So I'm considering buying a 2004 sportster that's got 43k miles. It's an 883 upgraded to 1200, supposedly taken really good care of. It's pretty clean and fires up right away, would that be insane to buy a sportster with that many miles? I know the engines are pretty cheap and easy for a rebuild, but should I be worried if everything is running well?

 

43K is NOT "high mileage", especially if it's been taken care of. Sportster engines are like an anvil. Really hard to "hurt" them unless maintenance has been ignored. If the rest of the bike looks clean, and like it has been taken care of, then I would guess the maintenance part was taken care of properly. Now it all comes down to agreeing on price. 43K is relatively LOW for a 11 year old bike. That's only around 4K a year.

 

I wouldn't worry about it as long as it's had regular oil changes with a quality oil it has lots of life left in it.
I always ask a seller what kind of oil they used, if they don't know or stumble on the question that's a red flag.
A wet/dry compression test would confirm the engine health and a good test drive should identify any issues with the drive train & handling, other than that just a good visual inspection should tell you everything you need to know.

 

I'm with the other two answers you've got here. I'd actually be worried if it had fewer miles than it does, because it's when it sits and doesn't run that things deteriorate. Check the oil, check the dates (and wear) on the tires, check the battery, maybe clean the carb, and you're good.

 

43k is not a lot of mileage. Was that all done with the 1200 kit in it, or are those parts recently new? Depending on how that was done, it kind of restarts the clock on some major components. Either way, that's not a lot of miles. That's not a small engine and it has been known to go long distances with little work.

 

Bought my 2011 bike with 52k and it still purrs, although I do take care of it. Dealer also offerred a 5 year extended warranty which gives you an idea of the dependability of a sporty. Don't think they would want to provide warranty if they thought the major components would break down.