Speaking of a Road King

[Desert viper_imp]

I love mine, it was my first Harley....

[Frulk_imp]

Been living with the Road King for about 3.5 weeks and decided this past Sunday AM after a big family get together breakfast at our house to go on a longer ride and see how it all shakes out.

Geared up and off I go. Sunny. Cool. Little traffic. Perfect day for a ride until a California plated late model SUV (Durango?) decided to drift into my lane about 125 -150 yards ahead of me and plow right into the crush zone end of a guard rail head-on at 70-75 mph. It can only be described as so surreal it seemed right out of an action movie. SUV stood 90 degree straight up and with the stored energy in the rail (I'm guessing) bounces back into the middle Hwy lane and lands on all fours and gets hit in the rear quarter panel by a Subaru (?) as said car was braking hard.

Pull over on the shoulder, I'm second into the vehicle. Can hear a kid screaming. Airbag curtain is down so I grab my knife and cut it down and help a boy (9 yrs old?) out of the car. Somebody else on other side is assisting a girl (maybe 12) whose screaming and bleeding. Dad (driver) is complaining of severe pain in neck and shoulder (clavicle). I could go on with details but bottom line is seat belts save lives and if you have a modern vehicle with an airbag surround system that puts you and your loved ones even further ahead on the safety scale.

I took a good look at the girl. Bleeding pretty good but more than likely from blunt trauma to the nose and she bit through her lip and had a couple of lose teeth. Paramedics showed up quickly and took over scene and I departed. No pics of scene or vehicle. Left my iPhone in the RAM mount on the bike because I didn't want to be like the stereotypical Rubberneckers at accidents. Best guess is he was dealing with the kids and got distracted or was on the phone. Saddled up and rode north to nearest exit and washed up in a bathroom. Then headed out to the ATK Missile/Space Shuttle Booster display which was my intended goal for the ride. I believe I posted a pic on the forum of the CB out here a couple of years back



After a short break I rode along a desolate stretch of blacktop through some low hills. I always enjoy this road because of the meandering way it flows through a scenic area of grasses and gullies ending in a panoramic overlook east towards the Wasatch Mountains.



After this road ends I took the highway back home.

Some basic observations about the Road King: It does have the most 'comfortable' suspension on a bike I have ever ridden. Concrete expansion strips were basically non-existent. The bike soaked up EVERY highway irregularity that was thrown at it without blinking.

The 1450cc motor may be smallish by todays cruiser standards but it had enough get up and go to pull my bulk up to 90mph without too much drama and auditory effort coming from the engine bay.

Wind blast was abysmal. For some reason I thought that sitting low and behind that big chrome headlight I would be somewhat sheltered from the wind. It's the worst of any of my bikes in this regard. It was a sheer test of will to hold onto the handlebars at 80-85 mph (highway limit was 80 mph ). Part of the issue is the bars are about 2 inches too short and I have to reach to get to them. Whereas my other bikes put the weight above the bars were you can relax a bit when the wind pushes on your chest and just use your body weight to lean into it. No such luck in the cruiser seating position. The difference between 60 and 80 mph is like night and day. 60 mph is pleasant with little to no effort involved. I rode about 140 miles on that outing and by the time I made it home I was exhausted.

Today I put on the removable windshield and rode home after work on a stretch of freeway at 80 mph to see how that was. Perfect. No wind blast. No feat of strength required to hold on to the bars. My plan is to go to Harley and buy a plexiglass wndshield like I have but maybe 4-6 inches shorter (I don't like looking through the glass) and use the quick release hardware on it from my unit. That should work fine for me and still keep the wind off my chest. Around town and short sprints I can handle the wind blast and wont need the windshield. Any distance beyond that and the plexiglass is going on.

[Bheezy27403_imp]

Jeez. Sounds like you got a little more than you bargained for on your joy-ride. Good on you to stop and assist. Most don't do that. Also glad you didn't get caught up in the chaos! Looks like a beautiful day to ride.

[Cormanus]

+1 to what Bheezy said. When you said you were second into the vehicle I thought for a moment you’d joined the Subaru plowing into it. Glad you didn’t.

[GoldOxide_imp]

You are a good man Frulk for helping out in the unfortunate situation. Nevertheless, the experience can still have a lasting effect, or just a reminder what all riders and drivers face daily.

[Charlie Bravo_imp]

I had a couple of Sportsters back in the day, and I rented a Street Glide once. I liked that machine. I have a BMW R1100RT for touring duty, but the CB is my fave.