Harley Davidson is one of the largest motorcycle manufacturers in the world featuring aggressive and outstanding engines, including V-twin.
Harley has several V-twin models in the family, but the Road King Special is truly something special, you would love to know.
Its 2024 model is the most recent addition to the HD family.
So, we welcome you to this Harley Davidson Road King Special Review, because everyone has been waiting for it.
And why wouldn’t they? Harley is doing outstanding things in this machine, no matter its engine, looks, colors, performance, comfort, or whatever.
Before getting into the actual Harley Davidson Road King Special Review, let’s dig into its intro.
Road King Special 2024 – A Brief Introduction Of The HD Beast
The Harley Road King first appeared in 1994 by replacing the Harley’s magnificent Electra Glide Sport then.
Even though the Electra Glide was reintroduced in 2009, the popularity and performance of Road King made it less popular.
This extremely reliable and popular motorcycle, the Road King is a tremendous touring motorcycle.
With its “Special” 2024 version, Harley seems to be interested in transitioning it into a cruiser.
Harley Davidson Road King Special Review
With its special and majestic colors out of them black is my favorite, Harley Davidson is on the mission of making it a memorable motorcycle.
The Road King Special has a lot of customization, such as special features in handlebars, a special feel in the seat, and special power and torque in the engine.
All that for paying a special extra price than standard road King.
Kudos to its muscular looks and gigantic engine which helped in making it extremely popular.
1. Specs And Overview Table
Engine Specifications:
| Engine | Harley Milwaukee Eight 114, V-Twin, 8 valve |
| Bore And Stroke | 102 mm And 114 mm, dual cylinder |
| Engine Displacement | 1868 cc, 4 stroke, Twin cool (Air And liquid) |
| Compression Ratio | 10:5:1 |
| Power And Torque | 93 HP And 117 ft-lbs @ 3250 RPM |
| Fuel System | Electronic Sequential Port Fuel Injection |
Chassis And Transmission Specifications:
| Transmission | 6-speed Cruise Drive (Manual Transmission) |
| Clutch | Hydraulic assist And Actuator |
| Primary And Final Drive | Belt And Chain Drive |
| Front And Rear Suspension | 49 mm Dual And Hand Adjustable rear |
| Front And Rear Brakes | ABS brake – 32mm floating And 4 piston fixed rotor |
| Fuel Consumption And Tank Capacity | 43 MPG And 6 Gal Tank with 250 miles range |
| Dry And Wet Curb Weight | 774 And 806 lbs |
2. Engine And Performance
Starting from the engine, the most important part of any motorcycle.
Harley Davidson Road King Special uses a Milwaukee Eight 114 engine instead of the 107 present on the Road King standard models.
Due to this engine, you get a spectacular output and power figures out of it.
This is a powerful engine and generates plenty of torque at 3000 to 4000 RPM. 114, as a brilliant engine, generates around 93 HP but it can go around 100 HP in some calculations.
The variable goes for the torque as well, but you can expect roughly 119 ft-lbs in torque.
Harley Davidson Road King Special wannabe cruiser but a touring motorcycle that gives an extraordinary push in throttle, leading to a pretty decent acceleration, out there on the roads.
The Road King Special engine is supposed to give a tremendous amount of power and it provides that. It gives a great shifting experience, yet, we will talk about it, a bit later in detail.
Its 1868cc large displacement capacity provides you with a thrilling experience around the streets and town further leading to a serious cruising and touring experience on the highways.
In its serious engine, you get the maximum performance and technical superiority. With its flagship engine, you get to experience real-world power delivery.
The best part of integrating the 114 engine in Road King Special is that it gets a dual spark plug and four valves in each cylinder, making up to eight.
The combustion process becomes seamless and high-quality engine parts produce more power.
For all that stuff and a remarkable performance all the time, Road King Special gets a specially large tank that is deep and wider with a 6-gallon capacity.
On high octane and the right fuel quality, you can expect at least 43 MPG on average.
This capacity is more than enough for the people looking to get more out of it on the roads.
Also, the tank range is nearly 250 miles for one refill, enough to fulfil your long cruising tours.
3. Appearance And Design
Well, the best part of Harley motorcycles lies in their appearance and aesthetics. For me, design is one of the major factors of decision, whether or not to get this machine.
A design gives you next-level spectacularness and makes or breaks you in falling in love with it.
For the Road King Special actually, it’s going to be a crush for every bike lover and Harley-Davidson fan.
The colors come in the first place besides its body design. And, for the colors, this motorcycle is heaven. There are multiple colors available in the choice.
