Who’d have thought the day would come when a Harley FLH would find itself among the three smallest and most compact bikes in a comparison test? Compared with the gargantuan Rocket III and our four Japanese baggers, the Harley feels positively weightless and delicate. The Guzzi and Victory are both lighter, but the Road King’s light steering, easygoing stability and low center of gravity make it the nimblest of our bunch, like a quarterback in a gang of beefy linemen.
You might say Harley is the company that invented the bagger class, and the current Road King (about to be replaced with a new FLH) is certainly the end product of much development. A far cry from the clanking and chuffing Electra Glides of yore, the Road King is equaled here only by the Honda in its refinement. It has a light clutch, good brakes, a precise six-speed transmission and motors down the road with the quiet smoothness of a whisper-jet.
Ergonomically, it’s pretty good, too. The saddle is the best of the bunch—well-shaped, with a small kick-up for lower back support—and aero activity around the big windshield is equaled only by the Triumph Rocket III for serenity of flow. Only the wide handlebars muddy the picture. The grips are a bit too far away, so the rider has to hunch slightly forward.
Ride is quite good and the steering feels crisp and natural. Those who rode the bike very hard were able to induce mild wallow in high-speed corners and sensed some flexibility in the frame, but one of our most aggressive riders (okay, Cernicky) described it as, “unbeweavablynimble when handled with unwavering hands.”
A much less aggressive rider (yes, yours truly) found the Harley the easiest and most confidence-inspiring bike to ride through both twisties and fast sweepers, closely seconded only by the Guzzi. Matthew Miles noted, “You feel in command of the Harley, while the heavier Japanese V-Twins make you feel like you’re just along for the ride.”
Overall, the Harley feels like a Complete Package; it has real saddlebags, a nearly all-day seat, good wind flow and a tank that isn’t wider than your Frigidaire. You get the impression Harley really thought you might travel somewhere on this bike and didn’t add the windshield and bags as an afterthought.
If there was one big criticism of this bike it was in the power department. At 67.2 hp and 1584cc, the Harley has the second-lowest horsepower of this group, besting the Star by almost 7 ponies, and the second-smallest displacement, just above the 123-pound lighter Guzzi. At $19,195, the Harley also starts out as the most expensive bike in this test, and then you’d have to spend quite a bit of money in your Screamin’ Eagle catalog to give the Road King the same instantaneous kick as, say, the Kawasaki Vulcan 2000.
On the other hand, the Harley is 100 pounds lighter than the Vulcan, which is why it’s more nimble and fun to ride, so there are mitigating factors. But most of these big baggers give you an awful lot of bang for the buck, and the Road King bangs are just not as big.
For some of us, it doesn’t matter, and the Harley is just right, a monument to balance rather than excess. Still, two-up with luggage in the mountains, a little extra bang never hurt anyone…
