Sorry man, didn’t mean at all to make a thing out of “classic” …. That bike would’ve been my choice before they cancelled it… then they’ve seen fit to get rid of the spokes on the heritage…. No more classic… what’s next, yup a water boxer in the touring models.
If you like blacked out bikes, and thousands of people do, buying a blacked out special is still a lot cheaper than buying a cheaper chrome bike and then changing out every chrome part.
The Road King was originally released in 1994, and was "inspired" by the 1940's HD bikes. Over the years, different models of the Road King were released, including: Road King Classic (leather bags, spoke wheels), Road King Custom, and Road King (standard with hard bags). If you are going to talk about the Road King, it is important to differentiate about the different versions - the King has quite a following and I don't think it will be "put to pasture".
As per younger folks and Harley's. My Son and his buddies started a bike night a few years ago. It has grown to hundreds of bikers. When I look 60% of the bikes are Harley's with younger looking folk hanging around. They certainly out numbered us older folk. I see tons of people in their 30's or younger proudly riding their lovely Harley's of every shape and color! Maybe it's just like that where I live?
According HD press site they haven’t made a classic since like 2015 but sites in other markets, show them up till 2017… regardless I said classic and they don’t make a classic so I called it by the wrong name…
See, lots of us will stick up for you. Our thumbs-down will sort those comments to the bottom and you can just ignore them and keep your focus on making great content!
When I purchased my Road King in 2004 three different models where available at that time; Road King (hard bags), Road King Classic (leather bags) and Road King Custom (leather bags). I bought the Road King Custom.
I think you’re right that young people don’t really care for Harleys or at least that was the case for me. I didn’t grow up in a motorcycle household at all and in my 20s I gravitated towards sports bikes. In my 30s I moved towards Harleys as I wanted more comfort and the style of sport bikes just lost its appeal to me. As far as used being entry level, maybe a few years ago but these used bikes are fetching the same as new, might as well get a new one with better terms lol. But you’re right, Harley is not into this to make them affordable….
I think a lot of dealerships are exploiting the supply shortage right now but not all. We bought a 2019 Sportglide in February and dealership was a better deal than any private seller deal I could find.
Spot on with your views brother. Everything in business is about making money and turning a profit for stakeholders. No profit, no stakeholders and then no company! We have to be realistic when it comes down to all this. Ducati, Aprilia, Honda and all the other brands operate in the same way. Stay safe brother. G'day from Australia.
I just bought a brand new Electra Glide Standard, I was looking at used (Twin Cam) Street Glides but they were priced higher than they sold for new, (though they all had low miles) when the EGS came in on the truck, but I don't know of the popularity of it among regular Harley customers, I hadn't realized it at the time but it really was in my wheelhouse because I just wanted a touring model with cruise control (linked ABS was a nice option though) because I had been wanting a Twin Cam (because I have lots of parts and experience with them) I didn't mind it being a 107. I can see why it's not a popular model as every touring guy I've met since owning it refers to it as "the stripped down model." That's a direct marketing problem that Harley Davidson created to sell Street Glide standards for $5K. more. I completely agree though that Harley will use the completely saturated used market as their entry level models. They quit selling the Sportster because it works against their current caste marketing system; they hope the Revmax owners stay within the Revmax family. I imagine there will be a midsized Revmax touring model that is built for people with less muscle mass.
Your comments about young riders not being H-D customers is right. It's the way I've felt all of my life. In the '70s when I was in my early twenty's I was riding a Suzuki 750 and thought Harley's were an old man's bike. Things haven't really changed all that much as you have stated in your comments. I have a '14 RK now and a '17 RGS as well. At my age these will probably be my last Harley's as I don't ride nearly as much as I used to so they won't be getting many miles put on them. If I get into my eighty's and still want to be on two wheels I will probably want something lighter and smaller for local duty stuff only. Ride safe and be happy!
Harley-davidson is a business, yes. They have been for over a century. However, I do believe they are wandering away from what made them. To make a harley davidson a "luxury " is just wrong in my opinion. Keep up the good work Mike. I do enjoy your videos.
