Decisions, decisions,,,, It's almost time to start thinking about a second Harley.  I've kinda norrowed it down to the new Switchback or a pre-loved RoadKing. I realise that the R/King has past the test of time and the S/Back is a recent addition to the scene, but how do they go out there in the cities and on the highways.. All I know right now is that they are both great looking, stylish bikes, they have identical engines and the cost would be much the same. Any info from owners of the pros and cons would be appreciated.

Cheers

RR

If it was me I would pick the road king, I think they look better.

2 friends have recently brought switchbacks and LOVE them .... more versatile than a road king i think ..... LOOKS wise i mean , if doing short runs can take off all touring bits !!!

I've Thought about that one long and hard Rocky ,, think in the end it comes down to the riding you do. strip it down and you have a nice easy bike to ride in the city in the switchback ,, bags back on with the screan you have the tourer , i done a lot of klm and long highway stuff on my old street bob , but would'nt even attempt it now without a screen and boards , so to me the switchback is a winner ..

PROVIDING

your on your own ,, but for me personaly , the wife comes with me on trips away , we go for 2-4 weeks at a time , so just for the clearance and little bit more comfort its the Road king that wins ,, ,, so my take is simply if you travel on your own the switchback ,, if your into the longer stuff with a passenger , the RK

 Can't believe that you blokes are missing the Road Glide. MUCH better bike at cutting through the air than the RK, and better handling with the fairing setup, I have owned Granny Glides for years, but after riding my mates 09 for 10,500 k's in the USA, I was amazed at how damn good they are. For the price in my mind they are the best value in the whole range. 

 Yeah EGlider... the whole Glide range are nice machines, but where do I draw the line. It was hard enough crossing the Heritage ST Classic off the list.

 Jesus H Christ, I under-estimated the Convertable. Never even looked into it until today.  I didn't realize it was a CVO packed with a shit load of extras, plus the 110ci, the only thing is... I'll have to sell the wife's car to help pay for one.... and that ain't gonna happen. There dosen't seem to be too many on the market at the moment. Be interested to see what an older model might fetch?

If your 5 ft 5 but the switch back but if your 5 ft 11 or over buy the roadking.

I own a '99 road king, have had 2 soft tails & an ultra classic glide.
loved them all.
If youre looking at a second hand road king, ( which you will be, if youre looking at comparable price against the switch back) you have to consider that the new bike (switch back) will have the 103 cube engine, & I think ABS as standard.
I love the switch back, as it looks a heap better than the road king with the touring gear removed, but the road king is a top end model, ( twin discs, great handling & a bigger & very stable cruiser, ideal for longer trips.)
If you take a pillion, the rear seat on the road king needs modifying, can be done, cant believe the factory item is so poor.
The touring models handle beautifully, I havent scraped my road king yet, ( & very seldom my "92 dresser) but rode a new dyna wide glide the other day & scraped the shit out of it on a roundabout.

I just went through this choice and I considered a Road king, a Heritage Soft Tail Classic and the Switchback. At the end of the day I went for the Switchback because I could get a new bike for $ but they're all great bikes!

Love the Road Kings but for myself I would go the Switchback best of both worlds can be stripped down to make a great day tripper or gear back on for some touring plus the 103 motor has to be the bonus as well.

 Here is a good review of the Swithcback, which rates it highly but with several references to the RK.

http://www.mcnews.com.au/Testing/HD/2012_FLD_Switchback/HD_FLD_Switchback_Review.htm