The Harley-Davidson Road King, Your Basic Touring Bike

Harley-Davidson's Road King must be the archetypal cruiser, and it's been around long enough now for everyone to know that it offers the bare basics of a touring Harley – you get spotlights and hard panniers, but no screen. A one-year old Harley-Davidson Road King still comes with a spicy price tag, but a Road King with a few years under its belt and bough privately should set you back a lot less. By going a few years back you'll miss out on the current bigger 1584cc Twin Cam engine, and six-speed Cruise Drive transmission. These are big changes for Harley, but otherwise the Harley-Davidson's from before 2006 are largely the same.

It's gone two o'clock, I've just picked up the Harley-Davidson Road King from a friend in the south part of Bangkok, and I'm due in Pattaya by four. Heading to Chonburi, riding under the Motor Way, I'm hanging on grimly at an indicated 100km/h, and if the wind's in the wrong direction, anything over 100km/h is a struggle. So that's why most Harley-Davidson Road Kings you see have screens – riding one without is like driving a car with the windscreen punched out.

Still, given the right conditions riding the Harley-Davidson Road Kind is all very pleasant, especially if you're one the large side, as the Harley is a big, roomy bike – big footboards, big comfy seat. The same goes for the pillion, though you have to pay extra for a backrest. The only problem for me was that the handlebars aren't pulled far enough back for my short arms, which was a literal pain on long trips. Oh, and the grips point downwards just enough to allow your hands to gradually slide off as the kilometers slip by.

While we're on the subject of ergonomics, consulting the tank-mounted speedo, let alone the warning lights below it, means taking your eyes off the road for what seems like quite a while. And I was, because I didn't trust the self-canceling indicators to do their job – they don't switch off after lane changes, and the last thing you want to do on a busy Thai road is keep glancing down at your crotch to check on that little green arrow.

Anyway, that's the gripes over with. In its counter-balanced form, Harley's 45-degree V-twin is as soft, friendly and flexible as you like. All the rough edges are long gone, and what vibes there are noticeable only in a vague, background sort of way. And as it rolls out of the factory, the Harley-Davidson has become a virtual silent motorcycle, one of the quietest cruisers I've ever ridden, which must be why so many owners buy loud pipes. Mind you, there's still that authentic tinging and pinging from the air-cooled engine as it cools after a ride. And while we're talking abut noises, the Harley-Davidson Road King has a proper horn of which an average sea captain would be proud. Why do so many big butch bikes have pipsqueak horns? Push the horn button on the Road Kind and everybody knows you there!!

What it's still got is that great long-legged feel that all Harley-Davidson's have, as if it could trundle on in top gear as long as there was a horizon to head for. It feels so laid back that I sometimes forgot there was another gear to go. When I did remember to change up, the heel-toe lever worked really well – there's something very satisfying about stamping down with your heel and feel the V-twin's go chugga-chugga as the revs drop by another 500rpm or so...