2007 Honda VTX 1300R to 2011 Road King...learning curve? Metric riders?

S

sweetjan20

New member
Two years ago, I bought a VTX1300S myself after not riding for 25 years. It wasn't my dream bike as I wanted a touring bike all along but didn't want to learn to ride again on a $20k+ Road Glide. The VTX was my training wheels bike. It got me where I needed to be, but after a while, I didn't like it. Never left me stranded or anything. The things I didn't like were that it was cold blooded and always had to fiddle with the clutch. Not very smooth on the highway either. I also didn't like looking down at the gas tank to see the speedometer which was very hard to read at night. And of course no tach.
Last year, sold the VTX (took a bath - resale on them stinks) and bought a 2009 Road Glide. Dealer let me test drive off the showroom floor since he didn't have a demo. Shook like a Harley at idle but as soon as I got it out of the parking lot, couldn't believe how smooth the 96 engine is. I like the turn signals - especially the self canceling part which the Honda didn't have and I seemed to always forget to cancel. Sure, the RG is a heavier bike by a long shot. But what really amazed me is that the RG actually turns which the VTX didn't. My VTX wallowed like a pig and didn't want to turn.
Those opinions are my own and yours may vary. Oh yeah... I get better gas mileage on the RG than the VTX also.... yours may vary!
 
went from a shadow sabre 1100 to my ultra and it was night and day...meaning the ultra felt soooo natural control wise. had no issues with turns sigs, foot controls,or anything. felt like it should have from the start.
 
Tried not to get into this, but my 94 Shadow VT1100 had 163000 trouble free miles, didn't need any mods to the engine to get it to run right, ran on 87 Octane, never had a recall (Harley should know how to mount a gas tank by now). My 09 RKC has had the gas tank recall and the D407 tire issue, buddy's shifter fell off at around 6K miles (seems to be a fairly common problem through the years). Wish I had gone for the VTX1300 instead of allowing myself to be sucked into the Harley brotherhood/sisterhood.

To each his/her own. Glad you like your Harley but when is the last time you rode a Honda? Anyone can say BS, what do you base your opinion on - mine is based on personal experience and well over 50 years of riding that started with a 1 1/2 HP Hiawatha Doodle Bug motor scooter.
 
sooo... what engine mods did you HAVE to do to the hd? the tank mount recall is nothing but a few minutes of your time. the d407 tire issue was resolved, again at no charge. shifter falling off is nothing more than one not checking his scooter, mine is still there at over 12000. the high octane gas should have been know when talking about the scooter with the saleman right? personal exp for me aswell since i traded my 03 shadow sabre with 23000 trouble free miles but after a buddys honda died on road trips twice and no help from multiple dealers all saying they might be able to get to it next week... i like have the hog membership knowing that help is availible asap while roadtripping.

trade the king in and go back to the x...like you said- to each his own but me thinks yer gripes are nutting but minor
 
I did something really dumb when I got my first bike. the HD Touring models seemed too big so I thought I'd get something smaller and cheaper initially so found a Honda Shadow, 750cc. That lasted all of three weeks and about 400 miles.

I got a Road King Classic, which is what I should have done in the first place. Definitely a bigger bike, but after riding it for a day or so, I had the rough hang of it. Took a few more months get to where when I stopped, the nose didn't dive and I didn't have to slam down one or both feet to keep it upright.

As for differences, well, I only rode the shadow for 3 weeks or so, but things I really noticed:Real turn signals, one on each side that turned off after the turn was complete.Much better balance. After riding several bikes, including a Dyna Super Glide, the touring bikes really are easier to ride. Great frame on the 2009 and later models.A seat that kept me in place rather than letting me slide around, usually forward. At every stop on the Shadow, I found myself standing up to reposition myself. (that said, I replaced the seat on my RK with a Sun Downer which gives me around 2 hrs of riding before I need to get off for 10-15 min and walk around. Perfect timing with bio and fuel breaks. The original seat would give me numb-butt in about 60 minutes.Fuel injection. I noticed some VTX's have it and some don't. If yours doesn't, you'll enjoy much easier starts, no more choking and no reserve tank. It all works just like a car on the Road King. The fuel gauge itself is crap, but the tripometer and miles remaining computer are very good indicators. Use those.Belt drive - way smoother than the shaft on the Shadow. No drive train lash at all.Unlinked brakes. I like being in control of how I am braking. ABS is there if things get hectic, but if I want to apply slight rear brakes on my RK to scrub off speed in a corner, I don't want to worry about the system applying what it thinks it should to the front.6th gear! Not sure about your VTX, but the Shadow had 5 gears and at 60mph, you felt like you were on a buzz bomb. The motor and tranny weren't bothered by it, but the buzzing got to me. I couldn't imagine doing a few hundred miles in one day listening to that.Torque. My gosh the 96 motor has way more torque than the Shadow did - yeah it was twice the size but it was more than twice the diff. As an example, the Shadow could NOT start in 2nd gear no matter how much feathering, so in stop and go traffic, if you left it in 2nd and stopped, you either put it in first, or you kill it, put it in first and try again. The RK will move with some feathering of the clutch without having to shift. I don't do this much - try to never do it, but when it happens, nice that I don't have to restart in traffic.The HD throws off way more heat. I installed the mid-frame air deflectors and enabled the EITMS and it really isn't so bad.This may sound a bit petty, but the RK's fuel tank (all HD's in fact) just looks better. That metal lip that is around the edge most metric's just looks unsightly to me, cheap.Floorboards are fantastic compared to pegs. My bike, a Classic, also has passenger boards. Big difference on long trips.It will be like night and day for you.
 
I've had English, Italian and metric over the years and graduated to my first Harley, a 2010 Street Glide a year ago. Wish I had done it a long time ago! There is nothing like a Harley IMO when you become part of the tradition and HD makes a great machine, again IMO.

I traded a semi custom 2001 98 ci. RoadStar that I had put a lot into over the years, which was a great bike overall and especially a great handling bike.

The 2010 SG will out handle the RoadStar hands down once I get it set up correctly with good tires (hate the OEM tires) and a different floor board arrangement. The RoadStar had removable skid shoes on the floor boards because it was made to scrape..and scrape we did. The SG is spokey to scrape but I'll fix that. The two other things I had to get use to is the turn signal swithes (one on each side) and fussing with the stereo (which is a good thing). Good luck and enjoy the RK. You'll not reget the move.
 
Thanks for all the advice....just waiting to hear when I might expect my RK to be delivered as I hope to rotate out of here soon...would like to get some rides in on the new scoot before the snow flys!
 
I went from a Nomad 1600 to an Electraglide Standard. I felt like I had moved from a Volkswagen to a Cadillac. The torque is awesome. The heat does take some getting use to. The cruise is the "cat's meow."
 
I went from a 03 VTX 1300R/S to a 07 FLHT and the VTX handles like a tank compared to the FLHT! The Harley is way more nimble than the VTX!
 
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