CYCLE TORQUE TEST 2017 HARLEY-DAVIDSON ROAD KING
Davidson accessory catalogue will turn up options. For day rides and weekends though, the Road King is fantastic. The panniers are easy to use, flipping the lid outward with the latch on the inside of the pannier. Unlike so many conventional panniers, everything doesn’t want to fall out when you open the lid, so using these panniers when you park the bike is a joy – ideal for cameras, hats, handbags and handguns, but you might want to put the change of clothes in a soft overnight bag, because you won’t want to carry the panniers to your hotel room. As I mentioned, they do come off the bike easily, thanks to a pair of hand-operated mounting screws inside each pannier, which is especially handy for accessing the rear shocks’ remote preload adjuster, which I recommend you do when adding a passenger and a load – it’ll make the King a bit more Royal and less like a juggling jester travelling down Australia’s hideous highways. 40 I JUNE 2017 cycletorque.com.au
A Royal Ride “The King should be plush,” I’m sure somewhere some spokesperson for a monarch has said at some time… Well, I’m not sure what happened, because the Road King doesn’t have the greatest seat in motorcycling, although it’s not actually bad. Indeed, it’s another reason I say the bike is great for day rides and weekends, because it’s only on the long haul you’ll start to wish his Royal Highness was a few millimetres higher. Overall comfort has been improved though, new suspension at both ends going some way to reducing the pounding on our royal derrieres compared to older Road Kings. The riding position is upright and proud. The high handlebars induce a straight back, the slightly forward-set floorboards with heel/toe controls sitting just where you expect.