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Newby to Sporty. What to expect?

I see you started this thread months ago........I had a '01 XLH 883 and loved it. Paid $5400 new and after 2 years and 36,000 miles the transmission case came apart....Harley of course replaced it (took almost 4 months) at which point I traded it in on a new Roadglide....big mistake, I should have kept the Sporty and just added the Roadglide to my corral. Since then I have purchased an 1990 Sporty that I spend more time working on than riding. Since you are new to Harleys....the first thing your gonna wanna do is buy a large magnet and attatch it to the back of your new bike.....this way you can catch all the parts that will vibrate off and you can reinstall them at the next gas stop :D Special Note: Insurance on the 883 will be less than the 1200 and down the road if you wanna put the 1200 upgrade in its not that big a deal and since its titled as an 883 you get to keep the cheap insurance.

Dennis
 
Wow! Cool that I got these responses! Okay, here's the quick update... I went for the Black 883XL, and since then, have put 12000 miles on it in the last 10 months (One pile of miles was a trip to Colorado and back). These bikes are great. Very dependable, a cinch to work on, and even the lowest priced Harley gets compliments (more if its clean). 883 vs 1200? Here's my .02 .... If you want really feel that pull on the bars when you goose it... 1200. My 883 only pales when I race quicker bikes... how often do we really do that? (Race... never for pinks!) I'm happy with mine, I'd just recommend prospective buyers to ride both the 883 and 1200. Thanks for all your help.
 
I did I did!
just my two cents, but i never thought I'd want less than a 1200. My husband and I both shared a 1200 until I found my 883, and I much prefer the way it corners over his (plus I'm vertically challenged). He even likes to take it for a spin now and then. If someone offered me a brand new ride, I'd have to pass that on to hubby... cause I'm diggin my 883! They are both great bikes. Good luck with it

100%
then, if 883 is really not enough for you, you can always JUST change the heads and pistons and BOOM!!! 1200.
:)
enjoy.
 
Yes I see lots of guests coming here to read. I wish that they would join with us and share their knowledge or ask a question if they have one. I have as of yet not met anyone who is verbally abusive as I've found on some other forums.

If you crusing as a Guest, Hey come'on and join us.

FM

Reading this post again from the beginning made me smile when I think back to other forums and the problems they have as I have seen in the past.
I blame it mostly on the leaders of those forums for not running a tighter ship.
When some things are allowed on a forum that are not beneficial to the forum and they are not kept in check, it gets out of control real fast and the forum suffers for it loosing quality members to be replaced by the clowns that drove them out.
I'm glad that we have only quality members here on HDT so far and that Speed is the kind of person that he is as far as any trouble makers that have wandered in. It's very refreshing!

Just my .02:D
 
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Another BRIEF UPDATE.... now I'm up to 18k miles, put on a set of Kenda Kruz tires at 16k... no worse than the Dunlops, and a lot less $$$. My Power Commander 3 took a dump and my mileage droped from 49mpg to 38mpg.... so I yanked the PC3, hooked the U2 sensors back up, and I'm back to 48-50mpg. Performance is back to stock, but I'm going to try a fix posted on the web that lets you keep your o2 sensors working but richens the fuel injection from 14.7>1 to 14.2>1. (The PC3 was tuned for 13>1 at a local shop on their dyno). Otherwise, changing the oil and filters has been the only thing the bike has needed. Happy as heck with it.Here it is, packed like the Clampett's Truck for a trip to Colorado Springs (1800 miles) The bike did great. (52mpg!)
SANY0288.jpg



Here's a picture of it that I Photoshopped... just got new LED lights for it Thanks for everyone's input.
100_0019ab.jpg

.....hope everyone else is enjoying their bike as much as I enjoy mine!
 
Hey! If you are as happy as me then you are doing fine.

I bought my 98 Sportster 2 weeks ago and did not even consider the 1200. I have previously owned a CBR600 and a 900 Fireblade and whilst the Sporty will never front up for a race agaisnt either of them, I am enjoying the ride more than ever. It isn't exactly short of power and has a sound that I can never get enough of!
 
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