New Seat and Windshield On the RK.

[Clifton]

The Road King is fitting much better now with a 2” lower recurve windshield and new seat. The seat incorporates a removable backrest as well as a separate pillion seat. I’ve never ridden with a backrest but many do and say that on a motorcycle that has you sitting upright it is nice to have on long rides. I was a little apprehensive ordering a seat that I’ve never sat on, or even seen one that I know of, but it feels perfect to me. It's made by C&C and sits about the same as a Corbin. I don’t anticipate carrying any passengers but the rear seat is level with the rear rack which combined makes a nice platform to lay a dry bag on.
With a solo seat, the rear fastener that attaches the dual seat is exposed on the fender. It is removable leaving a hole and wouldn’t you know Harley sells a little black plastic plug that snaps in to cover it. They sell this 25 cent plug for $5 (it does have HD’s logo though) but I bought it at the local dealer's one day 20% off sale yesterday, so only $4!

Now if April would just get here!

 

[twizzle]

That looks so much better.... Stock HD seats are poor... IMO... That 2013 RK I rented from ER Washington pushed me too far forward.....

Where's the GSA...... Not in he background shots I note...

 

[Nice 'n' Fat]

Now if April would just get here!

Give her a call

 

[Clifton]

That looks so much better.... Stock HD seats are poor... IMO... That 2013 RK I rented from ER Washington pushed me too far forward.....

Where's the GSA...... Not in he background shots I note...

Thanks Twizzle. You're exactly right about stock RK seats, the recent ones at least. Oh I still have the GSA it's just not in view there.

Give her a call

LOL

 

[biking photographer]

Very nice Rick, but you are going to need spiked tyres for the weekend as you are forecast snow! Post some pictures so we can see some snow at Christmas?

 

[Clifton]

Thank you Jonathan! Now that I'm not on a schedule so to speak I don't mind snow at all and it would brighten up things for Christmas.

 

[Bendy toy]

TBH every bike or open top car I've used with a barn door windscreen has suffered horrible turbulence as air slams about trying to fill the space behind the screen. Flipped screen tops make the problem worse.
One bike I used (medium flip) was unrideable above 50mph. My head was suddenly and so badly shaken about I simply could not see

 

[jackassdave]

very nice looking seat not the usuall lumping great thing and as stated harley seats are hideous pieces of crap

 

[Clifton]

TBH every bike or open top car I've used with a barn door windscreen has suffered horrible turbulence as air slams about trying to fill the space behind the screen. Flipped screen tops make the problem worse.
One bike I used (medium flip) was unrideable above 50mph. My head was suddenly and so badly shaken about I simply could not see

I know what you mean Bendy, I'm one that usually doesn't add windshields to motorcycles. And on ones that come with shields leave them alone or cut them down if anything.
Having never ridden a Road King before I really didn’t know what to expect, I just prayed the shield wouldn’t be as bad as the one on my old Dyna. Leaving the dealer it was immediate apparent the stock shield was too tall as the top edge bobbed up and down right in my line of sight. The protection was pretty good and not noisy. At freeway speed I noticed slight buffeting coming under the shield and a slight vacuum tugging my head forward, which would tire the back of my neck on a long ride. Lifting up off the seat just a little, like an inch, offset the helmet back pressure but much more than that and it got noisy.
Having experimented with shields on an Electra Glide I found the recurve makes very little difference, basically just moving the airstream up an additional inch. The 8” recurve felt the same as the straight 9”. RK shields are measured differently, the stock one is 20”. With this in mind I went with the 18” recurve which lowers the top edge 2” but the air pocket barely 1”. This change along with the fork deflectors made a noticeable improvement for me.

very nice looking seat not the usuall lumping great thing and as stated harley seats are hideous pieces of crap

Thanks Dave, LOL yeah some of 'em are just huge. The seat is also made in a 2" wider "big boy" but this standard 13.5" version is plenty wide.

 

[twizzle]

"big boy"........hahahaha.. love it..

 

[Bendy toy]

The very best bike I've used for (lack of) buffeting or wind noise was a 2001 Honda CBR 600. However the scrunched up crouched riding position was horrible. 30 mins and I was keen to get back to my noisy screen Diversion 900.
The GS with Givi AF330, short Tobinators and winglets is a very good second to the CBR aerodynamics but hugely more comfortable to use and much better for seeing potential hazards.