Can't Believe I'm Asking for Harley Road King Help!

[TallTom]

Little back story. I'm starting to date a woman and the subject of motorcycles came up.

Me: Do you like motorcycles?
Her: I loved riding on the back of my dad's Roadking.
Me:. Your dad's Roadking?
Her:. Yes he left it to me in his will. I'd love to go get it?
Me: Go get it?
Her: Yes it's in Vancouver with my step mom. Been there for years.
Me: What is it.
Her: Roadking Police Special. It has a bigger engine. 1960 she thinks it is.
Me: Why don't we go get it?
Her: You'd do that for me?
Me:. Only if you make it a road trip with me.
Her: OMG my dad used to take me on road trips all the time. I'd LOVE to do it again.

So that's the set up.

I know almost nothing about Harley's, except the older ones Pre Evo engines were prone to crap falling off with no notice.

Canada to Ala would be a fantastic road trip on a Roadking, but man am I signing up for a headache of problems on an old HD RK?

So how reliable are these older bikes?
What should I do for inspection and service before I hit the road?
If it breaks are they still readily serviceable by repair facilities?
Should I consider carrying spares of anything?

 

[WuzzaCBXRider]

More info please. How many miles is the trip? What year is it, how long since anyone rode it for any real distance, last service, age of tires, chain/belt condition etc.

One year I toured from CA to northern ID with my late brother who rode his late 70s Harley bagger. The motor had been professionally rebuilt and it ran fine but we pretty much rode from one Harley shop to another along the way (three times) to get problems fixed. Master cylinder, clutch linkage and oil leak. Luckily the shops took it in right away and we didn’t lose much time. Still, it was a hassle. That was in 1999. These days, Harley shops turn down fixing any bike over ten years old.

 

[Popie]

I have a middle 90's EVO. Pretty solid. Looking at the motor on that RK it's not that old. If it's been taken care of should be no problem.

 

[Bumblebee]

Is that a picture of the actual bike? If so it sure looks great.

The biggest problem you will have is trying to get into and out of Canada right now as our borders are closed.

 

[GIXERHP]

Looks like a Twin Cam motor, What year is it, has it been started over the years?

 

[TallTom]

Is that a picture of the actual bike? If so it sure looks great.

The biggest problem you will have is trying to get into and out of Canada right now as our borders are closed.

Yes this is the actual bike. Seat has been changed on it to accommodate rear passenger.

I do not know these particulars yet. Will ask. Currently her mom is here from Canada staying warm til March.

We are discussing timetables. March her mom goes back. March also happens to be my mom's 94th BDay.

She got her first vaccine this week. 2nd dose in a month.

So for convenience, March is being discussed. I am a bit concerned that March in Vancouver may still be on the tail end of ice and snow. But we have to start somewhere. My mom lives by ferry from Vancouver. I can spend some time getting the bike serviced and ready to go. Like 2 weeks. That would get me into the first part of April.

The woman I'm dating agrees we want to make it a road trip and take in some sights. So we are kicking around 2+ weeks to do the trip. Won't be a straight run. We will go over to Yellowstone, then south via the Rockies. Utah for a good 5 days for the parks there. Then east to Ala. It should be warm by the time we get south of Yellowstone.

But we are just kicking this around timetable wise. Covid dictates some of this of course.

I haven't seen my mom in 2 years. I want to make her 94th.

 

[TallTom]

Looks like a Twin Cam motor, What year is it, has it been started over the years?

Unknown. Will advise.

 

[Jughead]

Yeah, looks definitely like a twin cam no doubt.
Looks like real clean bike.
Twinkies are great motors, know of one with 120,000 miles and still running strong

 

[mjl3truck]

I've got a 2001 twin cam, it has had a couple problems like the manual cam chain tensioners which if it is that old it has been replaced, I believe 2004-5 with hydraulic. The rotor has come off the crank a couple times but once again it was updated in 2004 or so. Otherwise I put a 95 cu in kit in it at 100,000 because it was getting to more of a turd. Actually the bores looked like brand new and it wasn't using oil between 5000 mile oil changes, the valves and seats were shot which was my low compression. They are good motors as long as you don't ask too much more out of them then what they came from the factory with.

 

[TallTom]

I've got a 2001 twin cam, it has had a couple problems like the manual cam chain tensioners which if it is that old it has been replaced, I believe 2004-5 with hydraulic. The rotor has come off the crank a couple times but once again it was updated in 2004 or so. Otherwise I put a 95 cu in kit in it at 100,000 because it was getting to more of a turd. Actually the bores looked like brand new and it wasn't using oil between 5000 mile oil changes, the valves and seats were shot which was my low compression. They are good motors as long as you don't ask too much more out of them then what they came from the factory with.

Good info. I have to think that this bike has to be a newer bike bike from her childhood memories. She is too old to be riding with her dad in 2004. :-)

I'm on my way to Seattle, mom took a turn for the worse since I started this thread.

I'll try and drill down into the particulars more when I return in Feb.

 

[kml]

Ship it to a reputable Hailey dealer in Vancouver, or have them pick it up, full service, new tires so and so forth.

If it breaks down, so what? it's an adventure, it's only gonna cost time and money. LOL

Have fun. It's not the iron butt.

cheers
ken

 

[rd99]

Go for it........even though it's not black.

 

[busafan08]

I used to have a 94 road king which had the EVO motor The bike was very reliable until I started to mess with the motor then it became very unreliable The road king in the picture looks stock and clean bike should be a good reliable bike have fun

 

[GMbusa]

They're solid bikes. Just maintain them and change the brake fluid.

 

[GMbusa]

If that's a 6spd, that's an 07'. Last year of the throttle cables. The front cable controls and the rear takes up the slack. Any questions feel free to ask.

 

[Walris]

Agree with KML: Have it serviced by a Harley dealer, stem to stern. The rubber stuff leaks/melts. The carbs are probably FUBAR. Guesstimate is $2.5k, including the tires. But she can recoup that if she sells.