1st time on a harley

[Barney]

08 sporster with the 1200 conversion.  whoa.  i never wouldve considered a harley, but a buddy of mine picked this little gem up the other day and I got to rip around on it for a few miles this afternoon. i dont know why, maybe because it felt like sitting on a dining room chair with 90hp and wheels, but i was literally hysterically laughing every time I twisted the loud handle.  what a fun little bike! made me feel like a little kid on a new bmx. the brakes absolutely sucked, the shifting was kind of sloppy, the clutch felt like a wet sponge, but it was a blast. handling was better than I expected and it was tons of fun to lean it over! it kind of felt like you needed to be strapped in, especially at highway speeds. im guessing that's because i'm used to being able to hold on to the bike with my legs, not my ams and hands, plus there's nowhere at all to hide from the wind.

last but not least, self canceling signals should be standard on every bike.

[HotIce]

Brakes sucks, badly.  Me like self cancel signals. Compared to my 1100 EVO, gear shifting is actually more precise. Big CLONK when go from neutral to 1st asides 
It is an enjoyable ride (I have a 2012 Nightster) after all. I love mine.

[kopfjäger]

Love me some Harley's. 

[red baron]

Love me some Harley's. 

but yer old anyway.....

[ducpainter]

but yer old anyway.....

Bring your chair and find out how old he is.

[red baron]

Bring your chair and find out how old he is.

I don't think so.

[ducpainter]

good call.

[kopfjäger]

but yer old anyway.....

 

[the_Journeyman]

My first Harley experience was an early (prior to the huge back tire they have now) V-Rod.  Very impressive motorcycle IMO.  I would own one for 2up or all day riding.  I STILL want to give the XR1200 a shot.  It looks fun.

JM

[Pedro-bot]

I recently read a blog about the HD sportster.
Made the smallest and cheapest HD sound like the best HD to own.
I don't know anything about HD motos but the blog certainly made an impression on me. I may have to put this on the next bike wish list.

Here's a link to the blog.
http://www.jamesrussellpublishing.biz/sportster1200.html

Any one familiar with HD's care to chime in on the accuracy of the bloggers points?

[nickshelby500kr]

I recently read a blog about the HD sportster.
Made the smallest and cheapest HD sound like the best HD to own.
I don't know anything about HD motos but the blog certainly made an impression on me. I may have to put this on the next bike wish list.

Here's a link to the blog.
http://www.jamesrussellpublishing.biz/sportster1200.html

Any one familiar with HD's care to chime in on the accuracy of the bloggers points?

Sportsters are the only Harley I have ever really cared about. Every other bike the Harley dealers/ crowd tries to shove down your throat is just so over the top ridiculous that I don't even see the point anymore.

Electra wide ultra classic cvo riders with $10,000 In custom matched hard bags and windshield with built in 1200watt stereo system that I can hear from across the intersection, and "custom" screamin eagle drag pipes (with the baffles drilled out of course) will always look down on the sportster.

But from my perspective, it was one of the easiest, most problem free motorcycles I have ever owned. The only reason I bought one is because my dad had one and he ran his almost 60,000 miles without a single hiccup.

They are in no way the fastest (there is no way a punched out 883/1200 is making 90hp), most comfortable, or best handling motorcycle on the market but the after market is so vast in stuff you could do anything to them. 1250cc kit? Check. Dual front brakes kit? Check. Upgraded forks and shocks? Check. Turbo? Why not?

And the best thing is how cheap they can be picked up.

[Barney]

They are in no way the fastest (there is no way a punched out 883/1200 is making 90hp),

Yeah I looked into that afterwards.... I was curious what a more realistic number was. Couldn't find any hard numbers

And this thing was ad for under 5 grand if I'm not mistaken.

[bob795]

Sportster was my first big bike.
I commute on it for 10 years and toured on it all over Java. I really loved it. The bike was really reliable. No major problem at all during those ten years. About the only problem I had was that damn ignition module problems. Later, the Moco redesigned the module and with the new module the bike had been trouble free ever since.

I did not leave the bike as stock for a long time. I replaced the seat, upgraded front and rear suspension with Progressive Suspensions, added oil cooler cause I rode in traffic jam and I also upgraded the brake line. Five years later I converted the bike to 1200.

If you want a better braking without changing to some expensive brake calipers, change the stock, spongy rubber brake line with a stainless steel braided brake line. That will be a huge improvement over the stock line.

After that, change the front suspension springs with better aftermarket springs (I used Progressive spring). The bike will corner much better and that new springs will eliminate the nose dive when braking.

In stock condition as 883, only tax paid (carb rejet, free flow air filter and exhaust) my bike was dynoed at 48 hp. Later I converted it to 1200 and it was dynoed at 60hp. That was a basic conversion with no extensive head work or valve or cam change.

It is possible to get high horsepower but it will cost quite a lot of money. You will have to have head work or using Buell's Thunderstorm head and change the valve, cams etc. Will cost a lot of money but you will have a powerful sportster.
Check out Nalin Racing, Zippers or head quarters if you're interested.

[muskrat]

I plan on getting my Wife (an excuse  ) a Sportster 1200 sometime in the near future.  I agree there's no 90 horsepower unless they spent mucho dinero on the engine but the bike is purpose built and serves a purpose.  To me there's no need to bump the displacement when the bike's so easy to throw around and lumber about, I have a Ducati when I feel the need for speed.

[HotIce]

Why? You mean, HD makes other bikes other than Sportsters?