Opinions on XL1200N as a first bike?

[Delmar]

In my opinion if you are a first time rider you don’t need to pay for the extra expense of the 1200. Even the lowly 883 has more than enough power & torque to sufficiently scare you at best, and get you in big trouble at worst.

I have a 883 and am perfectly happy with the power. I mostly ride two-up with my wife, and neither of us are necessarily lightweights. I’m wanting like a bigger touring bike for increased room, not increased power.

You want a really smoking deal…buy a slightly used 883 for half the price and pay cash. It’s amazing how much better a paid-off bike will ride. My $0.02 USD.

 

[Baggh]

Gotta admit Delmar makes a great point. I posted earlier within this thread about how I wish I would have gotten a 1200 Nightster rather than my 883.

Upon further review... after evaluating finances\experience and other misc. factors the 883 may be the way to go. I more than likely would have preferred the Nightster but solely based upon its badass looks and the cool name. Is that worth $5k more than, as Delmar stated, a slightly used 883?

I paid $5,900 for my '06 XL883 Sportster... and it came with at least $1000 worth of mods already (V&H pipes\Chrome side covers\etc etc etc. It has 4,400 miles on it and look\rides like new. Has plenty of power (883=53 horses\ 1200=70)... I cruise 70 mph at 3800rpms... wanna go 90... no prob... about 4300 rpms... point is it can go as fast as you need without red lining the engine... and it can get your there quick.

oh.. I also wanted a 1200 cause it simply... well... seems cooler to have the bigger cc's on the side of the engine. No one can visually tell the difference between an 883\1200... the difference is within the heads... thats it.

so yep... I kinda feel as if I countered my own earlier point but... well... there's legit points to ponder when deciding what to get.