Road King Classic FLHRC (MY2017)

The Road King Classic is what you get when Harley takes the heavy-duty touring chassis and the 1745 cc engine from its full-dress baggers and leaves the big fairing behind. What's left is a proper cross-country machine you look over, not through. Wide handlebars, an open view of the road ahead, and 111 lb-ft at just 3,250 rpm pulling the whole thing along. Design matters as much as the engine here. It's retro without looking like a costume, elegant, and it has more character than most bikes on the road. Build quality is solid, and the finish holds up when you look closely.

Carrying all that mass low makes this a surprisingly manageable full-size tourer at parking-lot speeds, and at highway pace it stays planted. Cruise control, ABS, standard luggage and a 6.0 gal (22.7 L) tank mean it can cover serious miles without much fuss. It's for the rider who wants the Harley feeling on long trips without hiding behind a dash full of screens. Now the caveats. The front fork has no adjustment at all, the rear shock only adjusts preload, and there's no traction control. Check that the oil line clamp was installed properly. A badly fitted one can leak oil onto the rear tire.