Sportster questions

[fodder650]

Id rather ask this in the non GS forum directly. I trust a lot of your opinions.

So Ive had my 93 for 7 years and been here i think 4 of them. But I think I may have found her replacement. Im a short guy only 5'6 ish and the seat height of the GS has always ben a problem for me. Now i know i can cut that down an inch or so by going with a Corbin seat or lowering the bike down. But I made the trek into the local Harley dealership and saw a new Sportster 883L.

As an ex-salesman I knew not to buy it on the spot. Because at the point it was an emotional purchase. Im riding my 93 (finally) to save on gas. But supposedly it gets 60mpg which isnt to far off my GS. And I can plant both feet on the ground with room to spare. The L has a 25.6" seat height. I test rode a 1200 Sportster but I dont need a big engine like that. It felt like it was getting away from me. I could teach myself to get used to it. But the 883 should be good for cruising and even some longer trips.

Now you dont ask about buying Sportsters on a Sportster frum if you want an unbiased answer. And you dont ask about buying a GS on a GS forum if you want unbiased. So I step up and ask you the GS community pros and cons of this.

The gas mileage is good. The price isnt to bad. Its going to be about $8500. Been trying to figure out if i could get something better from another manufacture. But there is still that feeling of the fact that its made in the US. Plus it really seems like Harley is trying to add some modern tech to the bikes. Fuel injection across all ranges. Rubber mounted engines (Welcome Harley to 1950!).  Gauges that actually tell you something and gas tanks that arent in the 2 gallon range (although the L has a 3.3 only).

My GS had all that work done to it. Runs like a top and is fine for me. But Im one of those people who just want a cruiser and ive gotten my money out of her with no regrets.

Thoughts comments?

[frankieG]

i have ridden two of the 883's.  they are the baby or beginners harley.  personally i would never own one, i just don't like the look, the sound or the crowd.  but aside from that the 883 is ok but i would put my money on a new gsf or a sv650s

[scottpA_GS]

 Check out the new GSX650F  Its a grown up GS with FI   



One will be mine if I can hide it somewhere in the warehouse and buy it as a leftover next year 

[fodder650]

I dont like the sport look. One of those things I did like about having an E was that it had the naked look to it still.

[Revere2]

This thread super pisses me off. First, Frankie.............let me tell you a little something.............the "sportsters" of yesteryear made back in the the late 50's and 60's were NOT "883's". They were probably less than 850 cc's. I THINK they were around 830 cc's or so. And don't tell me that the ".243 is a "woman's" gun...........or a "youth gun" (it is a necked down in caliber only-.308 which is a "man's gun). This bullshit is all media hype and advertising to sell more. A damn 883 SHOULD BE as was in 1965 called a 900 Sporster. You DO call a 487 cc Suzuki a 500 don't you? I just love the hams on here that talk about "horsepower" and especially
"speed indicated". Well.........................for decades "we" talked about speed as to what the speedometer read. None of us had a radar clocked check. And most today don't either. And most of us today don't have dyno runs either. And to tell you the truth, it's all fuckin' stupid. All of it............ALL of it is nothing more than putting a raccoon tail on your antenna and saying "look at me". I am
"it".


And for those that have plastic crotchrockets.......unless you have money and "race for money"......STFU......

[Revere2]

p.s. An 883 Harley Davidson.....................is a        H A R L E Y D A V I D S O N

and it ain't no "girl's bike"...............it's a "real one"..................

[Revere2]

p.s.s. That  GSX650F  is one putrid piece of plastic. I own a nice clean Y2K model nekkid and I wouldn't trade you even up.
To Hell with that plastic trash that passes today (with lottsa Media help) for a "motorcycle". I guess the magazines and the TV told you that "the girls" like it huh?

[scottpA_GS]

 Ahhhh!!!!

There he is 

Welcome back Wilson 

[Jon The Buddha]

TROLL!!!!   Just kidding!   

Asking for 'Thoughts, comments?' from any internet message board is usually a bad idea.  Asking it on a Japaneese bike board about a HD is just inviting the worst out of people.  Are you going to do whatever the majority of us decide for you?  Come on...you are a big boy...you just ride whatever makes you feel most comfortable and we will ALL be happy for you, no matter what it is. 

However, my worthless thought process would be...

1.  If YOU LIKE IT, but you CAN'T get a good deal on it... don't buy it.

2.  If YOU LIKE IT, and CAN get a good deal on it... buy it.

Nothing else really matters.  Good luck, my friend!

[bombadillo]

I know the whole harley stigma goes with it, but I'd just check out something like a vstar 600 or something like that.  Great support, cheaper, just as many parts, same stance same style, but cheaper and probably cheaper insurance too.  So many cruisers out there to choose from.  Also, do you have to buy new??  The depreciation of a motorcycle sucks for most newer bikes, so buy a year or two old that is a factory certified or factory maintained trade in.  There are so many options.

[bettingpython]

And for those that have plastic crotchrockets.......unless you have money and "race for money"......STFU......

No I won't,

WTF is so sporty about a sportster it's a great lumbering hunk of crap.

But hey if you like it go for it.

