Indian Springfield Darkhorse vs Harley Road King Special - Which is Better?

[@stuwhyte479]

INDIAN ALL DAY EVERY DAY.

[@Vulgaren2012]

If I were to make the purchase today, it would be an easy choice. I would go with the company that’s not woke. Harley Davidson is really blowing it right now, I don’t even know if they’d be worth purchasing if they tried to course correct because they’ve shown their true colors. HD needs to fire their CEO immediately.

[@Truth...]

Been on Harleys since the sixties. MoCo been through multiple changes over that period For me it's about the bike, not the politics...at seventy I still don't care much about CEO 's and whatever woke means...these things are all temporary and I don't take shit personally. MoCo been and seen hundred and twenty one years, they will continue doing business as before. I can't relate to their new bikes with radiators and radios but they are still the 'realest' bike company on Earth. My opinion, everyone is welcome to theirs.

[@matthewgrant7867]

⁠@@Truth...couldn’t agree more with your sentiment. I don’t know why being “woke” (whatever it means) has anything to do with the bike. Get over it and go ride. The reality is times change and culture changes. I personally love that Harley is doing more with women riders. If I’m lucky my daughter will want to ride with me when she’s older. Freedom for all to ride.

[@juanz007]

Harley will no longer be an American company they are going to be made in Taiwan. Indian is an American made motorcycle and plans on keeping it that way. Our country is falling apart because of people not standing up or caring about certain issues.

[@yurrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr-n4p]

Going Harley just because of this comment 😂 any company that can make snowflakes like you mad get my business

[@samgarcia3975]

I just purchased a roadking special and I love it. I don’t give a rats ass about the culture war b.s. What’s the opposite of woke? Asleep?!

[@orhancebi5288]

I think I'll go with the indian springfield.

[@IronBornRider]

Good choice

[@MaineiacSean]

I own the Road King Special .... love it . But honestly the Springfield Darkhourse has more features and is a better deal probably. More Torque and the air ride suspension. Remote locking bags I got a 2022 Road King Special in the awesome mineral green. Bought used. If I was buying new I'd probably buy the Springfield.

[@IronBornRider]

I think I’d go with the king just because the aftermarket is so plentiful

[@thelost_woods]

I've always said Harley is blowing it not offering the Road King Special in Chrome.

[@IronBornRider]

@@thelost_woods chrome would look great on the rks

[@naldovaz9157]

Road King my choice#1

[@IronBornRider]

Road king is a beast

[@Marc-cj2dd]

I own a RKS and I was able to test ride the dark horse at Americade. The sport mode is an absolute blast and I thought it handled great in the curves, maybe slightly better than my king. I would love the locking bags with a fob. The dark horse suspension was good and can't compare to my king because i purchased used and it came with Revo A shocks. I think both bikes look good, but i personally like the king styling better. I also like the Harley RSDS traction control. RKS stock bars are horrible and most change them out. The Springfield bars seemed comfortable. As far as comments about pricing compared to a fairing bike, I personally don't like fairing bikes and I think less is more. I maybe biased towards this style bike, but of all the bikes I test rode that day, the Springfield Darkhorse put the biggest smile on my face and still think about that bike. If I didn't own a bike and came across the Springfield, who knows, I may have been riding an Indian.

[@IronBornRider]

Have you tried the challenger? I thought it handled much better than the Springfield dark horse. If I had to upgrade it very well could be the challenger

[@RoadReality]

For $2000, I'd get a fully-faired bike. The RKS needs to be much closer to $20k to justify its spot in the lineup.

[@IronBornRider]

@@RoadReality I can get onboard with that

[@mosgor]

Beautiful machines! We reasoned quite similarly, but I choose the Indian Springfield Dark Horse. If you want a fairing, you can get it for Indian Springfield also -from several companies, but you don't buy a naked tourer to put a fairing on it? You didn't talk much about suspension, there is a significant difference driving on less than perfect roads, and Indian Motorcycle is, dare I say it? Superior. But as you yourself know, we actually buy these motorcycles based on personal taste. So if you choose one or the other... You suffer no hardship.

[@IronBornRider]

Thanks for the input! I think the suspension might’ve been better on the sdh but it didn’t jump out as a huge difference. It was really hard to do a comparison video because they’re both such great options like you said. Either option is a win in my book

[@mrdude3540]

The Indian looks better blacked out Matt black yes bad ass. Also do you know how convenient it is to just lock your saddlebags with a key fob?

[@IronBornRider]

Never experienced the luxury of remote locking saddlebags lol

[@mateschitz]

Blacked out Road King, ...mhmmm, na, has to be chrome

[@IronBornRider]

Would like to see chrome on the special

[@tjf2258]

I went with the RKS…zero regrets as for me the HD felt solid and of one mechanical piece. Springfield DH is a tad sportier but offers terrific value but the engine has an annoying vibration above 4K RPM. I also felt the RKS was very smooth and perfectly matched with transmission and throttle response. But I also agree that HD needs to rethink the pricing strategy compared across their bike lineup…only $1K cheaper than a full fairing bike…Hmm makes you wonder. Saying all this I predict HD will soon CNX the RKS which will leave the Indian for my probable next bike-I’ve wanted both for a bit now anyway

[@IronBornRider]

@@tjf2258 I also prefer the rks to the sdh. Just felt like a smoother ride

[@ChrisVanMiddelkoop]

I like these but not the blacked out versions

[@IronBornRider]

I like them both. Would be cool to see an rks with chrome

[@luiss4942]

Not sure how accurate the mpg information is off of google. Roadking making 43mpg vs springfield 30mpg. If I had to choose, the road king special would be my choice too. I like both brands either way. If I can afford it I'd buy both. Lol.

