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Advice needed. Considering a 2012 RG Custom

3K views 21 replies 17 participants last post by  michaelb 
#1 ·
Hello all

I am new to the forum and am thinking about "pulling the trigger" on purchasing a 2012 RG Custom. It is for sale at a dealer, so I don't think I can get much history on the bike.

It has about 12K miles and appears to be "stock" condition.

What should I be looking at/for? Any troubles/problems with this model/year?

I am new to HD. I have been riding about 25 years on metric bikes, and my present ride is a Kawasaki Concours 14. I had the pleasure of riding a borrowed 2005 Electra Glide Ultra on my last m/c trip to the Upper Peninsula of Michigan and now I have to have an HD Touring bike.

I've always liked the look of the Road Glide, and know that it will be my next bike.

Any advice is appreciated. I apologize if this has been covered before.

Looking forward to spending more time here.

Thanks in advance.

Kent
 
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#7 ·
I had a '12 I bought new prior to pulling the trigger on my '15 in July. The only issue I had with it while it was stock was the voltage regulator and a front tire. Just my opinion, but if you can swing getting a '15 or even a '16, the improvements are well worth it. Good luck.
 
#9 ·
I'd like to hear from those who have owned/ridden both older and 2015 to know what improvements you see.

I am aware of the new instrumentation, linked ABS, new faring. What other improvements are there?

I actually prefer the old styling and simpler instrumentation of the older model, but want to know what else I am giving up if I buy a 2012/2013.

Thanks for all of the feedback.

Kent
 
#10 ·
I traded my 2010 Concours for the 2012 RGU. With the previous owners upgrades it was about $10k less than a 2015/16. The RGU was important to me. The 2012 was in my budget.

I have no regrets and I have put 3k miles on it in 2 months.
 
#11 · (Edited)
I just traded up to a 15 from an 06, the difference in handling is insane! Now I came off of a bike that was from 2 major changes ago, with an 88". There is a notable power difference.

few other things to mention is the new front forks, I feel the contribute greatly to how well this bike handles. The new radio (not sure I'm sold on it yet, I'm sure i will appreciate it when I learn how to use it) The vents in the firing work well at reducing bufeting, and the HO cams add a bit of a punch.

One note on 2012's. not sure if this is a wide spread issue, but a few buddies of mine on 2012 touring models have had their compensator go.

My 2 complaints on my new 15 are the problem that has been pretty wide spread with the clutch switch, and the handle bars arent in the best position for me.

Good Luck, the 2012's are fine bikes! Can't go wrong either way.
 
#12 ·
I picked up my 2012 RGC in May and had a great riding season with it. I bought it with 5000 miles on it and it has about 9000 miles on it now. The only issue I had was the Voltage Regulator which I replaced when it started going wonky.

Sometimes I wish I bought a 15/16 RG instead but I saved quite a bit of money and got some great upgrades (wheels, pipes) with the 2012 that would have took me many years to be able to afford to add on to the bike. I may someday trade it in for a 15/16 but the looks of them are still growing on me.

My feeling is you will love the bike! But if it doesn't make sense financially to buy a 2012, I would look into a new one!
 
#14 ·
I came off a 2007 Street Glide, albeit highly modified, but I put 50k miles on it. The 16 RGS I purchased is significantly better in most ways yet not as big an upgrade as I anticipated. While the Rushmore bikes are kind of a big deal it was my buddies 2012 Road Glide that got me to make the jump. He is on this forum. Personally I would not hesitate to buy 2012 model year bike. With the exception of voltage regulators they are solid and you get most of the significant upgrades from the last ten years. Not a Rushmore bike but it has a lot of the major improvements.
 
#18 ·
CONGRATZ!!!

That's the color I originally wanted! :grin:

I opted for black to save a few more bucks, and to get my payment down per month.

The dealer had my black one on the floor for some time and gave me even more off of it, plus the black is 500 less than a color option. By choosing the black it kept me with in my budget -and I'm good with that :smile:

Post up some pics of your new ride.
 
#21 ·
Newer is always better because you know how it's been taken care of, but as all the improvements they take about, maybe compared to the 08 or older bikes, the 2012s were awesome, maybe a slightly better front suspension, def not wheels IMO, and as for speed my 96 with cams smokes the road glide special with no problem, I like the idea if a new bike, but the changes were def bigger over the old style frame bikes, just my opinion.
 
#22 ·
Late to the conversation and new to the forum, I road both the 2015 and a 2012 RG and for me (6'5 / 240) the '12 just had a more comfortable riding position. Coming from an '06 RK the ride, power and wind protection on both were awesome. I'm not a big tech guy so the GPS and better electronics on the '15 weren't that big a factor. I really did like the new saddle bag latch system on the '15 but opted to buy the '12. I found a nice Candy Orange one with about $10,000 worth of options that only had 1,900 miles on it at a dealer here in Texas and was able to purchase it for $1,000 less than a '15. Due to all the rain we're getting I've only been able to log about 500 miles on it but so far I am very pleased with the purchase.
 
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