New Road King is a Magic Carpet Ride

About the Bike

Published in (click here)
Rumble Magazine

Harley Davidson made some changes for the new 2007 models. I guess they decided that size matters. The new 07 Road King, and most of its cousins, sport a new 96 cu in. V-Twin, up from the 88 in. that powered their baggers in the past. Plus they all have the new 6-speed tranny to get you down the road with more choices.

Now that all of the new touring bikes for 2007 are fuel injected (carbureted models are not offered anymore) and with the new 96 cu. in. motors, the Road King is quite a performer.

Last year they produced an 88 in. motor with 86 ft. lbs. at 3500. The new 07 with the 96 cu. in. produces 92.6 ft. lbs. at 3500 rpm. They never quote HP. They changed a lot of the lower end parts for this upgrade. This includes crankshafts, connecting rods, crank cases, transmission cases, and all the transmission parts are new. Note, on the new models there are no more external oil lines. When they introduced the 6-speed transmission they moved the oil lines into the casing.

For the most part, all of the top-end remains the same with the exception of the fuel injectors. The Electronic Sequential Port Fuel Injection (ESPFI) has been upgraded with the new 25-degree fuel-injector nozzles (instead of 8-degree squirters). The addition of oxygen sensors lets the Big Twin get away without catalytic converters in the U.S. market, and new exhaust systems with redesigned mufflers emit a burlier but still EPA-friendly bark. Yes, you can actually hear the exhaust on a bike right off the showroom floor.

From what I understand, because of the new O2 sensors, there are no after market exhaust systems available yet. Obviously, you can replace the mufflers to get the desired effects you want. Plus the intake can be changed for better breathing. Then you have to remap the fuel injection system.

The new six-speed Cruise Drive transmission was first seen last year in the totally revamped Dyna family. Although sixth gear isn't a true overdrive, its 1:1 ratio reduces highway revs by 11% over the previous tranny's fifth gear. In addition, the Cruise Drive also includes some helical-cut gears that cut down on the whine inherent in straight-cut gears.

Test Drive

What a great, solid ride. How can you go wrong with a Road King? Yes, it is a big bike and it does weigh a lot. It comes in around 730 pounds. But when you are riding down the road, it adds a lot of stability and sense of purpose to the ride.

This was a completely stock 2007 model with about 1,200 miles on it. For being completely stock, I was impressed. That added midrange torque seems a lot more than the stated increase on 7 ft. lbs. You don’t crave on-ramps with this bike but it did perform quite nice. To me the upgrade with the new 96 in. motor brings it up to the old 88 in. with a stage one upgrade. I would love to see what a little time spent upgrading this would do for the performance. You know the saying; you can never have enough chrome or enough horsepower. Having said that, if you buy a Road King, you did not buy it for its straight-line performance.

After heading north on Cave Creek from Buddy Stubbs, I was able to blend into traffic with ease. The Road King is a very smooth running bike. The only time you get any vibration is at the stoplight or right after you start it up. When at idle the rubber mounted, 96 incher, vibrates like a washing machine out of balance. The engine looks like it is going to vibrate right out of the frame. This is normal. But the second you take of it is a smooth running Harley. Smoother than the Dyna’s with the B motor.

I spent about an hour on the bike as I headed west on the 101 around to the 202 and back up 51 where I had to give it back to Buddy Stubbs. It was about a fifty-mile loop and every minute on the bike reminded me that I love to ride. What I really wanted to do is ride north until I saw the sign; you are now entering Utah, and then east to a sign that says you are entering Colorado and on and on. By then, I am sure I would have heard from Jack at Buddy Stubbs.

The on-ramp to the 101 had a stupid sequence light to phase cars onto the beltway. No matter, after the light turned green, I was able to twist the grip to the limit to a little past the legal limit. It was refreshing, solid and smooth. The acceleration was good, for me, I would have to have some engine work done, just to make the time spent in the passing lane shorter.

Obviously, running down the road was a dream. It was like riding on a magic carpet with a windshield. I found that the 6th gear was really tall. You should be going over 65 mph because high gear is so tall. I would love to have known what the engine was taching when you are going around 65 or 70. I did go as slow as 60 without feeling that you are bogging the engine. You just do not want to have to gun it at that RPM. A quick double downshift will cure that.

Aside from the great ride and great bike, I am not sure what I can tell you about this bike. As far as I am concerned, this is one of the best Harley-Davidson motorcycles ever made. There are a lot of Road Kings out there with a lot of miles on them. It is very easy to see why this is one of the most popular Harley’s ever produced.

Summary

Harley-Davidson has made a wise and great choice to upgrade the new Road Kings with the 96 in V-Twin and new 6-speed tyranny. Except for idling, the Road King is a very smooth tour bike. Has a lot of capacity for carrying your toothbrush and hair brush so you can leave for a couple months at a time. The Road King is one of the best looking bikes on the road and after spending some time on it I can see why it is one of the most popular bikes out there.

Ride safe,

Kirk
Phoenixbikers.com