If 2023 RK standard has a 114, and the Road Glide a 117, I’d be really torn to make a decision between the two. I think it would come down to which one has a 120 year anniversary badge!
Howdy Mike, nevermind the keyboard warriors and the Harley fundamentalists. Besides politness, respect and tolerance that are (or should be) central values for everybody, for us, true bikers (whatever it means), more than brag about our "knowledge" in contrast to some minor fault of the vlogger, the real important thing is to "keep ooooon riding". 😉 Thanks for all the information you share with us. All the best and peace from Brazil.✌
You made sense in the first video and new points in this one that i feel are spot on. The used bike for beginners should be a given anyway, they are dependable enough these days and new riders are probably gonna have a small accident or 2. And you are spot on with growing up in a harley family or close friends. If you follow enough RU-vid you'll see guys in the late 20s early 30s coming from street bikes and dirt going to harley. I love your information and no one can predict harley including themselves. Keep up the great content and look forward to seeing whats next for 2023!
I love the idea of the standards going 114 and the specials all gping to 117. I test rode a 117, and it was awesome! Would love to see it in more bikes. I wish more Fat Bobs were in dealers around here, I only find street bobs. I only saw one electra glide.
Thanks for the video. What happened to the Road King? Where is the classic Road King with the chrome and windshield? They only make the 'special' now, correct? That's not the Road King I grew up drooling on. Btw, yellow and blue for 2023? Really? That blue looks like a toy, but color is subjective. I'm disappointed...
You make perfect sense on everything. There are tons and tons of used bikes at our local dealership. I didn’t understand why at first but now I know. Thanks brother!
I thought of one more thing Mike. Those trolls probably call themselves bikers because they are sporting a Segway. That’s it Man Mountain Mike. I’m really out now on this thread.
The basic Road Glide and basic Street Glide are essentially Road Kings with fairings and radios. Only other differences are the lack of saddlebag guards on both, no passing lamps, slightly different seats, and passenger foot rests. I’m guessing that anything they do to the RK, they’ll also do to the basic Street and Road Glides. If you want blacked out, you’ll still have to upgrade to the special. I’d hate to see the RK get a 114, but only because I bought a new 2022 with a 107 this year 😊
Good info: The road king special is a minimalist bike. Very simple , not many bells and whistles. Road King “Classic” has a different package altogether, as u know. Not as easy as blacked out or chrome. I enjoyed hearing your thoughts, no risk no reward! Keep it coming!!
If I recall, the term classic is generally attached to the name such as Road King Classic, if spoke wheels were part of the package, I also think Indian bikes will also use Classic as a laced wheels model..me, I don't want the spokes on my ride!
Heritage Classic comes with mags since Covid but spokes are an option. Unfortunately it’s not that simple… in this case they changed wheels, seats and bags….
I'm 58 and I still want a 200 H.P. 400 lb. bike. I do think it makes sense to have the Road King available in black and chrome. Definitely not buying a used Harley from a dealer when they are asking more for a used one than the new one sitting right next to it. Pure insanity. I love the Road King, but the stock seat is the worst seat of any bike they offer.
No apology needed. Your logic was sound. I agreed with you. Sometimes things turn out differently to what we think and that's ok. Nobody has a magic ball to predict the future.
Harley Davidson has done some really nice upgrades with the newer Road Kings. In contrast, I have an old Road King that I will not part with anytime soon in the foreseeable future. The Harley Davidson Road King is one of the most elegant, stylish and archetypical Harley Davidson motorcycles ever produced and forever etched in HD's rich history of motorcycle designs. The Road King is the personification of a Harley Davidson icon. Road King stands supreme and has no equal. Those select riders who own one are indeed privileged. I own a 2003 Road King Classic, 100-Year Anniversary Edition, with the Screaming Eagle engine upgrade from an 88 V-Twin to a 95. The fast producing torque and sound is exhilarating. My Road King with its original anniversary Two-Tone Sterling Silver and Vivid Black paint colors stands out. The commemorative medallions seen throughout this ride's sculpted design adds to its nostalgia, mystique, and exclusivity.
I had a Road King "Classic" hard leather saddlebags. After they discontinued selling the Road King Classic in the USA they still sold them in the overseas market.
