? about HD Sportster

[dako81]

I was dinking around on the HD site just checkin out their cheapest bikes for fun. Someday I wouldn't mind having an "american cruiser" style bike, (among many bikes I plan to have), or whatever you want to call it so I checked out the sportster.

If I were to get a cruiser bike like that, I would use it for long cruises where I wouldn't want to stop very often. Why does it only have a 3.3 gal tank? I dunno how much more practical a bigger one would be, but it just seems to me like that's a bit small. I'd be worried about filling up all the time on a trip.

I haven't looked at any of the "metric" cruisers, but I am sure I'll check em out later to see what's being offered.

I guess I'm asking people who own one, or have owned one, is the tank small and would it be practical to have a bigger one? Do they offer bigger ones?

Just curious...

I guess I'm just spoiled with our FZ-6's capacity

Thanks

 

[steveindenmark]

2 things about HD. They never seem to go very far and they appear not to be that reliable.

A really good metric cruiser is the old Suzuki Intruder 1100. I think they finished making that model in about 1996. If you search for Intruder Alert Cafe and go into the 1100 section you will see how much the guys love them.

I had the 800 but if I went back to cruisers it would be the 1100 for me.

HD is more of a lifestyle, not just a motorbike.

Steve

 

[Hellgate]

HavBlue has a Sportster, he can fill you in.

 

[Fred]

Sportsters are horrible bikes for long distance riding. They're small, they're underpowered, they have too little fuel capacity, the seat is uncomfortable, the handling sucks.

Used to wrench on a fleet of rental HD's. Ridden em all, been impressed by none.

Fred

 

[billm]

Had one!
Key word is HAD!:shakehead:

 

[dako81]

I guess that kinda caps off that pipe dream. I mean, I don't know. Like I said I guess I'm just curious. Not like "OH I'VE GOTTA GO OUT AND GET A HARLEY" which my gf's mom recently said. Just wondering about them cause the sportster is pretty cheap brand new, I suppose.

 

[Hellgate]

I guess that kinda caps off that pipe dream. I mean, I don't know. Like I said I guess I'm just curious. Not like "OH I'VE GOTTA GO OUT AND GET A HARLEY" which my gf's mom recently said. Just wondering about them cause the sportster is pretty cheap brand new, I suppose.

Oh well, noting like having a crush on something for a bit.

I actually think they are very, very expensive for what you get. Mild steel tube frame, cheap heavy cast wheels, crappy twin shocks, brakes with only one rotor and caliper up front, only five gears, only one seat on some models, only a speedo, no tach, a cheap swing arm. I just don't see the value in them.

 

[dako81]

Oh well, noting like having a crush on something for a bit.

I actually think they are very, very expensive for what you get. Mild steel tube frame, cheap heavy cast wheels, crappy twin shocks, brakes with only one rotor and caliper up front, only five gears, only one seat on some models, only a speedo, no tach, a cheap swing arm. I just don't see the value in them.

Very true. I guess I got caught with the idea for a few minutes that one might actually be worth it. I was just trying to figure out what all these Harley guys are all about, I suppose curiosity got the best of me lol!

 

[Scott64a]

You can just throw a briggs and stratton on any old minibike frame and it's essentially the same thing.

No bang for the buck, and they NEED to be rebuilt after 20,000 miles or so. I don't see the attraction myself. A kid at the station got one for $6,000, and it had 28,000miles on it. It runs like crap, handles even worse, and actually has to be choked manually to run right from starting. Not a fan of the V-twin, and I'm even LESS a fan of Harley's 1200 or 883.

My brother had an 883 for a year, and it was a sled. He got it brand new, but soon ran out of puppy love for it. I took it for a cruise and remembered thinking, "It's no KZ1000!"

To each his own, but I don't get the mystique surrounding them. They're crap!


A good friend of mine just got his SECOND Kawasaki Vulcan 1800, this time with the hard bags. He loves that bike, and got 20,000 miles or so out of the last one he had. I'd say go check those out before a Hog POS.

 

[jrf]

I thought about getting one myself ,but then i heard all the problems they have and not to mention the atitude that comes with alot of Harley riders, O thats a Sporster you can't be in our "club" because its not a "real" Harley.

My chose for a cruiser would be the Yamaha Warrior line of bikes. I've never riden one but I think they look awesome

 

[08fz6]

all harley's are like that very low bang for the buck its deff a lifestyle! you would not be let down by the warrior amazing bike! have spent a few thousand miles on different ones!!! Great bang for your buck and if you can find a used one even more bang for your buck!!! I missed out on a 2004 with 3,000 miles with all sorts of aftermarket goodies went for $5500. wasnt home yet so mad it was a previous employees bike he was one of my dads mechanics very maticulously taken care of!!

