New Harley-Davidson Road King Special unveiled
By Michael Mann
BikeSocial Managing Editor. Content man - reviewer, road tester, video presenter, interviewer, commissioner, organiser. First ride was a 1979 Honda ST70 in the back garden aged 6. Not too shabby on track, loves a sportsbike, worries about helmet hair, occasionally plays golf and squash but enjoys being a father to a 7-year old the most.
09.02.2017
Classic bagger gets a new engine, new suspension and a new look
Harley-Davidson’s classic Road King touring range has a hard new member. The Road King Special has been unveiled and features the new Milwaukee-Eight 107 engine (1745cc), comes with four paint options and is priced at £19,995.
Faster, more torque, better heat management and reduced vibration are all key features of the new Road King Special’s engine.
It’s styling updates include an all-black engine finish making it the first of the Milwaukee-Eight engined Harley-Davidsons to feature this new look. The engine guard, handlebar and hand controls, mirrors, turn signals, engine covers, air cleaner cover, mufflers and exhaust shields all feature black surfaces too.
The engine delivers more torque and acceleration power than the 103 motor thanks to it a claimed 10% increase in power resulting in an improvement of 11% from 0-60mph. The engine has four valves per cylinder, a single chain-driven cam, dual spark plugs and is counter-balanced and rubber-mounted in the frame to aid smoothness.
New front forks and rear shock absorbers improve comfort and eliminate vibration. In fact, when Harley-Davidson tested the new engine they felt as though the lack of vibration came as a detriment to the character of the manufacturer, so they added a bit back in!
The rear shock absorbers are hand-adjustable offering 15% more pre-load adjustment than previous low-profile touring shocks. The front suspension features new technology that, according to Harley-Davidson “delivers the damping performance of a racing-style cartridge fork with linear damping characteristics and reduced weight”.
Other than styling and engine improvements, the new mini-ape handlebars alter the riding position slightly while new gloss black turbine cast-aluminium wheels include a 19-inch front wheel topped by a low-profile mudguard.
The Road King Special model is offered in four colour options: Vivid Black, Charcoal Denim, Hot Rod Red Flake Hard Candy Custom™, and Olive Gold. The bike is priced at £19,995.
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