[@IronBornRider]

@@luiss4942 yeah would love to have both lol

[@pinecone76]

Am I the only one to focus my attention to somehow 'obsolete' gauges on both of those bikes? Really wish Road King Special used the 'modern' gauge found on the Heritage or Fat Boy. Springfield needs the 4" (or bigger) digital display found on some higher spec'ed Chiefs. Again, very subjective but somehow important for me.

[@IronBornRider]

I agree that the Springfield could use a better display but the rks gauge didn’t bother me at all

[@Cpodish]

The SFDH all day!

[@IronBornRider]

@@Cpodish right on!

[@derringer9542]

I can undertand the dealer support and aftermarket but you thought the RK had better ride quality??!! Wtf. I did an indian demo day amd 2 days later tried the RK. It wasnt even close. The modes did matter alot and the SF felt much lighter. Bags were better and lockable with a touch. This was late last year..so if RK changed this year i concede the point

[@IronBornRider]

That’s interesting. When I rode the rks this year it felt buttery smooth where as the Springfield felt heavier to maneuver but it did feel better planted. I still think it’s due to the fact that the Springfield is a few inches longer vs the rks. I’ll have to test them again to confirm.

[@derringer9542]

@@IronBornRidermaybe they updated some things like they did with RG and SG. if you try the SF again put it in sport mode.i know it doesn't increase torque or HP but the throttle response makes you feel like it does. Thanks for the review 👍

[@OLICIT]

Standard Indians are considered cool, whilst a bog standard Harley is becoming seen as a Boomer bike, especially if it’s covered in eagles and tassels

[@IronBornRider]

I haven’t seen a Harley covered in eagles and tassels in a while

[@bobhartman2571]

Wait until your ride gas tank has used up that 5.5 gal. tank & see how much that auto locking bag helps. See why cops prefer RK's.

[@ijaxon6675]

The Road King Police is the closet anyone's getting to a new Classic since they dropped them. I'm not a fan of the blacked out bikes or the Dark Horse. There were two Police bikes in my dealer's franchise but the prices were jacked up to like 27K sticker and they were asses about the deal process. A lot mom and pops are selling off and large franchises are making it impossible to work with. I bought a new Ultra Classic in 04 from an independent at a reasonable price. I bought a Springfield. The Harley brand means nothing to me although I'd like to see them survive. Most dealers are selling used harley's about 5K over retail or Touring bikes to CVOs that are priced way too high today. The purchasing power of the dollar is lower but HD isn't supporting the core blue collar base. If you have an old harley keep it. You're not getting shit out of in for resale. The prices are plummeting. Never buy a used Harley at a dealership, buy it from a Metric dealer or some old guy who paid it off, has the title and no longer rides. Now is a good time to buy a used harley, but remember, some shops won't service bikes older than ten years. If you buy a new harley you'll lose your ass in depreciation and contrary to what the salesman says, the resale value is getting worse. The resale on Indians is far better. You get more for bang for your buck with an Indian. I did a lot of comparative shopping. The build quality of the BMW R18B and Roctane is flawless. It's a better deal than an Indian but the resale blows as hard as a Harley right now and the parts are high (I also own a GS). The R18 classic is stunning but low speed handling is awkward. The R18B is far better, more shit to break. All the R18 bikes are very heavy. My wife can hold up the Springfield. I've seen 18's going for 12-16K used. The Roctane is awesome but people aren't catching on. The foot position isn't a problem people think it is. The rake on the Bagger and Roctane is far better than the classic. I would have gone with a Roctane but the OEM Windshield was like 1,500 dollars.My GS is still a better long hauler than the R18.

[@buckjohnson]

Appreciate your thoughts on the R18/Roctane. That bike turns my head but the weight seems high, and it sounds like the boxer engine is felt thru the handlebars all the time.

[@ijaxon6675]

⁠​⁠@@buckjohnsonNot a bike for a beginner. The shake is large but smoothes out. It will heavily vibrate, if you are used to shifting around 3k, you’ve shifted too late. I think most people get a poor impression of vibrations because of this. It has torque everywhere and the shift point is way earlier. Maybe 2K. The vibes are minimal shifting earlier.

[@ijaxon6675]

@@buckjohnson Gotta shift way earlier than what feels normal. And yes, it's heavy, that all melts away once rolling and feels rather nimble.

[@MichaelFillmore-x8b]

Indian is in the lead now! I've been a Harley rider my whole life but Harley went WOKE......I'm dumpin my Harley Fatboy and buying an Indian. America First. Harley has lost there way with the new German CEO!

[@Homer62001]

I just call these baggers but maybe I’m using that term wrong

[@mikehunt7683]

Indian is the new all American bike!! In my opinion

[@Kingdlack]

Aftermarket support will always favor Harley hands down. As far as dealer support again Harley has way more than Indian. Ride quality will be subjective as well, however, for me the RKS is a better motorcycle. Harley aftermarket for performance is insane. The RKS is definitely superior compared to the Springfield.

[@IronBornRider]

Yeah if you consider the aftermarket support, the rks wins. But pound for pound the Springfield is a better value, but I’d still pick the rks for me personally

[@mrdude3540]

Harley has gone WOKE so Indian wins! lol