I purchased a new leftover King 18 months ago and love it. Power is abundant from idle to redline but more importantly that power is smooth and very easy to control. Headlight is decent with good lighting, I'm happy using high beam out on the back roads. Visibility is good but it is a single bulb affair with two smaller 'position lights' in the headlight bucket that look great but don't contribute to light spread on the road. For reference my other bike is VFR 800. Nice big L.E.D. tail light out back is nice
I've only felt a very small amount of engine on hot 90+F days surprisingly. The bike always runs cool or at least feels that way. Once warm the temp indicator will show 3 bars ( no actual numbers) and in 18 months has not exceeded that level. Absolutely huge curved radiator with two fans and massive oil cooler do their job well. Only time I feel heat from the radiator is when I'm standing beside the idling bike and one of the fans kick on.....it feels like Lucifers furnace on steroids but again in actual use there is no horrific heat that wafts up to the rider.
Mileage is decent, stay away from ludicrous speeds and you will see 40 + mpg without having to baby it. Mid to upper thirties if you are rocking triple digits often. Tank hold 4.2 gallons. Oh yeah premium fuel is required.
I'm 6 foot 34 inch inseam and my knees just tuck comfortably under the shrouds, pegs are on the high side but I find it comfy enough to ride 130 miles, refuel, repeat. The seat is thin and feels it after a couple of hours but you'll be stopping for fuel about the time it gets bothersome. The handlebar to me is most excellent. Puts you in a comfortable attack mode when the road gets twisty.
For a naked the wind protection is good, triple digit speeds are a easy.....I rode mine in the nor cali winter and lived to tell the tail. Ironically I ended buying a National Cycle windscreen last summer that is custom made for the King.....makes it look like the Alien Queen Mother Creature...want luggage...Hepco Becker makes a rack that accepts all their top cases...it's a great system. HB also makes small soft sided bags that fit the bike as well. Pretty much a one rider machine, passenger comfort is SS tight, maybe worse.
Handling and braking are excellent, has a sporty ride with good control, fast sweepers or tight technical road the bike always feels composed. If you're lucky yours will have ABS....I've never seen one with ABS on the road but they exist somewhere. Oil changes are a snap, air filter access will drive you insane. No center stand but my pit bull gets it done in the garage.
Be sure that the bike you are buying has both the rear seat and rear cowl and the full tool kit, manuals etc.
Never an issue, starts hot, cold, wet, etc. You may already know but the bike is limited to ~155 mph, you will hit that in 4th. Same exact motor as the 2nd gen Busa, in fact the king was released before the 2nd gen Busa by a month or three. No ram despite the huge scoops, the big exhaust is just a cover, there is one huge muffler under all that "style"... For more info check out Bking.org.
Sorry to post this twice...meant to reply to thread asking about bking experience but got umm sidetracked...feel free to dispose of it
