Harley Davidson RDRS – Reflex Defensive Driver System

One time, I rented a car, and when I got on the road, it started pulling to the right. I was certain I had a flat tire, but then it stopped, and then it happened again. Eventually, I realized this was that lane assist s**t I’d heard about. When I realized the car was overriding my decisions after 40+ years of driving a car, I said, “Oh hell no.” I’ll never buy any vehicle with driver-assist features; I don’t need a computer telling me what to do.

Not too long after this, an orthopedic doctor said to me, “You didn’t preserve your spine very well,” words I heard repeatedly every time I rode more than 300 miles.

These two realities collided when I needed to upgrade to a touring bike.

I bought my first brand-new motorcycle, so new it arrived at the dealership in a crate with my name on it. When placing my order for a 2022 Road King Special, I had the option to add on the Reflex Defensive Rider System, known as RDRS. My first response was the same as when I rented that car: “No way.” I’d never had a bike with ABS brakes, and I sure wasn’t getting rider-defense features.

I consulted with the service manager at my local H-D dealership, and he hadn’t heard any real stories from real people yet, only the same reviews I’d read online. But he did tell me these features are a package deal, and you can’t add them later. If you want RDRS, you must order it when you order your bike, and since I was financing that much money anyway, what was another $995? So, I decided to add the RDRS system to my bike, but I had no real understanding of what I’d just signed up for.

Most of my impulsive decisions in life have turned out badly, but this one has been amazing and continues to make me say to myself, “Wow, that was cool.”

VEHICLE HOLD CONTROL

I call it “hill assist,” and it wasn’t easy to get used to. After 20 years of riding, I simply couldn’t let go of my front brake while stopped on a hill. My brain wouldn’t let me do it, but that eventually changed, and GIRL, LET ME TELL YOU this feature alone is worth $995. I can scratch my nose while stopped at a red light on a hill, which is very common in East Tennessee (the red light on a hill, not the itchy nose).

SLIP CONTROL SYSTEMS

I didn’t know what I’d signed up for when I added on the RDRS, and I’m not the type of person to read the manual when I buy something new, so I got on my new bike and took off for a Sunday ride in the mountains with my husband. At a stop light, I looked over and said, “My rain cloud light is on.” In typical ol’ man fashion, he replied, “You don’t have a f***n rain cloud light on your bike.” We eventually stopped, and he confidently walked over to my bike to look at this light I was wrong about and said, “Well damn, you do have a rain cloud light.” So, we got out the manual and figured out this feature is one part of the RDRS traction and slip control system.

But let me tell you about the time it saved my life.

I was on the interstate headed to meet my sisters in Indiana, and it started to rain, so I got off at the Buc-ees north of the KY/TN state line to put on my rain gear. When I left Buc-ees, it was raining hard, really hard. You know how it is, the kind of rain where I couldn’t see what was happening around me, but I did know I was in a tight pack of cars also leaving Buc-ees to get back on the interstate. I was moving along slowly and safely and felt my back tire slip to my left, but somehow, I was still moving forward.

WHAT THE HELL JUST HAPPENED! People say it freaks you out the first time you feel the RDRS kick in, and they were right. If the bike had slid out from underneath me, I wouldn’t have died from the speed. I’d have been run over by the cars behind me who couldn’t see any better than I could in that rain. That’s when I realized the RDRS hadn’t just avoided an accident; it likely saved my life.

The Reflex Defensive Rider System comes standard on some Harley-Davidson models, but if you are buying a new touring model that doesn’t have RDRS, you can add on the whole package for just $998, and I say do it. Some people will be naysayers (as always, right?). I’ve heard comments like, “I don’t need that; I know how to ride,” and comments suggesting I’m a lesser rider because I have these features now. IGNORE THESE PEOPLE and get the RDRS package on your new touring model. Loop it into your financing (along with your tour pack), and I promise you’ll love it!

WHAT DOES IT INCLUDE?

It includes ANTILOCK BRAKE SYSTEM (ABS), CORNERING ENHANCED ABS (C-ABS), ELECTRONIC LINKED BRAKING (ELB), CORNERING ENHANCED ELECTRONIC LINKED BRAKING (C-ELB), CORNERING ENHANCED TRACTION CONTROL SYSTEM (C-TCS), DRAG-TORQUE SLIP CONTROL SYSTEM (DSCS), CORNERING ENHANCED DRAG-TORQUE SLIP CONTROL SYSTEM (C-DSCS), VEHICLE HOLD CONTROL (VHC) and TIRE PRESSURE MONITORING SYSTEM (TPMS).