Sportster Questions

[Cincykz]

Hey all,

I've had a bit of an itch for a Harley Sportster 1200 for a few years. I've had quite a variety of bikes, and currently have an ST1300 and CB919. Love the ST, only had the 919 for a short while. Really liked it last year, but only really rode it for a month or two, maybe 1200 miles, ST seems to get most of the seat time.

I've had two cruisers: a Suzuki Intruder 1400, and a Kawasaki Vulcan 2000 LT.

I really liked the motor on the intruder, but found the comfort, cornering clearance, and brakes to be unacceptable.

The VN2000 was actually a good motorcycle. It had more cornering clearance, better suspension, and excellent brakes. I had it at a point in my life when I didn't have much time to ride, and my wife had stopped passenging, so I sold it. It was too heavy.

I had a Buell XB12R that I adored and regret selling. I really liked that motor, although the riding position and attitude of the bike were more aggressive than what I want now.

Anyway, an XL1200R Sportster roadster 1200 has always appealed to me. Twin disc brakes, cast wheels, tachometer, more suspension travel, and pretty two tone colors. I also like the looks of the 99ish Sportster sport. Similar bike, twin plug heads, solid mounted engine though.

I am pretty ignorant when it comes to Harleys. Are the older solid mounted bikes horrible? I don't mind some character, but enjoy how smooth the st13 is and loved how smooth the Buell was at speed.

Carb vs fi? My recent bikes have been injected and kept me happy, but some of my favorite past bikes were carbed.

A quality that I really enjoy in a motorcycle is smooth low speed running without having to play with the clutch. I like how on the ST you can pretty much stop and pull away smoothly without lurching or stalling, and I enjoy practicing tight turns and figure eights. My cb919 wants to go about 10-15 mph once you let the clutch out, not ideal for low speed maneuvers. My KZ650 (back in the day) had wonderful low speed lugginess, could potter around at walking speed all day and never had to feather the clutch (low gearing, heavy flywheel?)

Does anyone with Harley experience know if a Sportster is pretty happy at low speeds, or is it going to want to roll faster like my 919 or have the clutch slipped a lot? Carb or FI advantage?

Appreciate any insight. Sorry for the ramble, it's been a long winter.
Anyone with a Roadster or Sportster Sport want to chime in? Should I get a HD, or am I crazy?

 

[Igofar]

I'll throw in my .02 here, since I've owned about two dozen sportsters over the years, ranging from a museum grade 1956 KHK model (flat head sportster) 900 XLCH model's, XR1000's, several Evo's, 883's, 900's, 1000's, and yes, even an XL1200R or two (blue one, and a yellow one). I also had a couple XR750 track bikes back in the day, and two XR1200's set up for racing etc.
It would depend on why you want a Sportster. Back in the day, they were the Hot Rod, and the bike to beat if you had a Triumph, Norton, or BSA etc.
They were narrow, light, and just felt right (at least for me) Then again, there was Then Came Bronson on TV
Now a days the Indian scouts are taking over most of the tracks, and the new Sportsters are looking like mutated Honda shadows.
Are they fast? No, Are they comfortable? No, Are they easy to work on? Perhaps etc.
I've ridden from coast to coast on an old Iron Head 1000 that shifted on the Correct side (right side shifter) and it never left me on the side of the road.
Are they a turn key ride anywhere type of bike.....Not for most folks. You rode them when they would start, wrenched on them the next day, and washed them the next day.
Of course you could only travel 63 miles before you hit reserve, and you were pushing them around 90 miles etc.
I love the older ones, but you couldn't give me a newer one.
To me they are History, and a forgotten time, a simpler time etc.
If your expecting one to act like a JAP bike, then maybe you'd be better off looking at something else.

 

[Cincykz]

Wow, thanks Larry. You're sort of a motorcycle Encyclopedia, and always donate a lot of time into adding great content to this forum.