Loved the video, and it makes me laugh to hear people get that upset to calling a bike the "wrong" name. Seems we keep getting more non binaries in the world each hour. Hell I miss the Roadking Classic/Custom and slowly getting my 21 RK Special set up like my old RK Custom. It's very smart for the moco to cut unnecessary models, ones that cannot be as customized or tailored to a rider, but also ones that are now, underpowered. Hate saying underpowered as the 107 still rips factory, with a stag1 or hell more, but it's still not a 114. Most of the people I ride with wanted the 114 over th3 107, and 4 of them were all bought recently. Last, harley is a lifestyle or culture and you either want one or you grow into wanting one. I know I had to get older and save up to afford my first harley...thank you Iraq deployment 2006.
I still don’t think they’ll get rid of the “standard” models. Regardless of the motor, road king has different wheels, shorter bags, halogen headlight and a windscreen, where the special gets the stretched bags, chopped crash bars, daymaker and a few other bits and bobs. The same with the others standards vs specials. The standards have the short bags, full crash bar, the low spec head unit, etc and the special gets the chopped crash bar, full spec head unit, stretched bags, 12” shocks, day maker on the street glide. There ls definitely still room for the standards and the specials. I could also see them putting an updated head unit in the specials and give the standards the current unit or maintaining the same old one.
If they can the road king standard I'm buying a Springfield out of spite lol. I'd love to see a white sand pearl road king. Rumor from 305 rider says the low rider st will come in white sand pearl. I'm way too tall for that bike so fingers crossed for a white chromed out road king
I "grew" in to a Rod King. Or I knew I have to own the 200+hp bikes first. Then I knew I will appreciate the Road King for a longer time. If I stardet with HD I know I would have sold it faster. For faster bikes not for the top speed but for the acceleration. And feel of a lighter sportier bike. Now I only have my road king and its a keeper. I Will maybe buy one bike more an old ninja maybe and maybe in the future an offroad bike. Very cheap won't spend a lot of money again on a sportsbike already done it. Don't regret any glad I took the path I knew was right. Always have liked the Road King and ninja since I was a kid.
I forgive you. However, the standard bike is one of HD"s best bikes. Some of us don't WANT a chopped engine guard or harder seat or no shield or bag guards or shorter shocks or fewer lights or stretched bags. None of that makes it tour better and black finishes don't help either. Sure, 114 would be nice. But the base model even with 107 is just too good to cancel. The RKS is not quite as good for touring. My 2 cents.
you ask for comments so here is mine. first, I agree with your thoughts an Harley projections. I ride a Harley because I enjoy it, not because of its upgraded tech.. if I want tech in motorcycles, I'll ride my 88' Goldwing, with reverse gear! not even new Harleys have tech of 88' Honda!
I guess the FLHR would be the “standard” road king. I couldn’t imagine hd scrapping it. Everyone speculating is funny. We will all know for sure what’s going on in the next couple weeks
I wanted a Road King and still do, but like the ones I remember with the heal toe shifter, original wheels the same wheels as on the police bikes. Don't need a huge engine. the 107 will be more than fine. But when I went to the shop they wanted extra for the heal toe shifter. Tried to tell me the new wheels are better? then why do the police want the original wheels? the same reason I do. Well they lost a sail there. I am the customer and if they do not want to please me I will be riding something other than Harley, and I am one of many. Just may be if Harley looked after there customers they would have a lot more repeat riders.
NEWS FLASH! OMG! Knuckles, panheads, shovels, and evos. Just watched a video where the guy said the new Revolution motor heads look like "PARKING METERS!" I think that name is going to stick for life!
The Harley culture is strong in Australia. The older riders have them as they appreciate the ride and are bike enthusiasts. The young ones have them all for the look. We @kazomoto are lucky. We have a good cross of bikes to give us our freedom. Clearly the rider half of KazoMoto is spoilt 😅. New sub. We are loving your channel
Man, I know several guys in their early and mid twenties and they all either want or already own a Harley. Several of them ride baggers. Almost no one owns a sportster anymore and they especially love the Low Rider S. One kid went to buy a 48 and left on the LRS. 🤷🏻♂️. So much for my theory about Harley being too expensive for the younger crowd. I’m sure a lot of it is due to the tremendous popularity of Harley Davidson motorcycles here in the Tulsa Oklahoma area, but I’m almost shocked to see just how incredibly popular big, heavy, expensive, Harley Davidsons are among the twenty something crowd here. Maybe Harley knows something I don’t?
