Harley Davidson 2003 RoadKing

Harley-Davidson Road King Classic
Introduction
God, according to many aficionados of the brand, rides a Harley-Davidson. What
is it that makes the oldest continually produced motorcycle marque in the world
so special that people will make such apparently blasphemous suggestions?

Glenn Le Santo decided to find out the hard way – he got on a Road King Classic
and set off across America for a 5,000 mile adventure on it.

Motorcyclists appear sharply divided on the Harley-Davidson issue – they either
love them or they hate them. Sadly, many of the latter camp have never even
ridden one, so their opinion isn’t reinforced by experience.

I was once in that
camp of firm detractors. And then I rode a Harley and everything changed.
When faced with a 5,000 mile trek from Louisiana to California and back there
seemed only one choice of motorcycle, a Harley. After all, why cross America on
anything but the one true American motorcycling icon? A few calls to Milwaukee,
the home of the ‘Motor Company’ in Wisconsin, soon had me sorted with one of
Harley-Davidson’s excellent hire fleet motorcycles. I was put in contact with the
fine folk of Baton Rouge Harley-Davidson who fitted me out with a brand new
Road King Classic and a matching rain suit. The hire program is open to anyone
with a valid motorcycle license it sure beats fly-drive in my book!

The FLHRCI Road King Classic is one of the ‘fat-wheeled’ Harleys (as denoted
by the ‘FL’ in the model name). It sports two big, white-walled tyres, as opposed
to the skinny front tyres on the chopper styled bikes. It sits midway between the
traditional Fifties styled Heritage range and the famous Electra Glide touring
machines as famously used by the highway patrols in the USA for many years.
The Road King is a tourer that also makes a good job of boulevard cruising. It
has a big gas tank, a wide saddle, footboards and a pair of deceptively capacious
leather-covered saddlebags. Like most any Harley it glitters with deep chrome
and luxurious paintwork. First and foremost it looks good, because looks are
important on a Harley.

The Road King is one of the big twin range, as opposed to the smaller
Sportsters, so it’s graced with a 1449cc twin cylinder engine, that’s 88 cubic
inches in American money. A motor like this produces plenty of rocking motion,
that’s vibration big time. To keep things under control, and to stop the engine
from snapping frame members and loosening your fillings, the entire motor is
rubber mounted. The engine shakes about on its mounts at idle but is very
smooth throughout most of the rev range. It’s only when you work the big twin
really hard that things start to get uncomfortable, but why bother to rev what has
to be one of the punchiest and laziest engines fitted to a modern motorcycle?
The correct way to enjoy the latest version of Harley’s successful ‘Evo’ engine,
now fitted with twin cams and in this case, fuel injection, is to cruise around using
the ample pulling power. The Road king drives hard from very low revs with
satisfying ease and produces its peak torque at a measly 3,3000rpm.

Pulling power isn’t limited to the engine department on a Harley. I was surprised
by just how much attention the Road King attracted in the USA. I’m used to
crowd pulling on Harleys in the UK where the bikes are still relatively rare. But I
didn’t realise they’d have the same effect in their home country, in fact more so!
Riding along the Highways and Freeways of the big country I had Stetsonwearing
SUV (four-wheel drives in English) drivers giving me the thumbs up. Gas
pump attendants would come out of their booths to admire the bike. And then
there are the women. In the UK I once had a girl offer me ‘a good time’ in return
for a ride on a Harley. Normally quiet and reserved girls become breast-bearing
exhibitionists once on board. Weird. In the USA the H-D badge seems to have
the same effect. You’ll often see pot-bellied bikers on the wrong side of forty with
incredibly gorgeous biker babes sat behind them on their Harleys – that’s pulling
power!

