Harley-Davidson Road King Problems by Model Year
NHTSA recorded 24 consumer complaints across the 3 model years of the Harley-Davidson Road King (2001–2004) that have at least 5 complaints. 2004 has the most, with 10. Across all years, the part named most often is suspension (4 mentions). Pick a model year below to see its parts, mileage, recalls and service bulletins.
All Road King model years
Years with fewer than 5 complaints are not listed. The score compares years of the same model, allowing for the era and for how long each year has collected complaints: 50 is a typical year, lower means fewer complaints. It is not adjusted for sales volume.
| Year | Complaints | Median mi | Recalls | TSBs | Score (50 = typical) | Trend |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2004 | 10 | 3,000 | 1 | 0 | — | Not enough data |
| 2002 | 6 | 20,344 | 0 | 0 | — | Not enough data |
| 2001 | 8 | 30,000 | 0 | 0 | — | Not enough data |
Parts named most often, all years
Counts add up complaint mentions across the listed years. A complaint can name several parts.
- Suspension4 17%
- Electrical system4 17%
- Brakes4 17%
- Fuel system3 13%
- Engine cooling3 13%
- Wheels2 8.7%
- Equipment2 8.7%
- Vehicle speed control1 4.3%
Example complaints
One per model year, chosen for length and detail. Personal details are removed. They are consumer reports, not findings.
2002: “I have a 2002 harley davidson Road King. When I ordered the bike I had them install a passenger back rest. The bike is 10 years old 48974 miles. My passenger and I were riding down the street and the back rest support snapped and broke on one side. The break is just above a weld. My guess is it had gotten to hot during the welding. The break is perfectly straight across. Almost looks like a it was sawed. I came way to close to losing my passenger. And she isn't a big girl about 120 lbs.”
NHTSA complaint #10458022, filed 2012-05, 48,874 miles2004: “Passing a semi tractor trailer a about 70mph front end steering on new 04 electraglide classic began a wobbling of the front tire. It was extremely noticable and nearly caused the bike to go into the tractor trailer. In order to solve the problem I reduced my speed w/o applying brakes to about 40mph and the wobbling finally stopped.”
NHTSA complaint #10086292, filed 2004-08, 3,000 miles2001: “Bike cuts out and dies while driving causing potential serious injury to rider or even death: this has been and is an ongoing problem with harleys from 199 to 2001 cruiser models and needs to be remedied by harley davidson as a recall on all bike with that system. See discussion below: mine cut out and I was almost thrown from the bike into traffic as it shut down and locked up the tires classic, thanks for the very thoughtful analysis. …”
NHTSA complaint #10644788, filed 2014-10, 30,000 milesOther Harley-Davidson models
263 complaintsHarley-Davidson Flhx
174 complaintsHarley-Davidson Flhtk
147 complaintsHarley-Davidson Flhtcui
100 complaintsHarley-Davidson XG750
85 complaintsHarley-Davidson Harley Davidson
84 complaintsHarley-Davidson Flhtc
82 complaintsHarley-Davidson Flhtcutg
76 complaints
About this data. Data from NHTSA (ODI) complaints, recalls, TSBs and investigations, updated Oct 29, 2026. Complaints are unverified consumer reports and may be duplicated or inaccurate. Methodology