I have not seen a ride reveiw of the new 72 so I thought I would post one from my limited experience on a 72 at the Daytona Demos. New owners should jump in and let us know how they like them so far.

I always liked the look and finish HD did with the Nightster but but the slammed suspension ruined the bikes ride and cornering. Not so with the 72, I was suprised how well the bike rode and handled. The forks and shocks actually had some travel. The 21" front wheel lightened the steering and gave a touch more ground clearence. You can still scrape but not like on the Nightster. I was really suprised at how well the bike fit me, I'm 6' with a 32" inseam. I don't like foward controls but they were just about perfect for leg comfort. I saw Harley has a new kit to move the fowards back a few inches and this may well be the perfect comprimise on this bike. The seat is a little small for my 53 YO ***. I used to run a Bates solo and cobra seats on my Sportsters in the 1970's, but either my *** has widened over the years or they are making these seats smaller now. Still I would'nt change the seat until I tried it for awhile. Seat, pegs, and bars fit me very well. I know everybody hates the small tank but it looks so damn good on this bike. My advice is if you live where there are few gas stations buy something else. Personally if I needed more range for the ride I would grab one of my other bikes with more capacity. But it would be hard to pass this bike up in the garage because of the ease of handling. My old Sportsters and my old '49 Panhead Chopper with a sportster tank would only go about 75 miles before it was time to find gas. I don't remember ever running out, but you had to be aware of your range.

The detail that Harley put into this bike is amazing. I like the grey cases with polished fins, Even though I am no chrome fan the contrast between the cases and chrome covers is nice. It really showcases the classic lines of the motor. And that small tank makes the motor stand out. I think the hardest decision would be paint choice. The black denium looks damn cool with the bobber styling, but the red metal flake is a true custom paint job and looks good too.

I wish I didn't like the way this bike looks and rides so much. It looks so good I would be willing to put up with the short fuel range. I couldn't justify owning this bike because it would be practical, other than it gets good fuel mileage and is low maintenance. Like my Street Bob I would find it very enjoyable because of the nostalgia from the bikes I owned in my younger days wthout the maintenance and upkeep that came with putting lots of miles on those older machines.

This was my opinion, yours may vary.

 

I just wish they offered that red metal flake in other Sportys. I really like the 3.3 gal Peanut tank.

 

I bought the big blue pearl.Great ride for the buck.Rides very good, peppy for a 1200, the light weight helps alot on acceleration . mini apes are very comfortable. 2.1 gallon tank empties quick. think im gonna put a bigger tank on it. overall i love the bike .classic look. lots of compliments on it. white walls set it off nice.the 5 on the timing case had to go, Replaced it with the ******* HD skull.

 

I love how it looks especially with that red metal flake paint. The small tank looks cool as hell but to me would be a pian with it's capacity. If I had it I think I would try to find some way to add to the capacity but not change the look if possible.

 

I saw one yesterday with a nightster tank and a 1.5 lift and wire tuck. very sharp looking. Kurt

 

This bike got a very positive review in Motorcycle Consumer News.

 

I've had a Nightster since 2007. Hate the 3 gal tank - the lines aren't right and it looks bloated. I'd swap to the traditional 2 gal tank in a heartbeat. Putting a larger tank on the 72 would screw the flow.

 

Here's a pic of a 72 that a Customer posted on our page a few days ago.

Tank lift, coil relo, F6 ignition relo.

Looks sharp!

 

I've got about 1700 miles on my 72 and about 25 gas station stops. I love the looks of the peanut tank and I really love the red metal flake (the flat black looks cool too).

About the P tank. Until I traded it in I owned a '04 with a 4.5 gallon tank and am still spoiled by that. I have run out of gas three times so far. I've ran out twice pushing the enevlope just to see how far she'd go. The last time I ran out the fuel light had just came on and I only got about a half mile from the house before she started coughing.

The suspension on the bike is pretty decent. I live in an area where they do lots of logging and the roads are terrible. I have bottomed the shocks out a couple of times but the jar from the impact is not terrible. I would like to upgrade to aftermarket shocks eventually. The cornering on the bike is great. I've managed to drag the wear pegs on the footpegs a couple of times and she felt great the whole time.

The mini apes are very comfortable. Going from broomsticks to mini apes is taking some getting use to. I still don't feel as in cotrol launching from a dead stop. I guess that will come with time.

The bike is designed beautifully. The classic grey motor, mini apes, white walls and the chopped fender all give it a retro look with modern reliability (other than the regulator crapping out at 500 miles). I have received lots of compliments on the bike. The only complaint I have about the looks is the amount of wiring and plastic covers to hide it. I have installed a DYI 2" tank lift and and am going to perform a wire tuck and chunk the plastic.

So far I've added a 30in. sissy bar, passenger pillion, Python slip on mufflers (minus 1/2 baffle), DYI tank lift, DYI passenger footpeg extensions, added gold flames to the side covers, painted the headlight yellow with stained glass paint, installed a tool bag on the downtubes, removed the cheasy fender reflector, removed the fork reflectors and added a right side Lick's solo bag. I have ordered some metal flake coke bottle grips and they should be here today.

The power is great and I can't wait to swap the breather and the entire factory exhaust to really let the horses flow.

I am in love with "Ruby".

 

I like the coil relo!