Currently, the 2024 Road King Special is available in Vivid Black, Black Jack Metallic, Billiard Gray, White Onyx Pearl, Red Rock, Snake Venom, and Deadwood Green.
Yes, can you believe it?
It even comes in green color, which means Harley Davidson is breaking their old custom of not painting their bikes in green. But, the Road King Special is unique in that aspect.
It’s another debate that Harley might drop the Deadwood Green sooner due to fewer sales. However, it looks great, like other colors. My personal favorite is black shades.
But, there’s another even better part. You can now customize the color and design of Road King Special through your local authorized dealership of Harley, for additional bucks.
It will make your motorcycle look more amazing and unique in town. Whatever color you get, you will be having luxury chrome touches even in custom options.
You will not just like its chassis color, you will find its engine look and colors astonishing too.
Other than chrome garnishings, you will get a gorgeously blacked-out engine, exhaust, forks, headlight, mirrors, and even its mini-apes narrow handlebars are beautifully blacked out.
Not only does it look modern, but it also looks appealing and minimalist all the time, rather than loading every component in Chrome and giving it an extremely bulky look.
The Road King special has a large traditional retro headlight which gives a bit of an old vibe but still looks amazing.
Its adjustable and lockable hard saddlebags look good too and they come with extremely easy detachment.
The exhaust and its sound enhance its appearance even more. The dual exhausts both on the left and right give it a rocket-like feel and the ability to get on long rides to make people jealous.
By the way, its dual exhausts have mufflers too.
4. Braking And Suspension
Mostly, the braking and suspension department of a bike are taken lightly. But, it should be equally important since it heavily decides on your rideability and experience.
For better braking and better suspension, Harley installs a new and better frame in the Harley Road King Special.
You won’t find it in Standard Road King and this is the main point of difference.
Also, its swing arm, which connects the rear wheel to the motorcycle body.
Harley Davidson is using a generously good suspension set-up in this motorcycle.
It comes with a 12-inch rear shock which comes pretty with decent looks and good rideability.
With this suspension, you can now extend your back properly, to feel the suspension without getting back pain on city and country tours with fewer sitting hours and smooth roads.
Also, you can add a 13-inch by replacing its stock suspension to see a big difference.
It would be good for the people who like a good clearance in the corners, and a comfortable ride, especially for heavy people.
The quality of suspension is good since Harley is using 49mm dual-bending forks. Now, it’s a comparatively lower suspension, but it’s adjustable with hands, per your likes and dislikes.
It makes a good pair with its tire and has different travel for both front and rear suspension. Front dual suspension can travel 4.6 inches and rear can do 2.1 inches to avoid bumps.
Now, for the braking, it’s technically magnificent and factually perfect.
There’s nothing special in Harley Road King Special, instead, it uses the same standard ABS with four-piston fixed brake calipers with dual floating front and fixed rear rotor.
The brakes are efficient and promising. However, to make them efficient, gripping the tire is what you will need the most, in parallel to quality ABS.
5. Transmission And Comfort
Road King Special has quite an ordinary but performing transmission for cruising needs.
Harley uses a 6-speed cruise drive manual transmission with a Hydraulic assist clutch and final chain drive or belt in the primary drive.
It brings good powertrain rideability to you, allowing you to fearlessly ride on rocky, stable, unstable, good, bad, or any kind of road.
You might even take it to Mars if you could find benzene there. Its rock-solid transmission works greatly with advanced lubrication.
The 34/64 gear ratio makes it more efficient and to the point.
You can now find the neutral, downshift, or upshift without facing hard-to-shift gear problems in this motorcycle.
Now, coming to its comfort which lies in its seat. The stock seat that Harley offers in this motorcycle is comfortable to ride anywhere on the planet.
The ride is comfortable and you will get a great cushioning effect and feel satisfied all the time. Its suspension makes it even better and prevents the shocks of passing through shallow holes on the road, a lot less.
If you are looking to get it to the highways, countryside, or city tours, the seat is amazing and the comfort is top-notch.
It also has a passenger seat as well, which also is full of comfort. But, you might feel a bit of disappointment on long rides, because it’s not so good there.
6. Rideability And Convenience
So far, the Harley Davidson Road King Special brings a Special vibe to our faces. Looking at this and per our experience on this motorcycle, we can assume it provides decent rideability.
The handlebar plays a major role in optimizing or ruining the rideability of any motorcycle.
Road King Special comes with a suitable and thick handlebar, a perfect shoulder position, and a highly adjustable size for short, medium, and taller people.
