2008 Harley-Davidson Screamin' Eagle Road King

This is my most recent acquisition - a 105th Anniversary Screamin' Eagle Road King purchased at Stone Mountain Harley-Davidson in Conyers, Georgia.  This is my first CVO model and I'm looking forward to a lot of fun riding as I have my other Harleys.

The Custom Vehicle Operations division of Harley-Davidson makes the Screaming Eagle or CVO models. This division takes a limited number of a few selected models each year and makes the factory equivalent of a custom motorcycle for the lucky buyer.  The CVO bikes are characterized by custom paint, high performance engines, and loaded with chrome.

Since the CVO program was inaugurated in 1999 the Road King has been selected for CVO treatment on four of the subsequent model years. The generation is indicated by appending a digit indicating the generation to the letter designation assigned by H-D. The 2008 Screamin' Eagle Road King designator is FLHRSE4 - Harley-speak for Screamin' Eagle Road King 4th Generation.

The Screamin' Eagle Road King is made by Harley's York, PA facility. The CVO program creates limited production models made by small teams of specialists with exclusive features in a process akin to that used in very high end cars like the Rolls-Royce. Rather than running the bike thru a moving assembly line with each worker responsible for a single task, the same handful of selected workers build the entire CVO bike from the ground up ensuring it is the very best.

One of the most striking features of a Screamin' Eagle bike is the custom paint that makes each motorcycle unique, at least in the eyes of the lucky owner. These 08 SE Road Kings came in three distinct paint sets with one emphasizing the 105th Anniversary of the Harley-Davidson Motor Company, which was a major celebration with most models available with a special paint set. 

Each CVO paint job is even more special though - each paint scheme has two main colors and at least one accent color plus pin striping on all parts of the bike. The paint job would easily run $thousands more than the standard paint job and is included in the price of the CVO which is steep but worth it when you consider the amount of quality built in.

The bike I bought is the 105th Anniversary paint job with Crystal Copper metal flake and Black Onyx with gold accent slashes and coordinated hand painted pin striping. The paint looks really great and the other color schemes for the 08 R K are based on silver flames and blue flames; whichever one you get, they are all simply gorgeous. On the 105th Anniversary Model, each one has a medallion with a sequential number --- of 1,800 so it is a true limited production model. Mine is number 614 of 1,800.

The appearance of the rest of the bike has not been neglected as almost every unpainted part is custom made and chrome so the handlebars, mustache engine guard, tank console, engine covers and forged aluminum Road Winder wheels are chromed and all wires including the throttle control are routed inside the bars for cleanliness.  The hand grips, footboards, passenger pegs, mirrors, and other parts are all coordinated in the Ironside pattern with alternating strips of chrome with rubber inserts.  The seats and saddlebags are leather and custom designed with contrasting leather inserts. The seats have rider and passenger back rests for comfortable riding.

The bike has Harley-Davidson's largest displacement engine, a V-Twin Twin Cam 110 cubic inch (1800 CC) high performance engine with Electronic Sequential Port Fuel Injection (ESPFI), electronic ignition, and electronic throttle control for trouble free fly by wire performance.  The engine is painted in granite finish with every conceivable part chromed and torque rated at 115 foot pounds at 3,000 RPM. 

The ponies are routed through a six speed Cruise Drive transmission and pull the rear wheel via an aramid belt with an improved sprocket ratio for better acceleration.  The sprocket also contains Harley's Isolated Drive System that invisibly tames engine pulses making the ride even smoother than before.  Cruise Control is also standard on the Screamin' Eagle Road King so just set the speed you want to maintain and forget it and enjoy the ride. 

Before I leave the engine let me mention the chrome D&D Fat Cat performance 2 into 1 exhaust system with the ghost pipe on the left side to maintain the look of dual exhaust but give the higher performance of tuned 2:1.  

The instrumentation is a console mounted speedometer - tachometer and indicator lights showing turn signals, check engine, high beam, and oil pressure are located on the chrome riser cover. A quick detachable windshield protects the rider from the wind and debris for a better ride.

The styling and comfort is consistent with the high standard Road Kings have always set and Screamin' Eagle logos adorn several places while a chrome Harley-Davidson logo lettered in two lines adorns each side of the 6 gallon tank. 

The fully chromed wide glide front end has a large chrome quartz halogen Hiawatha headlight in a chrome nacelle while turn signals depend from the handlebars.  The lights are really bright in the night time and the bright light makes a good forward look with a huge circle of light penetrating far into the distance.  You select the bright/dim switch on the left handgrip and a flick of the rocker switch instantly chooses between dim and bright lights as desired.

Like all fuel injected Harleys, the CVO Screamin' Eagle fires up with a minimum of fuss. You have to enable the ignition by turning on the run button and switch on and wait a few seconds until the fuel pump pressurizes the injectors then a quick crank on the start button fires it up.  The fuel injection makes a quick trouble free warm up and is much superior to the old carbureted models with the choke manipulation and other rigmarole.

A few minutes idling gets the bike warmed and it can be ridden without hesitation.  The bike is quite easy to drive at low speed by slipping the clutch and using the rear brake to stabilize the motorcycle. The friction zone of the hydraulic clutch is available to do low speed maneuvering and it works like all large Harley models so that the big bike is a real pleasure to ride for those who have learned how to handle one. I like riding it on the freeway which is what much of my riding covers but I also go on the country roads that weave through the wilderness areas here in north Georgia.  The bike has good and even great acceleration and gives me a big grin to feel the take off power when I nail the throttle.

The bike has Brembo ABS brakes which is a smart feature for a motorcycle. I have had a few occasions when panic braking was indicated and I'm glad I've got antilock brakes now to counteract the tendency to high side when panic braking takes place.

The bike rides like a magic carpet with good shock absorption from the air shocks and excellent acceleration in all gears.  The large windshield has a leather pocket that will fit your shades, cell phone, and garage door opener or whatever you want.  The bike has a nifty two up seat with pretty good padding and back rests for both rider and passenger.  The seats, back rests, and saddle bags have an integrated appearance with contrasting lizard leather inserts for the 2008 SE Road King.

The saddle bags are hard leather with push button operated black leather lids and coordinated design with the seat making a very integrated appearance.  They are about the same size as all Harley dresser bags so will hold your overnight stuff, raincoat, etc. Of course they have metal Harley trim that integrates with the trim on the side covers of the bike.  The windshield is easily detachable if you want to get that wind in your face effect.

The bike has a lot of power and acceleration compared to the Harleys I have had before. This is a great riding bike and I like riding it now in October so I know I'm going to love it when the weather gets warmer next Summer.

Thanks to Category Lead Scmrak who posted this item for me to review.

Recommended: Yes

Amount Paid (US$): 20000
Condition: Used
Model Year: 2008