Harleys aren’t known for nimble handling and eye-popping braking power. In fact
they’re known for just the reverse! But things have changed; modern Harleys
have much better braking thanks to the recent addition of four-piston callipers
front and rear. Despite the bike’s substantial 345kg weight, that’s twice as much
as a sport bike, the brakes will haul the Hog to a stop in an acceptable distance.
The suspension, which is air assisted on the Road king, provides a plush ride
and keeps the big bike under control. There’s not a huge amount of clearance
and the hinged footboards clang down during spirited cornering. But the
suspension is compliant and soaks up most of the potholes you’ll encounter on
America’s vast road system.

The Road King is a comfortable bike. The handlebars and footboards are in
exactly the right place for the type of riding you’ll be doing on one. I’m a tall rider
and many bikes just don’t fit me, not so the Road King’ which seemed to invite
me in like an old favourite fireside chair. My only complaint is the saddle, which,
while nominally comfortable, became an instrument of torture after the first 200
miles. As we were doing as many as 800 miles a day I was soon squirming in
agony, especially as the combination of atmospheric and engine heat conspired
to turn the saddle into a sizzling hot plate to roast my butt on. I would rather have
had the Electra Glide’s deeper, more touring oriented saddle for such a trip. I
resorted to placing a folded towel on the saddle in an attempt to provide more
cushion and a little insulation from the blazing saddle.

Many people questioned my choice of mount for such an epic voyage; “What will
you do when it breaks down in the middle of the desert?’ they asked. My
response was simply that I trusted the Harley just as much as any new bike. That
trust isn’t based on sentiment but on experience. I’ve been riding them since
1992, and have ridden several models over thousand-mile distances in short time
spans. My 5,000 miles was done in seven days of actual riding and I’m happy to
report that the Road King really didn’t miss a single beat all the way. The bike
worked hard, carrying rider and luggage through intense desert heat - as high as
126 degrees Fahrenheit! It didn’t leak oil, nothing fell off and the bike still felt like
new when I returned it to the Baton Rouge dealership with a mileage that many
owners would take a year to do put on the odometer!

I don’t know if God really does ride a Harley, but the Road King is a bike that will
munch miles, turn heads, and give him an immense feeling of pride to own.
What’s more, it will keep its value better than any other modern motorcycle
available, not that God needs to worry about residual values.

Highs
Just riding the bike is a high
Seeing your reflection in store windows
The knowledge that you’re riding the same bike as God

Lows
More padding in that saddle please Willy G
Enough ground clearance for a cruiser, but only just
You’ll have to make some hard choices, like; shall I clean it? Or ride it?

Specifications
DIMENSIONS
Length: 2440 mm
Seat Height: (measured laden with 82 kg rider) 683 mm
Ground Clearance: 130 mm
Rake: 26 degrees
Trail: 156.5 mm
Wheelbase: 1592 mm
Tires: (Wide Whitewall): Dunlop Harley-Davidson Series D402
Front: MT90B16 72H
Rear: MT90B16 74H
Fuel: Capacity 18.9 L
Reserve Fuel Capacity: 3.3 L
Oil Capacity: 3.3 L
Dry Weight: 345 kg

ENGINE
Engine: Twin Cam 88 (vibration isolation-mounted)
Valves: Pushrod-operated overhead valves; with hydraulic self-adjusting lifters;
two valves per cylinder
Bore and Stroke: 95.3 x 101.6 mm
Displacement: 1449 cc
Compression Ratio: 8.8:1
Fuel System; ESPFI (Twin runner, 38mm throttle bore electronic sequential port
fuel injection)
Air Cleaner/Filter: Oval, with ESPFI-identifying, embossed aluminium insert; highefficiency,
pleated paper filtration
Ignition: Single-fire, non-wasted, map-controlled spark ignition system; electronic
breakerless with multiple advance curve matrix
Lubrication System: Dry sump, with spin on oil filter
DRIVETRAIN
Primary Drive: Double-row chain; oil bath; mechanical tensioner; ESPFI 25/36-
tooth sprockets (1.44:1)
Final Drive: Gates aramid fibre reinforced Poly Chain belt; 32/70-tooth sprockets;
2.188:1
Clutch: Multi-plate with diaphragm spring in oil bath
Transmission: Five-speed, constant mesh

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