 

[fz6nick]

They are known as Hardly Ablesons in my family. I did race a VROD on the fz6 and he put up a good fight. Its shameful that an American made cycle is poorly engineered, under powered, underbraked, ill-handling, and poor quality.

JAP BIKES ROCK:Flip:

 

[fz6nick]

BUT..... if I had to get one, Id get a VROD, plus you ride with a tight group of riders. Not many groups like that in the midwest were im from. Plus, Harley riders will actually wave at you!

 

[HavBlue]

Sportsters are horrible bikes for long distance riding. They're small, they're underpowered, they have too little fuel capacity, the seat is uncomfortable, the handling sucks.

Used to wrench on a fleet of rental HD's. Ridden em all, been impressed by none.

Fred

Well Fred, the first thing I'm going to ask is not how many you worked on but how many you actually took for a long ride of say 300 miles or more in one day. The other thing I am going to ask is which year and which model you may have been on. With the 3.3 gallon peanut tank the bike can go up to 150 miles without fuel and this is a 1200cc; My 4.5 gallon tank will get me just over 200 miles.. If the bikes you were on were the pre-rubbermount then yes, there is a world of difference but again it depends on which model it was and how that bike was set up; The 2002 S model was awesome and my current 2004 Roadster has that suspension. I have had 3 Sporties, none of them were rentals and all of them were set up by me and for me. None of them were underpowered from the time they left the dealer and they did quite well after I got through with them too. I've never been a fan of the 21" front tire and switched all of them to the 19" with the oversized 110/90/19; the Roadster came stock with it.. For a 500 to 600 pound bike and this depends on the year and model that bike handles superbly with the right rider in the saddle.

I can appreciate your opinion and much like many that have a lot to say about the Sporty, their experience with the bike sucks and they don't know it at all. As far as reliability goes, I have had but one problem with any of them and this was my first one that seemed to have a problem with front turn signal bulbs. Every once in a while the bulbs would go bad (the element would break). As far as handling goes, that chassis is the winningest chassis in AMA history and it makes awesome left turns......

Nick, you would be far better off with the 2004 and up rubbermount and they can be had for cheap too.

 

[HavBlue]

They are known as Hardly Ablesons in my family. I did race a VROD on the fz6 and he put up a good fight. Its shameful that an American made cycle is poorly engineered, under powered, underbraked, ill-handling, and poor quality.

JAP BIKES ROCK:Flip:

I gotta say something here Nick, If the guy riding that V-Rod didn't leave you for dust off the light he was sleeping. I know for a fact that a well tuned later model V-Rod will give the FZ6 a real workout and any hesitation at all by the FZ6 rider will cost that rider the race in a quarter mile. As it is and again it depends on the rider, the FZ6 will be playing catch up till the fat end of that run. As to being under braked, yeah right, that's why the V-Rod has used Brembo for what, 3 years now and they stop quite well. The V-Rod is anything but underpowered, they handle quite well and I tell you what, you wish the FZ6 or for that matter any Jap bike as has been stated here has the quality of that V-Rod.

My 2005 Roadstar is much like the FLST Deluxe and while the FLST was about 3K more, you get those two side by side and look them over and you begin to see why that FLST is 3K more as the fit and finish on that Harley is far beyond the Yamaha. If nothing else, just look at the frame and this is only the beginning. I'm not into the Harley lifestyle at all but give the devil his due as them bikes are flat works of art regardless of how the BT's run.

 

[08fz6]

are you kidding?? Harley better fit and finish than a Yamaha you been sniffing those harley fumes! But i suppose its pretty hard to screw something up when most of the tins are pretty square....

 

[Fred]

Well Fred, the first thing I'm going to ask is not how many you worked on but how many you actually took for a long ride of say 300 miles or more in one day. The other thing I am going to ask is which year and which model you may have been on. With the 3.3 gallon peanut tank the bike can go up to 150 miles without fuel and this is a 1200cc;

Fair questions one and all.

Most of my HD rides were pretty short, since I'd just be test riding them after working on them. The only one I took out for a 300 mile ride was a new Softtail Deuce that needed a good break in ride.

I did have the option of taking rental bikes out on the town for fun after work. The boss thought it was good publicity.

I have done about 50 miles on an 883 Sportster. I think it was an 01. Frankly, 50 miles was enough for me. I didn't want to ride it any more after that.

