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Scrappydue

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ok guys a few of you know, but it is official now! the wife has ok'ed the purchase.

so, with that being said, i originally was looking at the soft tail deluxe, and the soft tail slim. the more i have looked at the soft tail deluxe, the more i think its just not the right bike for me yet. i would like to own one when i am a bit older i think. i am only 28 right now so thinking i should get something a little more sporty.

so that leaves me with the soft tail slim. i love the look of this bike and it sits pretty well with my short inseam. however the price is on the very highest end of my budget. the other things i have been thinking about is that i will rarely be doing long rides, its a big bike (it will be my very first bike period) and I'm wondering if i will need that much bike for my first.

so to my new direction. the harley 48.

hands down my favorite looking bike that harley makes. i love the older looking bikes.

much more in my price range!

million custom parts for it so i can make it my own.

1200 cc should be plenty for my first bike.

won't be riding long distances (hours at a time)

did i mention more in my price range?

now my worries....because i try to learn from "mistakes"

just about everyone that i know that owns a harley (all baggers pretty much) tell me to not get a sportster, that i will want a new bike in a month. but i find so many reviews, videos, articles out there, of people loving there sportsters. especially the 48.

i try to relate any purchase to speakers since i have so much experience with them. will i regret not buying the more "high end" bike?

Edited by Scrappydue
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Problem with HD is since to 80s half the parts come from china, no HD guy will admit that because they don't work there, I have a friend who does.

When I shopped for a bike I had no one bike in mind, my bud at HD said go with an S&S engine in whatever I buy and I cannot go wrong.

This I did with MY final choice being Big Dog, 1700 fuel injected, low end cam, vance pipes. purchased for 17.5K four years ago and just sold it last week for 22.5K.

However I do not recommend you purchase a Dog, S&S engine, hell yeah, BigDog is out of business as so many custom one have fallen in the last few years.

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For your first bike a Sportster would not be that bad but, in my opinion it will leave you wanting more. As some say they are for girls, that said I don't know what your budget is. Take a look at the Dyna's especially the Low Rider real nice bike for the money, I have an 04 LR that I just love and it comes with some chrome already on it. Things to know you don't want to use up your whole budget on the bike, you will need extra's, tools, custom parts, there is no way around this. You will start looking to add on soon after you get it that's the way it is. My bike is pretty much maxed out I was thinking about selling it but, it has only 8700 miles so I am keeping it and gonna put on a more raked front end; that will be alot cheaper than a new bike... Hope this helps.

Jay

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Edited by canyonman
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For your first bike a Sportster would not be that bad but, in my opinion it will leave you wanting more.
thats what my buddies tell me. is the 1200 really that bad? i mean obviously not the same ride I'm sure, but when you say wanting more i can only figure you are talking about power. i have friends at work that ride shadow 750's and they say they want more, but 1200 is quite a bit more?
and it comes with some chrome already on it
i am not a big chrome fan at all. i am a fan of black.
things to know you don't want to use up your whole budget on the bike, you will need extra's, tools, custom parts, there is no way around this.
i will have a little extra money for stuff if i buy the 48 but i will have zero money for stuff and be tight budgeting if i get the soft tail.

tools i have. plenty of them. being a diesel mechanic for a while and now an airplane tech, i have acquired a lot of tools recently.

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ok guys a few of you know, but it is official now! the wife has ok'ed the purchase.

so, with that being said, i originally was looking at the soft tail deluxe, and the soft tail slim. the more i have looked at the soft tail deluxe, the more i think its just not the right bike for me yet. i would like to own one when i am a bit older i think. i am only 28 right now so thinking i should get something a little more sporty.

so that leaves me with the soft tail slim. i love the look of this bike and it sits pretty well with my short inseam. however the price is on the very highest end of my budget. the other things i have been thinking about is that i will rarely be doing long rides, its a big bike (it will be my very first bike period) and I'm wondering if i will need that much bike for my first.

so to my new direction. the harley 48.

hands down my favorite looking bike that harley makes. i love the older looking bikes.

much more in my price range!

million custom parts for it so i can make it my own.

1200 cc should be plenty for my first bike.

won't be riding long distances (hours at a time)

did i mention more in my price range?

now my worries....because i try to learn from "mistakes"

just about everyone that i know that owns a harley (all baggers pretty much) tell me to not get a sportster, that i will want a new bike in a month. but i find so many reviews, videos, articles out there, of people loving there sportsters. especially the 48.

i try to relate any purchase to speakers since i have so much experience with them. will i regret not buying the more "high end" bike?

Everyone is different of course, but I went through an 883 and a 1200 in less than a year before buying my FXRS "Low Rider" new back in '92. It may not happen right away, but if you go through what I did the Sportsters will leave you wanting. Especially if you plan on any long trips. Once again, just relating what I went through

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Sportsters will leave you wanting. Especially if you plan on any long trips
i dot get what everyone is talking about. wanting more what? and if i never planned a long trip? what do you consider a long trip? most of buddies say anything around 3 hours or more is long. and they mostly all have street glides and road glides
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Sportsters will leave you wanting. Especially if you plan on any long trips
i dot get what everyone is talking about. wanting more what? and if i never planned a long trip? what do you consider a long trip? most of buddies say anything around 3 hours or more is long. and they mostly all have street glides and road glides

It's like owning the KG4, then hearing the Cornwall - you will want more.

A small bike is good to learn on and for short trips. A larger bike feels more stable on the road and you'll not feel beat up after a long ride. It all depends on what you're going to do: cruise up and down Main Street, ride fast, take long touring trips. If you've never owned a bike, I would recommend one that is small for its nimbleness on cornering and braking and forgiveness in the trigger control. If you have owned a few bikes, I second the FJR - it's a canon. I have a 92 FJ.

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If you are only 28 and want something more sporty, get a Yamaha FJR.
definitely not my style.

Well when I was bike shopping, I looked at many, as you will do, then the one you really think you want, find a way to rent it for one day.

This cost me $200 at three different bike shops, one shop just said take it for the day (The Demo).

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owned several Harley including new off the floor, best advice I can give you is buy used with low miles and save a bundle of cash, do your own wrench turning

If I buy another it will be a used softail................................Harley is not the same bike it used to be and the factory now caters to the yuppie crowd, They know who they sell to and they charge like it (100 plus dollars for an oil change)

Funny that you don't like Chinese parts Mark, You continually praise Chinese amps :D

Custom bikes are harder to insure in a lot of areas, and lose huge value

I believe the only Major Manufacturer of mostly USA parts built Bikes is Victory

Good Luck and be careful out there

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owned several Harley including new off the floor, best advice I can give you is buy used with low miles and save a bundle of cash, do your own wrench turning

If I buy another it will be a used softail................................Harley is not the same bike it used to be and the factory now caters to the yuppie crowd, They know who they sell to and they charge like it (100 plus dollars for an oil change)

Funny that you don't like Chinese parts Mark, You continually praise Chinese amps :D

Custom bikes are harder to insure in a lot of areas, and lose huge value

I believe the only Major Manufacturer of mostly USA parts built Bikes is Victory

Good Luck and be careful out there

Amps is one thing, reliable motors is quite another, and if you read my post, I did not say don't buy HD, I just stated known problems.

The best reliable motor going is the S&S, unreal factory support.

And Victory is owned by Polaris, dam fine bike, so much so that my Dog dealer had one come in day for an oil change, he does not or never had worked on a victory, he said after he got done with servicing the bike he became a dealer, and still is.

Here is my guy:

http://www.victorymotorcyclesch.com/default.asp

Edited by minermark
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