Ride Report: 2010 FLHRC Demo (Stock)

On September26, 2009, I took a demo ride on a 2010 Road King Classic at the Long Branch NJ Harley-Davidson dealership.  I signed a waiver and walked over.  My sales guy was already standing there and started up the bike as I approached.  The bike was silver.

I threw a foot over the saddle and grabbed the bars.  Pulling the bike upright, I got a sense of how heavy it was.  Wet weight is just over 800 lbs.   I kicked back the stand, pulled in the front brake lever, and plopped down.  There was a very nice cushioning feel and if not for my arms being too high up, it would have been alright.

The bars were the first problem I noticed.  Stock bars are awful.  Skipping forward: on my return, the first part I ordered was a new set of bars:  Wild1’s Chubby beach bars, to be exact.  The HD dealers can order 3rd party parts and roll them into your warranty @ purchase, did you know that? I had no idea. I got a 3rd party horn, and you’ll recall the slip-ons are 3rd party as well.  In the end, the fact that I hadn’t actually tried the bars made me second guess the addition when I learned that for an ABS model, it would be about 8 hours for them to switch out the bars.  Big Chris mentioned that since the front end was being pulled apart for a few other add-ons, now was the time to do the bars, but there didnt’ seem to be any practical benefit to doing them now (and I wasn’t sure they’d be a perfect fit … for what ends up around $850, you better be sure they’re the one for life).  But backing up …

The bars were not right; they were cramped and too far forward.  I have to find bars that fit right and get them on…eventually.

The floorboards put my knees up too high.  I had boots on, and I suppose most times I’ll wear regular shoes, but I’ll get highway pegs and I might get the floorboard relocation kit.  It’s strange to feel cramped on a bike that large; I’m only 6’1″ and 210lbs.  I know I’ve seen guys pushing 350lbs on road kings.  Where does the belly go?

But all these tailorings are par for the course.  The stock seat was pretty nice, but I hear over the miles it starts to bother.  I was planning on getting a seat, but there are just so, so many that I wanted to be sure to pick the right one.  Besides, a seat is cake to install.

With my feet on the ground and the bike in neutral, I rev’d the engine ever-so-slightly.  The odometer read “000008” so this was a tender moment.  I could tell no one had taken this bike out for a demo ride (though it was late in the day when I arrived); the v-rods and softails got most of the action.  I heard all bikes come from the factory with either 7 or 8 miles on them, which is the proper test mileage.  The engine spun up instantly.  In my mind, throttle-by-wire + fuel injection is like having a clean carb forever (never sticking, never throbbing, never lagging).

The engine’s idle was high, like a toy.  There was no grunt, no oomf, no soul in the sound.  The EPA strangles manufacturers more and more every year.  My VL800, half the engine size and 3/4 the weight, makes twice the sound.  She also idles much slower (thanks to not just any carb, but a filthy, dirty carb with bad gaskets).

I dropped into first and pulled around to the other side of the parking lot entrance, away from the other bikes and ready to go.  I made a slow, tight turn, and that’s when I felt the full weight of the bike.  Boy, what a beast.  Heavy like a tank.  It felt fun, really, to jockey something that massive.  Like a great horse.  One that couldn’t kick me off.  It felt more like a horse than other bikes I’ve ridden, partly because the rider is perched atop rather than “in” the bike.

The demo leader rolled up on a softail and I told him the opposite of what he hears every time he does this: “Make it quick! 10 minutes!”  The shop was closing and I had to get back for the paperwork and to talk with Big Chris on my parts list.

The bike was docile in first, rolling out the end of the lot and impressing no one, certainly not me.  A gentle flick of the throttle and I was rolling along – at 30mph?  There was some juice there, but even a lawnmower has zip in first gear.  We took our turns and on a wide open straight away, I gunned it.  And there was nothing there.  I moved along, alright, and I was moving faster every moment – but it wasn’t acceleration.  Not really.

I dropped down a gear and tried again – the engine spun up very fast and I let off.  There was no zip.  It didn’t feel like a motorcycle, it felt like a car.  Looking back, I think some of that may be psychological.  The bike is HUGE – maybe my frame of reference was off.  Also, I couldn’t really gun it – the RPMs never got above midrange.  I understand stock Harleys make most of their torque at the top of their range (which is silly, and why most people mod their engines).  Perhaps if I could have really opened her up, there would have been more oomf to be had.

Nonplussed with the engine, I checked off “Stage II w/ cams!” on the little list of to-do’s in my mind and I began to focus on other features of the King.

(Truth be told, I went from 80% sure [based on just internet research of past model years] to 99% sure when Eddy started up the stock ’10 King at the dealership.  The gentle purring is *not* what I’m looking for in a 1600cc bike!)

Going around a sharp turn, the bike rolled right in and right out – no sweat.  For a bike that size, it was impressive how graceful the cornering was.  And that’s purely a compliment to the bike, since this was the first time I had ever ridden a Road King and could hardly take credit for expert maneuvering.

Watching the road ahead, I relished when the lead rider took a bad dip on the softail:  I was hungry to try the Road King’s suspension.  I didn’t slow down or try to swerve, but instead I took the dip head-on.  WOW!  It felt like riding in the backseat of the bus as a child!  There was a fun up-and-down, but it wasn’t jostling.  It was a bump, yeah, because I hit a bump, but it was the smoothest bump you could have.  It was fun.  Guess I can’t explain it better than that.  On my VL800, that shoddy little beater, the bumps feel like you’re bent over and getting spanked by a 2″x8″.

I was on a non-ABS model but the brakes felt like brand new brakes, and then some.  I felt confident pulling the brake and stopping; some bikes when you pull the brake you just keep going and going …   My bike will have ABS, and I’m sure that will be a whole other discussion.

The rest of the ride was unremarkable.  The suspension and the handling were a true joy on the ’10 Road King Classic.  The engine needs love, but the love is coming.  I just hung up with the shop and they said they expect the big bore kit to come in by friday, and the bike will definitely be ready for me on the 17th.