Bite my nut Wilson

[Jay_wolf]

Whats funny , is i was looking at the thread for wilson about the get well card , and i had a feeling it was (******) , as some1 mentioned racist arguement starter

[Jon The Buddha]

I know the whole harley stigma goes with it, but I'd just check out something like a vstar 600 or something like that.  Great support, cheaper, just as many parts, same stance same style, but cheaper and probably cheaper insurance too.  So many cruisers out there to choose from.  Also, do you have to buy new??  The depreciation of a motorcycle sucks for most newer bikes, so buy a year or two old that is a factory certified or factory maintained trade in.  There are so many options.

I almost recommended a V-Star 650 as well.  I bought a brand new V-Star 1100 back in 2003, and I loved it.  Low seat height, Comfortable, shaft drive, very reliable, and you can get them for a song.  I sold mine a couple years later simply because the 1100 was overkill for just riding around town.  Also, I wanted something a liitle more unconventional...so I bought a VStrom 650!

Go find a Yamaha dealer and sit on a V-Star 650...I bet you like it (and the price tag).

[fodder650]

I wasnt expecting sunshine to be shined up my rear Thats why I asked here.

Theres nothing really Sporty about the Sportster. Although compared to the other Harley's it is Sporty. If I had to have an American sport bike i could always get a Buell. But thats not what Im looking at. What amazes me is that whenever they update the technology people complain about it. I know that I may one of the very few actually comparing it against other bikes in its class.  But the sales for the Motor Company are slowing down. And the V-Rod seemed to work by being an anti-Harley. Why not either release a new model Sportster. One that can truly go up against bikes from other companies. Yeah I know pipe dream. It will happen the day you can negotiate the price on one

Ive seen a lot of "Its a girls bike" which I also find as BS. I dont want with a car tire on back. I dont want one that weighs 900 lbs empty and without a rider. I dont need all the extra addons on the big harleys either. Plus if i wanted to spend $20k Id find a better then new Triumph Spitfire (thats the car not the bike) and use that daily. Which all goes back to the Sportster in the Harley line up.

As for the V-Star. Yeah actually its kinda been at the back of my mind for some time. And I was looking at the model ranges from the other manufactures as well. Because you know a nice water cooled 650 V-Star would keep costs down. They really have done a nice job with the look of them over the years as well. Plus you can always go odd and find a used Marauder with a 650 thumper just to be different.

It doesnt have to be new. There were just some changes in 2007/2008 that made getting new or 1 year old worth the upgrade. You are absolutley correct about the depreciation though. One of my justifications was that Harley's hold their value well.

And let me say once again. Its the honesty i was looking for. So far this is an emotional purchase.

[bettingpython]

OKay fodder now that we are through the whole wilson tirade its simple.

HD is antiquated technology which is over priced and marketed by image. You could do better with a metric cruiser by another manufacturer.

But if YOU like it and YOU have sat on or ridden one and it makes your heart go pitter patter and you get a warm wet sticky feeling in the crotch of your jeans then I say go for it if it's what you want.

Please refrain from falling into the image stereotype that harley markets to though. I would hope that you can take away from this site that gear is essential if you ride. Helmet, Jacket, Gloves and Boots and of course appropriate long pants and not poser gear but good honest gear that will do it's job.

[Revere2]

A "get well" card that someone sent to another with the utmost sincerity was a "racist argument starter"?.....................that's a good one...............
that's so damn stupid, that I can't in good conscience, comment on it.

Now, the Sportster may not be "sporty" to you. In fact, it is heavy, brutish, and low slung. But a sportster has been what it is and WHATEVER you think of it long before most of you were born. It's as American as John Wayne and apple pie and home made ice cream. If they had adhered to their advertisment in a magazine I was looking at while on the toilet at a plant in April of 2000, I'd've bought one. It said 5700 bucks. Buy the time I got through talking to the rep about "another seat" and a gas tank that held more than a pint and an add on tach, hell the thing went up to 7K with "dealer prep" and "shipping" charges. I was not going to pay 7K to ride to a store to get beer that is 1/8 mile away. But I did pay 4300 for a GS500EY in the crate. It still sits enclosed and protected in my shed. Let's see..............1940 miles on the odometer...........store is 1/8 mile away..................that is a lot of beer!!!

And...........I can't stand plastic crotch rockets............CANT..........never have!!! They are uglier than home made sin! You could take them ALL off the face of the earth and that would be just FINE with me. They belong on a track only. Period. Conversation is OVER.

And Betti.............you can lick my underarms clean and spotless.

[bombadillo]

now now boys!

[bettingpython]

Wilson you old reprobate Hardley Abelson belongs one place and one place only....In the fields plowing.

Alll farm equipment has 2 names Massey-Ferguson, ford-newholland, John Deere, moto-guzzi and harley davidson.

The only reason those peices of crap still exist is the protectionist practices taken by our government to keep them from being plowed under by the Japanese who do it better and for less money than Hardley can.

I wouldn't lick your nasty armpit even if shaved clean and dork that nasty thing.

Now this conversation is over.

And you better realize that this is good natured banter...you old coon ass

[bettingpython]

P.S.

The GSX-F does look like poo....

It's not considered a real supersport either.

Buy Honda 

[Jon The Buddha]

I like cheese.