I've been on the new ones with the larger tank and rubbermounted motor. They are an improvement over the old design, but even so, they're behind the times.

As for range, I won't even consider a bike that gets less than 200 miles to a tank.

 

[wrightme43]

The Harleys I have seen have been well assembled. I dont want one, nor really like them, but two wheels is two wheels.

They dont really do anything better enough to justify the increased cost in my mind. The do look really cool though.

Now this on the other hand is a serious piece of kit.
Vincent Black Lightning - MotorcycleUSA.com

 

[HavBlue]

are you kidding?? Harley better fit and finish than a Yamaha you been sniffing those harley fumes! But i suppose its pretty hard to screw something up when most of the tins are pretty square....

I'm going to consider the source on this one because it is clear that you have never bothered to take the time to really compare the likes of the Harley in terms of fit and finish to that of say the big 4 from Japan. The first thing you will notice is the frame quality and the finish on that frame. The Harley is crystal clear with no obvious imperfections and much like the old school bluing on a rifle you could brush your teeth or shave in the mirror image. Now go to the big 4 copy cat cruisers from Japan. The frames while black, just like the Harley, have enough orange peel to make me want to spend a week sanding them out and they are anything but clear in image. Now look at the paint, yeah, get up there and look at it, touch it with your off hand so you can really feel it. It is flawless and the clear coat is so thick you can't feel the rise that is generally caused when pinstripe is painted on the tank under that clear coat like my Yamaha. Lets go to the plastic chrome factor that always seems to follow the Japanese cruiser. Things like the emblems, cross brace covers for the turn signals, the turn signals themselves and many many other things are just chrome plastic on the Japanese cruiser whereas on the Harley it is hard chrome metal. No, I haven't been sniffing glue and you haven't taken the time to make an objective choice in terms of which bike is cleaner in terms of quality, fit and finish.

 

[HavBlue]

Fair questions one and all.

Most of my HD rides were pretty short, since I'd just be test riding them after working on them. The only one I took out for a 300 mile ride was a new Softtail Deuce that needed a good break in ride.

I did have the option of taking rental bikes out on the town for fun after work. The boss thought it was good publicity.

I have done about 50 miles on an 883 Sportster. I think it was an 01. Frankly, 50 miles was enough for me. I didn't want to ride it any more after that.

I've been on the new ones with the larger tank and rubbermounted motor. They are an improvement over the old design, but even so, they're behind the times.

As for range, I won't even consider a bike that gets less than 200 miles to a tank.

Fred, the bike you were on was an 883 hard mount and at the time that bike hit the street it had about 40 horsepower at the rear wheel in the stock configuration. It came with a 130/16 rear tire and probably had mid pegs, Kelsey-Hayes brake components, a single front and rear disc with no adjustments in the suspension other than spring rate on shocks that were pretty poor. So, in the case of that bike, yes, the power was way down for an almost 900cc machine, if you weren't 5'10" or less you were stuffed on like a sardine in a can and the brakes were adequate at best. The bike weighed 50 pounds less that the 2004 and up models and the exhaust was worse than a crimped hose in terms of its shortcomings. That bike was fine for around town and actually fun but it couldn't hold a candle to the rubber mount in any aspect other than fit and finish quality.

Lets fast forward to the 2008 model. The engine now uses fuel injection, makes about 50 rear wheel horsepower with new heads and cams, the exhaust has been altered dramatically and the units with the mid pegs are still for somebody 5'10" or less The bike will get 50mpg no problem and the fact that ir will only go 150 miles on a load of fuel isn't an issue as it would be rare that a rider would go that 150 miles or farther without stopping anyway. Heck, when I ride with the Wing folks they generally stop between 100 and 125 miles and them folks love the long haul which is why I like riding with them from time to time.

I'll tell you what behind the times does for me. The times have gathered a rider that can't tell how far his/her bike will go without a fuel gauge or a low fuel light, they have to have fuel injection, a lap top and a dyno because they can't figure out which jet package or run profile to use for the mods they have installed based on a plug read and their posterior. The times rider has to have a GPS as opposed to just going that way and then to make it worse the times rider puts a motion picture camera on the tank in a position where the speedo can be read only to be stopped and have the camera confiscated as evidence against him/her. Sorry Fred, I like the simple machine that takes a rider that knows what he/she has and where they want to go with it. I also like having a bike with unlimited support both at the dealer level and in the realm of aftermarket upgrades. Funny, I can buy and build on a 35 year old Sporty with zero problems but that same 35 year old Yamaha or Honda is going to be a nightmare.