2009 Harley Davidson Road King FLHR

I purchased this in January 2009 and I have currently put over 18 thousand miles on it just here on the little island of Kauai. An island thats 72 miles from one end to the other. Now it's time for a road trip and I plan on being on the road for six months. I'm hoping to see out beautiful country and meet some good people.

I have wanted a Road King since before it was called a Road King. In 1991 I looked at an Electra Glide Sport the predecessor to the Road King. Life prevented me from that purchase but 18 years later I finally got it. 

It's been one year and I have ridden more than 18,500 miles and this is my thoughts.  To give you an idea on how small Kauai is, it’s one road end to end with lots of side roads and end to end is 72 miles.

Speed limits are from 15 to 50, most of it being 25-35. There are places where you can get some speed going and I can tell you that the bike is has stable as a train on rails, even in triple digit speeds.

This bike does everything well that it is intended to do. I can ride all day here on this small island stop and go traffic, slow speed, some highway speed and do it all day. I even did 307 miles in one day here, took many hours since it’s so slow here. It was about has close to an Iron Butt ride that you can have on Kauai

Bike corners very well and I have no ground clearance issues even when riding with my pal on an import. Forks are a little soft and when braking there is more dive than I’m accustomed to. I’ve had some emergency braking situations and ABS stops quickly, quicker than I think I could haul down this big bike in absolute control.

Power is more than adequate not the same as an import, but for some reason I like it better. It's not that hyper mode; it’s just a smooth rumbling pull.

I installed the removable backrest and luggage rack for added convenience. Four point system is slick but I think the bike looks better without it, the chrome covers for the mounting points does clean it up when no accessories are used.

Cruise control even on this little island is fantastic for giving your wrist a break. The switch to floorboards was easy and I like the heel-toe shifter too. I have a Ram-Mounted Garmin GPS which I hope to utilize soon on some road trips. I also installed a Ipod controller allowing me to adjust me Ipod settings from the handlebar.

My first true bagger I have used soft bags before, what can I say I can bring a jacket, water, camera, etc... I don' know how I rode a bike without bags before and wont own another bike without bags.

This bike was made for the open road. Comfortable suspension with cruise control and a large six gallon gas tank. Floorboards for added comfort and safety bars front and rear for added safety. A 96ci motor that's 1584cc gives you plenty of power for this tourer's intended purpose.

Here I have the backrest, windshield attatched.

GPS and Ipod Controller 

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