This innovative design kills the excuse of not fitting in it properly. Whether you are tall, short, or medium, the Road King Special can be adaptable if you make the right adjustments.
The suspension makes a major chunk of rideability which we’ve already discussed. Yet, wheels and tires we still need to look into because, Suspension alone, can’t do wonders.
Road King Special comes with a 19-inch front wheel instead of the 18-inch of the standard Road King.
It has wide Dunlop HD Series tires to bring great stability and grip on your trip to boost your confidence. The 64-inch wheelbase feels great and provides good low-speed handling and better maneuverability at high speeds too.
But, the longer the wheelbase the higher the stability at high speeds. Although the stability is still pretty good, it’s still not perfect, unlike BMWs with a 67 or 68-inch wheelbase.
Road King Special has a good ground clearance for tight roads and spots at around 125 mm.
While you are riding it at around 55 to 70 MPH with a full-face helmet on your head, the motorcycle might feel a bit fatigued for you. Because it lacks a stock windshield.
Of course, if you are travelling around the town, there’s no need. But it’s equally important on the highways if you plan to move fast since you need to cover long distances while cruising.
With 800 lbs weight, it is not a lightweight machine but it feels lighter than Electra Glide Sports.
Due to better aerodynamics, lighter bikes can perform better at curves and offer fine handling.
For tall and bulky people, this motorcycle can offer decent comfort and maneuverability.
7. Added Features And Safety
A motorcycle can never be good if it lacks safety and added convenience features.
Harley Davidson Road King Special is a good motorcycle because it has both these things too. It never lacks safety features or convenience features because it’s one of the jewels of Harley D.
Out of its safety features, you will get a bundle known as HD-RDRS. HD-RDRS stands for Harley-Davidson’s Reflex Defensive Rider System HD-RDRS, for providing added safety.
It contains safety features like a Tire Pressure Monitoring System, which is an intelligent feature in the Road King Special. Instead of relying on gauges that used to malfunction, TPMS is better.
Other than TPMS and ABS sort of things, there are a few more intelligent safety features you should be utilizing. The most prominent is its intelligent traction control.
This system is designed to improve the grip of the tire on the road and bring the best possible confidence whether you are testing its limit or doing it casually.
It prevents the rear wheel from spinning excessively when you are accelerating. It’s more helpful in the rainy season and you don’t get your wheel stuck or lose grip on the roads.
Road King Special has a special engine braking control as well, making your lives easier and safer.
The vehicle hold control helps in your riding and prevents it from rolling over when you release the brake by holding brake pressure and making it smoother.
The drag-torque slip control, which also is a part of HD-RDRS designed to manage wheel slip and prevent it from locking so your motorcycle won’t skid away when you are decelerating.
Also, there is a plethora of aftermarket and upgrade options for Harley Road King Special such as the Low Profile Engine Guard, adjustable floorboards, and a lot more.
8. Pricing And Drawbacks
The 2024 Harley Road King Special is priced at around $28,000 and can cost $30,000 as well, considering every single cost, taxes, and customization.
Even after spending this much money, there’s no screen, no fairings, and no stock windshield.
No doubt, not having a windshield brings a clear view.
It might be a bit old style for some people who prefer modern looks in every department of the motorcycle.
Or, it can be a good thing if you want to enjoy the beautiful nature and valleys in front of you without any obstacles.
Yet, it becomes problematic when you are cruising your motorcycle at highway speeds. Meanwhile, you continue to face an extreme push of wind buffeting, due to air resistance.
You can install an aftermarket windshield of course, which might cost you a couple hundred extra. But, the windshield is not just the only missing thing.
The Road King Special is also missing a mobile mount and charging port for long-distance travel. You might need to set it up on your own, which adds up to its cost.
Is the Harley Davidson Road King Special Reliable And Worth it?
Harley Davidson Road King Special is an extremely reliable and worthy motorcycle by HD. Road King Special comes with a V-twin, Milwaukee Eight 114, 1886 cc engine.
This motorcycle offers a lot of power and significant torque to make your rides memorable and see a significant boost in all your rides.
There are a lot of safety and convenience features across the motorcycle mostly around its thick handlebar, making it more maneuverable and accessible.
The decent riding position makes it an extremely worthwhile motorcycle and the engine makes it a reliable machine.
Source: MotoDeal | Harley Davidson | Total Motorcycle
Ahtsham Younas is a passionate blogger and content writer. He loves to ride motorcycles and learn the mechanical process behind the motorcycles.
He has been writing articles in the motorcycle industry since 2019 and has learned many things about motorbike niches.
