If I ask then there might be something that I have not considered. Have a 1200 sporty and it sit higher that I like as I am a short guy. I use to have a FLH which weighted approx. 160 lbs more and when riding on the hwy it road more confortable than my sporty. Just starting riding again and this is the smallest bike that I have owned, which I do like other than sitting high and it seem to vibrate alittle when I get over 65 MPH and I can't seem to remember my bigger bike doing that. Checked tires and had HD dealer go through the bike and they test rode it. I did this because I just bought it from a friend of mine at a great deal as he just bought a 2005 Softail and wanted to make sure everything was ok.

I have looked at the Dyna low rider and it sit much lower and I can put both feet on the ground FLAT <G> Do you think it would ride better seeing that is approx. 120 lbs more than the sporty?

Any thought?

THANKS!

 

Barry, You can always lower it by replacing the shocks with shorter ones. You can lower the front and the rear.
Sportys do tend to vibrate more than the big twins as you go faster. The low riders are sweet rides but I would lower the shocks before investing in another bike.

 

SO both front and back would have to be done? How will it effect the ride if any?

 

Your not going to get the ride of a bigger bike in a sporty. They are lighter and have a shorter wheelbase. You can add lowering shocks to your sporty, but it will worsen the ride. The newer sporties engines are rubbermounted which reduces the vibration tremendously, but its not the ride of a big twin.

 

Sincecrazy hit the nail on the head.
To answer your other question, no you don't have to do both. You can just do the rear to lower the seat height but as Sincecrazy said, it will worsen the ride. Some people don't mind.

 

Thanks for the replies.

 

If your Sporty is older than an '04, you will get the vibration, usually over 65 MPH as the engine is mounted directly to the frame, not rubber mounted like the '04's or '05's. The vibration probably won't bother you unless you take all day rides.

 

my first harley was a 1996 xlh 1200 sportster. i rode it for about a year. i tried a lot of stuff to make it tolerable and reduce vibration...especially for longer rides. few things i did were: barsnake in handlebars, iso grips, mustang seat, progressive shocks. in the end, i just couldn't take the vibes. guess i'm just a puss. i broke down and got a fatboy after about a year of vibrating. some people are more bothered by these vibes. if it bothers you, my suggestion would be to get a different bike before you go and spend a bunch of money trying to make pre-2004 sportster something it's not. the dyna...or a 2004 or later sportster would be fine choices, that will be considerably more comfortable.

by the way, if you don't listen to this advice and decide to spend the money on your current sportster...progressive shocks are a good option. should be able to get the 412's for about $210 or so. don't go less than an 11 1/2 inch shock. what you lose in shock travel, you will get back in shock quality...making the rear lowering give you about the same ride as stock (maybe a bit better than stock). you can lower just the back if you want to (i did on my old sportster). but, it will mess up you rake/trail some. this will worsen the handling of the bike to some degree. if you decide to lower the front as well...again, go with progressive springs.

 

Yes I have done all sort of research and if I change shocks then I have been told that I will get a rougher ride. : ( Went by the HD dealer today and they have ONE more 04 Low Rider and I can place my feet on the ground. : ) and it has rubber mounts. So am thing I might sell my sporty. Key word is might. I did list it in the HDTrader to see if I get any nibbles.

 

Well I took the plunge and bought the Low Rider this past Saturday. Rides like a dream.