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Harley Sportster....any experience of them here?


oldenough

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I usually ride a sports/touring type bike, Concours, ZX-11, ST1300. But I recently had the opportunity to pick up a HD Sportster 883, yeah I know, "ladies bike", but with that aside anyone have any experience of this bike? It was a deal that was a no brainer, 2006, one owner, not even 2500miles on it, and at a price that I could roll it into a dealer and get more than I paid for it. Would like to take it out to make my own opinion of it, but the weather is lousy, and I'm trying to decide whether to sell it on. However I'm also quite taken with it, nicely put together, good solid construction, and dare I say, a quite nice looking bike.

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Edited by oldenough
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Id keep it...great bike to teach a new rider...good for the road test if your state requires it. If you are used to a touring or cruiser...you might find the overall size of the bike small......like going from touring bike to bicycle...from a width perspective. I jumped on a vrod from an ultra classic and got the bicycle sensation.

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I ride an RT1200, similar to what you ride. Went riding with someone on a new Sportster one day last fall.

He had to stop for gas every 125 - 140 miles or so, not very comfortable, and was freezing when the weather got cold. Did not look like fun to me.

We went up in the mountains and for part of the ride it was 45 degrees, he did not look well. I had my heated grips and seats going full blast so I did not miss a beat. Personally, I would cash out of the deal.

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I have ridden sporty's before, i started with an 883, i put untold amounts of time into that bike I had just as much fun customizing it as i did riding it, In the end it was a 1200 with high comp pistons, s&s heads and jugs mikuni carb tons of chrome, ape hangers, custom paint with mural on tank, hooker header over under pipes, wide glide front end with 16" wheels tires front and rear, Hard bags. When i sold it Only true harley fans could tell it was a sportster. Im 5' 11" 220 pounds

If you keep it i will tell you this the mikuni carb made the biggest noticeable difference in power, and was super easy to tune.

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I usually ride a sports/touring type bike, Concours, ZX-11, ST1300. But I recently had the opportunity to pick up a HD Sportster 883, yeah I know, "ladies bike", but with that aside anyone have any experience of this bike? It was a deal that was a no brainer, 2006, one owner, not even 2500miles on it, and at a price that I could roll it into a dealer and get more than I paid for it. Would like to take it out to make my own opinion of it, but the weather is lousy, and I'm trying to decide whether to sell it on. However I'm also quite taken with it, nicely put together, good solid construction, and dare I say, a quite nice looking bike.

attachicon.gifDSC01230_edited-1.jpg

This is my little scooter.

07 BigDog, (BullDog) fuel injected S&S, low end cam, straight pipes, digtal everything, Cant wait for summer.......

My Dog

Edited by minermark
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Maybe I'll hang on to it just for running around on short coffee runs, it won't end up costing me anything, I think I'd at least like to experience the Harley thing. Last time I rode one was back in 90's, on an old 82 Sportster that thing was a complete dog, and offered no enjoyment at all.

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The 883 is a great starter bike, its just as fast as the 1200 sporty. The gearing is somewhat higher to make up for the lower horsepower & torque difference.

The bikes are dependable until you start tinkering with upgrades & such, then it depends on whats installed and done correctly or not.

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You did the opposite of me. I sold my 07 Road King Classic last summer and bought an R1200GSW. My beef with the HD was the seating position. I am accustomed to an upright riding position from dirt bikes and never really liked the backache I got from riding hunkered over on the Harley. On the BMW I ride upright, and love the power! It is one of the quickest bikes I've ridden and the quickest one I've owned.

Don't get me wrong. The Harley was a joy to ride, and was relaxing. I simply couldn't ride it for long or very often as my back had to recover.

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You did the opposite of me. I sold my 07 Road King Classic last summer and bought an R1200GSW. My beef with the HD was the seating position. I am accustomed to an upright riding position from dirt bikes and never really liked the backache I got from riding hunkered over on the Harley. On the BMW I ride upright, and love the power! It is one of the quickest bikes I've ridden and the quickest one I've owned.

Don't get me wrong. The Harley was a joy to ride, and was relaxing. I simply couldn't ride it for long or very often as my back had to recover.

Dirt bikes are a blast, i rode every available hour when i was a kid. Once they expanded the O'hare parking lot across Mannheim Rd my riding spot was gone, its now just a paved parking lot. :(

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