I thinks it’s easy to back seat drive but we don’t have access to the data they do so they have better data to make decisions that we may not understand.
If you would have just said “RoadKing”, then everyone would have complained that they were misled. They would have assumed you meant the whole model line. Not all of us RoadKing owners got twisted about it.
I've got a FLHR Road King. I noticed your mistake, but I just chuckled a bit. I knew what you meant. It's weird that some got bent out of shape about it.
The situation Harley is in shows the incompetence of the board and current CEO with regards to supply chain management. They have had nearly three years to sort this mess out. However it must be acknowledged that their sales are still declining and they first used the pandemic and now supply chain issues as a cover for the loss in sales. With regards to used bikes, too many dealers are selling four year old tour models at new bike prices. Go look, it is amazing how much a 2018 Street Glide goes for in many markets. However HDFS is expected to post big losses in Q3 and that pretty much means the party is over.
I listen to the quarterly report this morning. I don’t have the numbers in front of me right now for HDFS but overall revenue is up considerably and stocks Rose like six points this morning
well, you can't please everyone... I understood your first video completely. but I still think Harley is Pricing new riders out of the market, but I will say Harley Panama City sold 80 something bikes during the Thunder Beach Bike rally...
I agree with what they should do. But instead of just the 114 or 117 build them with the stage II included. Offer it as trim model whatever. The stage II opens up the motor to way it should be. great channel. Thanks.
like Harleys like all motorcycles really the problem with the used harleys as entry level bikes is I'm not interested in paying 5 figures for an old ass bike 10 years old or more... just because its called Harley..... But to each their own.
I don't see H.D. getting rid of the standard Road King or the conglomerating of the two models, the differences between the two models are quite different to the comparable Softail heritage models, the heritage models(chrome vs blacked out) are virtually identical hardware wise except for the differences in chrome vs painted black, whereas the Road King models have very distinct hardware differences i.e. stretched saddlebags, different seats, windshield, trim hardware, lighting, handlebars, etc. They share the same platform but they are two very different models of bikes much like the Street Glide & the Street Glide specials are, if H.D. gets rid of the standard King, they might as well get rid rid of the standard Street Glide.
There is a difference tho beside the motor size FLHR (standard) has passing lamps and windshield and the full size engine guard .. me personally.. I prefer the standard. Hope they leave the standard models
I understand the differences including the seat but cost wise the motor is the most significant difference to justify the differences, the rest is pretty easy to change out or add as a customer. Stay tuned...
Harley has one job. Make 1957 classic motorcycles. If they think they’re going to convince new riders to spend another $20k on top of the price of a Honda. They’ve lost their fool minds. “Most” people that already own a Harley are going to keep that bike for decades. I’m one of ‘em. I own an 04 Road king classic. I’ll never replace it. (Not saying I won’t buy other bikes) but I have no reason to replace it. What the F do know? Do what ever you’re going to do Harley.
I think younger riders are interested in Harley, Harley just needs to make those motorcycles, which they can, exhibit A) Pan-American, exhibit B) Sportster. You g people haven't wanted a Harley because Harley didn't make the motorcycles that they want. And it is the dichotomy of the culture that shuns them away. There's some dudes and dudette that all about fun, there's other dudes and dudette s that are about ritual and fucking with people. The ritual and fucking with people makes new riders go "fuck that". The dyna bros are what is going to save Harley. That free flowingness, that level of customization and ride how you want to ride, that mentality when approaching Harley, is what is going to push the company into the 21st century. Also, Born Free Texas was pretty fun.
Used bikes cost same new, so that isn't an entry level way in. I've been looking and if I'm going to pay the same amount for a used bike that's 1-4 years old, I'm just gonna get new. If someone's on a certain budget, they'll just look elsewhere
On the money!! Their goal is to make money! Every vehicle manufacturer has that same goal! They have all taken advantage of the economic conditions to make more and really, good on them for trying to stay in business!
