Harley Davidson Road Glide Vs. Harley Davidson Road King

The Harley Davidson Road Glide and the Harley Davidson Road King are ideal touring motorbikes with classic looks, stock saddlebags, crash bars, and floorboards. Both motorcycles are suited for long-distance rides. Both motorbikes have similar features, including a Milwaukee-Eight 107 engine, two-up seat, six-gal fuel tank capacity, and chrome finish. However, the Harley Road Glide has both traditional and modern looks, being bigger and heavier than the Harley Road King. Being a modern touring bike, it comes with a Boom!™ Box 4.3 infotainment system.

Meanwhile, the Harley Road King is a classic touring motorbike with a large windshield. It comes with Hiawatha headlamps, a stylish front fender, a leather seat, and a chrome finish. The Harley Road Glide shares a resemblance with the Harley Heritage Classic. Both have a large windshield, Hiawatha headlamps, and stock saddlebags. This article provides a detailed comparison between the Harley Road Glide and the Harley Davidson Road King.

The Harley Road Glide is a bagger-style touring motorcycle with a frame-mounted shark-nose fairing, stock hard saddlebags, crash bars, and floorboards. The shark-nose fairing is equipped with analog gauges, a display screen, a small windscreen, two speakers, and two stylish headlamps. The chrome side mirrors are mounted to pull-back handlebars with low risers. The Harley Road Glide comes with a step-up seat, ensuring lower back support for the rider. It is also fitted with a narrow front fender and a large-sized rear fender. The Harley Road Glide is fitted with chrome two-into-one-into-two exhaust with dual tapered mufflers. It also comes with Enforcer II cast aluminum wheels and Dunlop Bias Blackwall tires.

The Harley Davidson Road King comes with stock hard saddlebags and a front fork-mounted large windscreen. It has chrome Hiawatha headlamps, a large round headlight enclosed in a nacelle in the center, and two small headlights with front turn signals attached. The Harley Road King also comes with a comfortable two-up seat. The gauges are mounted on a teardrop-shaped fuel tank with a fuel capacity of six gal. The Harley Road King is fitted with chrome mid-mounted, pull-back handlebars. It comes with a classic front fender with the Road King logo on both sides and a large rear fender with a classic tail light and a license plate holder. The Harley Road Glide is fitted with Dunlop Bias Blackwall tires wrapped around Slicer II cast aluminum wheels.

At the heart of the Harley Road Glide is a 1,753 cc Milwaukee-Eight 107 engine capable of producing 93 hp horsepower at 5,020 rpm and 150.5 Nm torque at 3,250 rpm. The Milwaukee-Eight 107 V-Twin engine has smooth power and torque delivery at all gear levels. However, the Harley Road Glide accelerates slowly due to being bulky and heavyweight. It has a six-speed transmission connecting to the rear wheel via a belt drive. The assist and slipper clutch ensures smooth clutch operation and gear shifts. The Harley Road Glide is equipped with electronic fuel injection, ensuring a fuel economy of 43 mpg.

The Harley Road Glide is fitted with Brembo brakes, with electronically linked braking (ELB) and an optional ABS to ensure reliable braking. The ELB prevents the wheel from locking in emergency braking situations. It also has high-performance, responsive suspensions with easily adjustable rear shock absorbers for a comfortable touring experience. The front forks provide a wheel travel of 4.6 inches, and the rear shock absorbers provide a wheel travel of 2.1 inches.

The Harley Road Glide is fitted with a 1,753 cc air-cooled, Milwaukee-Eight 107 engine with the capability to produce a horsepower of 93 hp at 5,020 rpm and a torque of 150.5 Nm at 3,250 rpm. The Milwaukee-Eight 107 engine has smooth and linear power delivery. The Harley Road King takes time to accelerate at low gear levels due to being a heavyweight motorbike.

The Harley Road King comes with a mechanically actuated, assist & slipper clutch that ensures smooth gear shifts. With a wet weight of 828 lbs, this motorbike is easy to handle while cruising on highways and turning corners. However, it is slightly difficult to maneuver at low speeds if you are not used to riding a heavyweight motorcycle.

The Harley Road King also comes with Reflex™ linked Brembo® brakes along with an optional ABS that can provide reliable braking. However, it is not easy to make sudden stops due to being a heavyweight motorcycle. The Harley Road King has 49 mm front forks with linear damping characteristics and easily-adjustable rear shock absorbers to ensure comfortable rides on smooth roads.

The Harley Road Glide has mid-mounted, pull-back handlebars and a low seat height of 25.9 inches, ensuring laid-back riding ergonomics. The mid/forward-mounted floorboards ensure adequate legroom for taller riders. However, a normal-sized or a shorter rider has to sit slightly forward in an upright riding position. The Harley Road Glide’s ergonomics are suitable for both taller and normal-sized riders. However, it is difficult to handle at low speeds due to being a heavyweight motorcycle. The Harley Road Glide has a wet weight of 855 lbs, making it unsuitable for riding through traffic. To improve its cruising capability, the Harley Road Glide’s small windshield can be replaced with a large windshield for better wind protection.

The Harley Davidson Road King is a comfortable touring motorbike with a large windshield for better wind protection and hard saddlebags that open with a single touch. The mid-mounted, pull-back handlebars and a seat height of 26.3 inches ensure an upright riding position. It has mid/forward-mounted floorboards with adequate legroom for a shorter or average rider. The Harley Road King’s ergonomics make it suitable for shorter and taller riders. However, it can be slightly uncomfortable for taller riders on long-distance rides. The Harley Road King also comes with passenger floorboards.

For a better touring experience, the Harley Road King can be fitted with backrests, sissy bars, and luggage racks. You can also install aftermarket bags like saddlebags, sissy bar bags, tank bags, and tour packs.

The Harley Road Glide is a comfortable touring bike. It comes with stock hard saddlebags and floorboards so the rider can comfortably rest their feet while cruising on highways. However, the windscreen attached to the stock shark-nose fairing is inadequate and can be replaced with a large windscreen for better wind protection. The Harley Road Glide can also be fitted with sissy bars, backrests, and luggage racks.

The Harley Davidson Road Glide and the Harley Davidson Road King are heavyweight touring bikes with comfortable ergonomics. Both motorcycles are fitted with a Milwaukee-Eight 107 engine capable of producing smooth power delivery. The Harley Road Glide is a bagger-style motorbike with a classic and modern look. Meanwhile, the Harley Road King is a cruiser-style touring bike with a large windscreen and hard saddlebags. The chrome front end, handlebars, engine, dual tapered mufflers, and leather seat give this motorcycle a vintage look. Both motorcycles are difficult to maneuver in slow-moving traffic. Both motorcycles perform well on linear and smooth roads. However, the Harley Road Glide provides a more fun touring experience with its Boom!™ Box 4.3 infotainment and audio system.