was expensive, but not nearly as expensive as it would have been to buy one and then find out how much I disliked it.

 

[FJR Bill]

I own an '09 FJR and rented an '07 Road King this year to ride with my HD buddies to Laughlin. I put 1,000 miles on the bike over the course of a weekend.
I was seriously considering purchasing an HD for awhile, and then I rented one. No thanks. No brakes, no handling, no ground clearance, no power. Comfortable? Well, maybe with different bars. I got a horrible pinch in my right shoulder halfway to Laughlin and it stayed in my shoulder for the weekend as long as I was on the bike. Luckily, I had cruise control, so I was able to take my right hand off the throttle and stretch my arm back to the saddle back for some relief.

It ran fine, no oil leaks, no problems. The V Twin is smoother at cruising speed than the FJR. The suspension does soak up bumps nicely, at the expense of handling. It's surprisingly easy to maneuver at low speeds.

Verdict? Harley pirate stigma aside, IMO it's a really boring bike. Unless you gotta have the bar and shield, the new friends, the tee shirts, and gotta tell the world you have a Harley, it's a poor bike for anything but touring IMO. I'm 30 years old so the old look has no nostalgia factor for me. It's a decent looking bike, despite the gaudy chrome... but I no longer have any interest in Harleys. Renting the bike was expensive, but not nearly as expensive as it would have been to buy one and then find out how much I disliked it.

Your experience mirrored mine very closely. I'm glad I rented the RK as it proved to me that I didn't want to go there. This thread has remained civil but I can't imagine me trying to make a decision between choosing a RK or the FJR. They are just not comparable. So me thinks a buyer needs to better define his/her riding expectations before laying out the cash. I suggest to anybody that hasn't ridden a Harley to rent one for a few days before buying one. Unfortunately its hard to find other bikes available for rental. Cheers to all, Bill

 

[flyingz06]

I have had the opportunity to ride a nice RK that belongs to a relative quite a bit. It's kinda fun cruising along on that big boy. I wouldn't kick it out of my garage if one happened to show up there, unless it meant I had to give up my FJR.
The FJR is way faster, way more versatile, way better in the twisties, more comfortable over long distances (IMHO) and way cheaper to maintain, especially with the info available here at the forum. What can I say. If its one or the other, for me the FJR wins this battle easy.

Harley = poo poo

 

[Greb]

Madmax,

Rent a HD and ride it for a day. Put your significant other on the back and hit the road. Make sure you can handle the weight on your ass constantly. There is no standing up to stretch out on a Harley. You must stop and get off if you're uncomfortable. Your back and shoulders are kind of stressed since your legs are out in front of you so you must keep your core tight to sit upright.

I owned a street glide for a couple years and traded it for my FJR. Is there things I miss about it? yes. But for the most part I'm glad I switched.

Things I couldn't live with anymore

1. The seating position killed me, I changed seats but it didn't help. Too much weight on your ass, no weight is distributed to your legs.

2. No passing power, if you want around that motor home you often feel trapped and when you do finally pass you're scared shitless for what feels like an eternity saying come on, come on you can do it.

3. Wife was uncomfortable on the back from a poor seating position. Engine heat, cramped seating (helmet bashing constantly), bad ergonomics.

4. Mechanical noise and shaking just wore me out after a long day.

There is more to list but you get the idea. I still think I may give them another try someday because at times I miss the character it had. The lack of power was the biggest problem I couldn't live with anymore. I hate the trapped feeling behind slower traffic. Passing was an adventure to say the least.