Harley-Davidson Road King Vs. Road Glide: What's The Difference?

Harley-Davidson has been making motorcycles for over 120 years, with the brand producing a lot of different models in that time. When you picture a Harley in your mind you may conjure a very specific image, but there are a wide range of bikes that could fit the description — including street bikes, off-road bikes, cruisers, sports bikes, and even electric models. If you're planning on an epic road trip across the country, however, you'll want to opt for one of the brand's grand touring motorcycles.

Harley-Davidson's Grand American Touring motorcycles are perfect for long distance travel in style. The design of these bikes focuses on aspects like comfort, storage, and performance, as well as other standard motorcycle considerations such as safety, technology, and, of course, customization.

Currently, there are eight different models in the Harley-Davidson line of Grand American Touring motorcycles — including the Road King Special and the Road Glide. While both bikes are intended for travel on long, winding roads throughout the countryside, there are some key differences between the two. Here is a more detailed look at the Harley-Davidson Road King vs. the Road Glide.

The 2024 Harley-Davidson Road King Special is called as such because it intends to make its riders feel like royalty on the road by offering a trifecta of style, comfort, and power. With its generous seat height and 9-inch high x 1.25-inch wide mini-ape handlebars, riding the Road King can feel like sitting on a throne with wheels. Plus, these bikes offer high performance no matter what the journey — whether it's a rough road or rougher weather — which makes it especially adept as a touring motorcycle. Its low suspension, on the other hand, helps give it more of a classic, hot rod look, meaning it's just as showy as it is reliable. A load of torque from its 114 cubic inch engine will also provide the loud, roaring sound one can expect from Harley, which perfectly compliments its flashy looks.

Designed for extensive touring, the Road King also includes stylish-looking hard-shell bags that offer plenty of storage space that's durable enough for tough terrain. They also conveniently open with just one touch for easy access. The Harley-Davidson Road King comes in black trim and offers four different color options. Billiard gray is the standard, while you'll have to pay $500 to $700 more for the vivid black, red rock, or white onyx pearl models. The 2024 Road King Special starts at $24,999.

As opposed to the more vintage look of the Road King, the 2024 Harley-Davidson Road Glide has a more modern, fluid design. From the front to the rear, the bike has an aerodynamic look that is also functional, designed with computational fluid dynamics (CFD) to optimize efficiency while also preserving the rider's comfort, which is important for those long hauls across the country. Its sharknose fairing makes the bike especially eye-catching, while its full LED lighting package accentuates the sleek lines of the vehicle, at the same time improving visibility and safety.

The Road Glide doesn't just look more modern — it is more modern, thanks to an assortment of advanced infotainment features, as well as several safety systems that come standard. Another big difference between the two bikes is that the Harley-Davidson Road Glide offers many more color options than the Road King, as well as two different trim options: chrome as standard, or black which costs an additional $1,350.

As with the Road King, billiard gray is the standard color for the Road Glide, with the other options costing an additional $600 – $850. These colors include vivid black and white onyx pearl, as with the Road King, as well as whiskey fire, alpine green, blue burst, atlas silver metallic, and sharkskin blue. It should be noted that not all colors are available with certain trim colors. For example, if you want the black trim, you won't be able to purchase the bike in alpine green. The 2024 Harley-Davidson Road Glide starts at $25,999 — $1,000 more than the Road King.

The Road King is powered by a Milwaukee-Eight 114 engine that can provide up to 95 horsepower at 5,020 rpm and 122 ft-lb of torque. It has an estimated city/highway rating of 43 miles per gallon. On the other hand, the Road Glide's Milwaukee-Eight 117 engine generates up to 105 horsepower at 4,600 rpm and 130 ft-lb of torque. It's slightly more efficient, as well, with an estimated city/highway rating of 44 miles per gallon. Both bikes have a 6-gallon fuel tank, and the 2-1-2 dual exhaust and tapered mufflers are identical on each, though the Road King's are black.

At 95.3 inches long, the Road King is less than an inch longer than the Road Glide's 94.9 inches, though its running order weight is over 30 pounds lighter — even with a slightly larger standard luggage capacity of 2.5 cubic feet. The Road King's seat height is 26.4 inches and the bike has a 4.9-inch ground clearance compared to the Road Glide's slightly higher seat height of 26.6 inches, and notably higher ground clearance of 5.7 inches.

The wheels of the Road King are gloss black prodigy, while the Road Glide's are cast aluminum. Both bikes have dual floating rotor brakes in the front, and fixed in the rear, but their caliper brakes differ. The Road Glide's caliper brakes are 1.3 inches — 4-piston fixed dual axially mounted in the front with the rear brake being a single axially mounted caliper. The Road King has 32 mm, 4-piston fixed calipers in the front and rear.

If you're looking for an advanced infotainment system, you'll want to know that the Road Glide offers it as standard, while the Road King does not. The Road Glide's infotainment system uses Skyline OS underneath its 12.3-inch touchscreen display, which includes digital gauges in addition to AM/FM radio that can be played through two 5.25-inch fairing speakers. There is also support for digital music via Bluetooth, USB, Flash Drive, and SD Cards, plus hands-free mobile access via Bluetooth. Voice controls can also be used, and a rider/passenger intercom system comes as standard. Phone connectivity is available through Apple CarPlay.

The infotainment dash includes three unique display options and can also be used to toggle the Road Glide between different Ride Modes: Road, Sport, and Rain, as well as Custom. Each mode offers a different combination of power delivery, engine braking, ABS, and traction control — so you'll be able to micromanage the performance of the bike from the touchscreen.

The Road Glide also comes with a wealth of safety features, including ABS, electronic linked braking, traction control, drag-torque slip control, vehicle hold control, tire pressure monitoring, and enhanced cornering applications. Of those, only ABS and electronic linked braking come included as standard with the Road King.

There are other bikes in Harley-Davidson's line of Grand American Touring motorcycles besides the Road King and Road Glide, such as the Ultra Limited and the Street Glide, which may not be great for beginners. However, some of these models are actually variants of the Road Glide: the Road Glide Limited, the CVO Road Glide, and the CVO Road Glide ST.

The Road Glide Limited includes more luxury and comfort features that can enhance the touring experience. Equipped with a Milwaukee-Eight 114 Twin engine, it features a larger luggage capacity that can fit both passenger and rider helmets, as well as a backrest for the passenger, and an advanced infotainment system.

The CVO Road Glide, meanwhile, offers more power with its Milwaukee-Eight VVT 121 engine and includes exclusive paint schemes and finishes, as well as a premium audio system with powerful speakers. The CVO Road Glide ST is the most responsive of the bikes and is equipped with fully adjustable SHOWA front and rear suspension.

The Road King, meanwhile, has no variants — it's truly one of a kind. If you do opt for a variant of the Road Glide, you can expect to pay a lot more money. The Road Glide Limited is $32,499 — nearly $7,000 more than the standard model, while the CVO Road Glide ST and CVO Road Glide are considerably more expensive: $42,999 and $44,499, respectively.