I've always considered myself a bit of a go-fast rider, but kept finding myself thinking "I don't think I need to go this fast" every time I wound up my 919 the other day. Each time I cranked on the throttle, I felt like I was hanging onto the bike and wanted more wind protection. I used to have a sport bike to accompany my ST13, but I feel like now maybe the ST is the sporty bike, and the accompanying bike for shorter trips could be a... Sportster?

Every time I ride my ST I feel like I'm on the right bike. I felt like that on my Buell, but I think it was conspiring to kill me. I envision a sporty as a solo bike for trips under 150 miles, and speeds under 70. I was really smitten with the 1200 in my Buell, although it was about 90 horse instead of 50 or 60.

Beautiful bikes by the way. I heard horror stories about Buell reliability, but my XB12 treated me pretty good, and I ran it pretty hard. In fact, when really ridden in anger, it smelled like BBQ. Intoxicating. It was also a bike that everyone else that rode it looked at me sideways and couldn't see the appeal.

 

[Cincykz]

Cruisers of the past. I don't know if the KZ counts, but it was my first big bike and I held onto it for a long time. Sold it a couple of years ago.

 

[Cincykz]

These are the sort of thing that appeal to me. I'll agree, the style that HD has gone to very recently isn't my favorite. Not a fan of blacked out bikes or matte paint.

 

[gringo88]

Well, you'll have to put a splint on your right wrist or you'll be hitting the rev limiter all the time. I had a Buell Ulysses that was a super fun bike but ran out of steam before i could get it shifted into the next gear. Also had an obscene number of other HD's, and currently a '13 Switchback and '70 Electra Glide. If you want to putt around, go for it! But nothing matches the power of a V-4 winding up! If you want fuel injection, look for '07 and up Sportsters, preferably with the dual disk front set up.

 

[the Ferret]

I've had 2 Sportsters, a '59 bought used in 1968 and a '94 bought new. Right shift on the 59, left shift on the 94 but actually other than that they felt and sounded incredibly alike. They were narrow as Larry said, but they had terrible vibes over 55 mph, and of course no range, but sometimes you were thankful for that lol. A buddy of mine had a rubber mounted 1200 with stock pipes, mid pegs and 1 1/2" longer shock, and I rode it for a piece on the BRP while he rode my CB 1100. His 1200, set up that way, was ergonomically speaking very comfortable, like sitting in a chair. I never got to 55 mph so not sure how the vibes were off the BRP, still wasn't smooth like my CB 1100, but we were running 70-75 to get there and my buddy never complained about vibes. Front brake was weak, rear brake was excellent We had to stop twice on the trip to repair his when the side stand spring fell off, and when the rear pipe came loose, so I guess there were enough vibes to shake things loose, even if they couldn't be felt from the seat, bars and pegs.

Not trying to discourage you, if it's something you have an itch for, you should scratch that itch, but make sure to get a rubber mounted 1200 (not sure when that started) and get some mid pegs and longer rear shocks to eliminate that Sportster rear end squat. Buying used it will probably come with life saving drag pipes but maybe you can find some quieter pipes on ebay or something

 

[Cincykz]

Thanks for the input all! Keep it coming!

 

[ST-Traveler]

Now a days the Indian scouts are taking over most of the tracks, and the new Sportsters are looking like mutated Honda shadows.

 

[VFR]

I have a Sportster. It's a 2001 XL1200S. They were only made for three or four years starting in 1999. It has dual plug heads, hot cams, fully adjustable suspension front and rear (Very rare to have any suspension adjustment on HD), and dual front discs. The current equivalent bike in rubber mount is the roadster, except that it doesn't have dual plug heads or full suspension adjustment.

