Harley-Davidson Road King 110th Anniversary Edition

THIS is some heavier American Bike from 2013, and it more than lives up to its name. My Harley-Davidson is part of a special series limited to 1,750 pieces (Anniversary Edition), built on the occasion of Harley’s 110th anniversary. My King is number 110 and was registered on 11.01.2013.

Before you read, please note: this post was translated with the help of Deepl.
If you find any errors – please have fun first and then give me a hint.

So actually quite a good number – how I got this Harley-Davidson, how I got the idea to buy a Harley in the first place, that’s its own crazy MotorProsa story. The bike has capacity for two (1.7 litres) and weighs like three (380 kg). The possible range is terrific, the permitted payload immense – according to the vehicle registration certificate, the King may weigh 600 kg. The chassis consists of a solid tubular frame, cast rims, air-supported suspension struts, powerful Brembo brakes with ABS and a fork that so far only springs but does not damp.

Almost 400 kg of
 good ol’ american steel ..

For travelling, there are two large hard cases hanging on the sides, there is a width-variable, mighty luggage rack with sissy bar, a windshield that can be removed in two seconds (but is never fitted), a sat nav mount on the handlebars and a lonely speedometer on the tank.

A KessTech exhaust system provides the good sound. The archaic V2 engine was tuned on the dyno after my first major tour and now pushes forward from idle with at least 120 Nm. It will probably produce around 80 hp.

That was not always the case: When delivered, the King was not very aristocratic. The exhaust gasses did not find an easy way through the stuffed exhaust pipes. Accordingly, the sixth gear was not usable or only usable from 120 km/h due to the pronounced torque weakness. In addition, the engine – despite fuel injection – tuned too lean helplessly overheated during my many mountain journeys.

The friends at Harley-Davidson Graubünden in Maienfeld successfully remedied the situation and conjured up an engine for me that does justice to the name Big Twin.

Big.
 Heavy. Mighty.

The thing demands respect when you first get on it – because to get it upright, you might have to tug a little on the thick handlebars. But as soon as the bike has moved a few centimetres, it feels like half the motorbike breaks away in the back and it’s super easy to get going. The heavy, low-slung and narrow crankshaft makes it frighteningly easy to get the King around corners, and the engine’s powerful flywheel mass makes life easy in the very tight switchbacks.

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Information
Harley-Davidson Road King, 110th Anniversary Edition, Model Year 2013
Twin Cam 103, 1.690 ccm, more than 135 Nm
Arlen Ness Exhaust, electronically controlled
6 -speed gearbox
Weight: 380 kg
Mileage (February 2022): approx. 15.000 km

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The possible lean angle of over 30° is enough for 95% of the cases – I don’t like to lean deaper with it anyway. Gravel is not an issue either, as we have extremely soft suspension and sit low and wide. Nevertheless, at some point I will have the suspension of the iron colossus reworked – with longer, stiffer shocks and a proper filling for the fork (Öhlins), which is tuned for American highways on which you probably never brake. In other words: brake closed = suspension travel complete.

In the summer of 2021, SW-MOTECH optimised the seat of the King according to my wishes and padded the soft furniture by a few centimetres. Until then, the low seating position caused me pain in my legs on longer rides. A week-long test in the Swiss Alps proved that the conversion was more than successful.

Endless
 relaxation ..

… jumps at me reliably, after only a few metres in the saddle. The roar of the huge engine, the heavy but never disturbing vibrations when in neutral, this creamy glide over the boulevards of this world, that is unique. The landscape is reflected in the chrome mountain of the three headlights, so there is always plenty to see. Of course, I don’t expect any dynamics in the saddle of the King – the longer the pleasure lasts.

I love it!

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