Not all that easy to afford a certified pre-owned one from a dealer either. I think the new entry level bike is one with between 40,000 and 80,000 miles.
I knew they would not cancell most of the lower end bikes makes no sence. It wouldnt leave room for the specials and for the new riders to enter the Harley Brand.
It's a new place, this America. In My opinion. No Apology Necessary. Your opinion belongs to You. This New America-I'm Not a Fan... Road King Classic. Road King Custom. Road King. WGAFF. They're Missing the Point. Harley's getting away from the 107... Keep On Keepin On!!!
Harley is going FULL RUB !! they are dumping all the bikes the working class can afford, they are pushing the Bikers out of Harley by pricing them out !! 1st they had to get rid of all us bikers in the dealers, fill the dealers with clean cut used car salesman who can't tell the difference between a switchback and a road king and once the REAL bikers were trimmed out of most of the dealers, the Dealer groups moved in and started buying up mom and pop dealers and jacking the prices and fee's and even a T-shirt at some of these palaces sells for $60 and Now the last step to get rid of the bikers, price them out of Harley and get rid of the sportsters, get rid of all the base models !! they don't want people who look like you and me in their dealerships.
F the little whiners who need an apology. Ur human Mike, we all make mistakes and anyone with half a brain, knows that you only mean well and do the best you can. How many of the complainers ride a import bike anyways. On the Ducati site, endless compliments because of no gas gauge, no electronic function to prevent stalling at low speeds. W.T.F. ? If you need a electronic function to buy a 200 plus horsepower V4 Sport Bike, hey Junior, YOU CAN'T RIDE. Rant over. Carry on. 🇺🇸😎💪🇺🇸
What Harley called them in the past has nothing to do with today. They have the road king special and the classic Road King whether they call it classic or not compared to special it is the classic. Ride safe.
I agree that the younger generation just hasn’t come around to Harley yet. And I don’t see the big air cooled Harley going anywhere for a while. But they need to do something on more of a global front. I don’t know if that means spinning off a company that competes in more markets or leveraging the H-D name to do it. But they have to get into those markets somehow or they’re going to become a boutique company. That’s not what I’d like to see.
@@sarider6294 we could take a whole weekend trip on them and swap back and forth and a review video heads up from 2 perspective if you talk you know who into that, assuming they build it!
In europe we dont even have the street glide standard. Think we only had them 1 or 2 years. And i always think when they faze it out somewhere. Other countries are too follow eventually.
Eu is a little different cause standards, we have bikes available here from Indians and HD that you don’t get because they don’t come with ABS… so hard to say …
@@RidingintheOzarks very true. But its cheaper to have bikes sold all across the globe. I believe the sportster only lasted so long in the states that they were using up build up stock. But the 107 streetglide standard had and still has the standard to be sold in europe. Just started to get fazed out here first because sales were lower here. Just like the sportglide sales were higer here in the states. But i'm sure it wont take long untill that leaves here aswell. Just cheaper. Well just my thoughts on it ofcourse.
Fat Bob will probably go away. It's a cool bike, but it's overpriced. Kinda miss my '15 Fat Bob, as well as my Heritage. Certified pre-owned is the artificial inflation too. APR on used is not nearly as the same as new. If you can afford it, buy it outright, then it's a better deal...my 0.02
The ST was referred to sport touring in a press release. On the S when it first came out people assumed it was for special cause it was upgraded and blacked out like the Special touring models at the time…
I don't see what I would call a ton around here, I consider kids someone under 30, I do see more 30-40 year old's going to HD then in the past, I hear a lot more young people on the west coast are getting into them.
@@RidingintheOzarks Im in the Northeast and by kids I mean 21-30. For some reason its become cool to ride Harleys again if they can afford them. Sport bike market still dominates that segment but its changed thats for sure. I like seeing younger people keep the brand popular. Im in my 50s so a 21 year old is like an infant, miss those days.
@@K31011 appreciate the feedback, I think the Harley stunt crowd helps get younger people interested in the brand. What ever it is I am glad to see it.