The trick is to find one of these that hasn't been butchered and all of the good stuff thrown away. Mine is just to run around the farm roads up here for a nice easy ride. It does that very well. There is a spot in the rev range that doesn't vibrate, just find a gear that goes as fast as you want and go riding. For really fast or twisties, I have other bikes for that. Not really a freeway bike, but I've done it. Fuel mileage is 40+ mpg. A one tank ride is about 150 miles for me. The kind of downside on this particular bike is the 16" rear wheel. Tough to find good rubber in that size. The Roadster has an 18" rear which opens up a much better choice. I don't know when they went to 16" rear on the Sportster as the early ones were 18". I had one of those too, a long time ago.

These are kind of like the VFR to the ST guys. A great bike if you don't try to make it into something else. Buy it for what it is, ride it for what it is and you will enjoy it.

 

[sherob]

My HD... not all blacked out. It's been a great bike, I've had it for 6 months. It's not a 1200cc engine, but 1860+ cc's. It get's up and goes! It handles pretty well for a big bike, but has a high center of gravity like the ST since the gas is up top, unlike a Wing.

The new Sportser S comes w/ CC standard... I don't see Indian offering CC on the Chiefs. Like we tell everyone... test ride your choices, and pick what moves you, what puts the smile on your face!

Good luck with your choice.

 

[turbomaker]

I had a 2004 Roadster (first year of the rubber mount).

Orange/cream tank. Beautiful.

Had never looked at or had a desire in a Harley prior to that Sportster.

What I learned:
1. Parts availability - coming off a Ducati, having parts available, at the counter, in country...was just unheard of!
2. Repair-ability. Everything, and I mean everything, is covered ad-nauseam on the internet
3. Configuration. Don't like your bars? Craigslist. Seat? Craigslist. Lights, grips, exhaust, keyfob? Just clicks away.
4. Rear tire wear. About 20k. Coming off a sportbike, I was able to eat less ramen, as I was buying fewer $250 tires per year
5. Mileage. 45-50mpg. It was carburated, so there is that.

Since it was used, I put Ohlins on the rear and progressive on the front. Mini-apes (13"), LED lights, lower footpegs, highway pegs (ran mid's), and a Mustang seat with seatback. Comfortable ride.

Loved the look, the ride, and the experience. Co-worker liked it and bought it off me. I ride a FLHTCU (and ST1100) just now. Different experience, but also rewarding.

 

[Igofar]

The 883 engines where/still are the best balance of motor. This is the reason HD went back to them after trying 900, 1000, 1100, 1200 etc.
One of my old aluminum cast XR750 flat trackers that I used to race would be worth about three new ST’s if you found one in perfect condition.

 

[Cincykz]

Wow, turbomaker and VFR, those are the two bikes I want!

There's a 1992 XLH1200 a few hours from me on marketplace, has twin disks and looks very original. 10k or so miles.

Also, I understand it wouldn't be particularly fast, I'm ok with that. I've had a big handful of very fast bikes, and while they were fun, they've all gone down the road. There's something nice about using the 50hp you have, as opposed to using 1/3 of the 150hp you have.

 

[Cincykz]

 

[sherob]

Sweet looking ride!

 

[Cincykz]

Sorry, not mine, just one I found on the webs. I like the looks of it though!

 

[sherob]

Sorry, not mine, just one I found on the webs. I like the looks of it though!

Just complimenting the ride... if that was the one you were looking at.

 

[Igofar]

I’m down to one Harley, and only own this one because my grandson said it looked like Tony The Tiger, so Mrs. Igofar Told me to buy it.

 

[Cincykz]

I've located a couple I like the looks of on marketplace (both too far away but whatever) a 92 XLH1200 for 3700 negotiable, 10k miles, looks very original. It's the blue one I posted with twin disc front brakes.

And a 99 sport, mint, 4k miles, for 5k but been up for a bit. It has forward controls, does anyone know if you can go back to mids with the parts on the bike, (without buying mids) or are they completely different and I'd have to source mids?

I think I'm priced out of the rubber mounts unless I find a good deal. Would love an orange/cream stock xl1200r. Hard to find a stock Harley it seems, though.