well, as many of you know, i don't own a bike. only real bike experience(as the rider, not passenger) that i've got is my safety course. (honda rebel 250). anyhow. a friend of mine owns a 2003 Dyna Low Rider. he gets monthly mailings from various harley dealerships. a place not to far from here was doing demo rides today. so we went. he's been dying to get on a new cross bones while i was looking for something a bit more "newbie friendly." i got to take out a 2009 1200 Sportster Custom. i had a freaking blast. i loved it. man, i was so sad when the ride was over. i realize i need more saddle time to get a bit smoother with shifting and throttle control but overall , it was a great experience. my only real problem with the bike was that the shift lever needs a minor adjustment because the toe of my boot didn't quite fit in there good enough so i had a bit of a time shifting and ended up falling back and getting separated from the group by soccer moms in mini-vans. but the guys in the group were great, very patient with my newbie-ness. circled back to find me and help point me in the direction we were going. (the territory around there isn't familar to me as i'm not around there often). it was also a bit windy today. which wasn't a problem when the wind was at my back. it was bearable when it was at my side, but a bit rougher. and when i had to ride back into the wind, wow, that took a bit of getting used to.  but all in all, a good day i think. the drive home in the cage sucked though, didn't take me long to miss being on the bike. ah, someday my two-wheeled friend, we shall meet again!





i don't imagine i'll get many responses here as i was on a harley. but i'm sure the harley bashers will be out in abundance.  but i don't care, i had a good time. after all, it's about the ride, not what you ride.     

seriously? not one reply yet? wow.   

Good to know you had a good ride. I'm not a fan of ridding into wind either. Last time I was doing about 70mph into a headwind on my way back from Kingsport. It was not fun. Felt like 100mph.

I'm not going to bash you for ridding a Harley. I'll still wave at you as you go by. Riding is riding.

DWHA and it didnt leak or fall apart? according the the experts ehre that SPOED to happen. lool all kidding aside. the sporties are fun to ride. a bit different because of the narrow tire ( front) but LOADS of low  end torque. recently i rode an xb9s  heh I WANT ONE  , but that will ahve to wait. because of personal thigns going on, the yamaha project ill be undertaking, as well as my rx7 project almost ready for completion. ( awaiting engine mounts now) have everythign else

it really was a great time. i think i've driven my wife insane talking about it.  and i really don't have any complaints about the bike. i think it has more than enough power for me.  my only real complaint is actually with my helment. i think i need one with a few more vents. not because i was hot, but to help with the air flow, make me a bit more areodynamic. does that make sense? well, that and the shifter needs some minor adjusment to accommodate my boot properly. but, all in all, a nice machine. handled well from my perspective. brake response was good. although i didn't try any panic stops but all the same, breaking was good and smooth. man, i hope more dealerships offer demo rides this year, i'll be hitting em all up! 

that's cool jersio, i've ridden the 883 sportster for a short bit and it was different but not bad.  I still had the GS at the time so if felt like a beast but from what i hear the 1200 sportster is where its at.  I still don't quite understand how Harley can sell you an 883 and then sell you the 1200 unpgrade kit and install it for you for less than a 1200 costs new

i guess it depends on perspective. the 1200 has more chrome(if you're into that). the 1200 also comes allready to carry a passenger(where as the 883 all have solo seats, and no passenger pegs). and i think a 1200 would carry a passenger better than an 883 would. 

Quote from: jserio on May 11, 2009, 12:14:14 PM
i guess it depends on perspective. the 1200 has more chrome(if you're into that). the 1200 also comes allready to carry a passenger(where as the 883 all have solo seats, and no passenger pegs). and i think a 1200 would carry a passenger better than an 883 would. 

yeah, I didn't look into the gotcha's, i was thinking for one.  I can't get my wife to let me leave a parking lot and she'll only try once a year or so

did what i mentioned about my helment make sense? it was a cheap($100) HJC. it had a top vent and a bottom vent but that's it. very basic. i didn't notice any problems though until i had a head wind. then it sucked.