2017 Harley-Davidson Road King
Longtime fans of the brand will recognize the
influence of the old Duo-Glide circa 1958 and the FLH models that came after.
Really, it’s the front end that sets the tone with massive, 49 mm forks made to
look even fatter with a chrome, “beer can” fork skirt and “Hiawatha” headlamp
nacelle. Whisker-bar mounted passing lamps and turn signals finish the forward
lighting, and a large, “Detachables” windshield crowns the whole assembly.
The frame itself is rather conventional, and follows
the same double-downtube, double-cradle format as the rest of the heavy-frame
FL family. Made up mostly of mild-steel tubing, the frame uses a rectangular
backbone to support the 826-pound wet weight and 1,360 GVWR. The steering head
is set at 26 degrees, but an offset in the tripletree adds to that for a
29.25-degree fork angle with 6.7 inches of trail — numbers that are obviously
set up for stability at speed and low-fatigue cruising/touring.
Now for the exciting new stuff: forks and shocks that
boast Showa’s “dual bending valve” technology. This provides better damping
performance over the full range of motion and the capacity for faster direction
reversals for superior road-following abilities. The rear shocks come with a
hand-adjustable preload knob to replace the old style that required a spanner
to adjust, but still run with fixed compression and rebound damping just like
the front.
The crown jewel of any Harley is the engine, and
that’s especially true this year since the ’17 FLHR sports Harley’s brand-new
Milwaukee-Eight engine as its beating heart. At 107 cubic-inches (1,746 cc),
this is the largest production engine from The Motor Company to date, and the
power output places it well into the power-cruiser/tourer/whatever category.
Harley offers a range of prices depending
on which color package you choose. The basic Vivid Black model rolls for US$ 18,999 with a whole fistful of color options that can drive the price as high
as US$ 21,399. Options such as the ABS and security system will set you back
another Us$ 795 and US$ 395 respectively, and as usual, California riders can expect
to take a US$ 200 hit for their special emissions package.
