I got my first HD in 2013: I went in looking for an 883 but found a 110th anniversary edition 1200 Custom and had to take that instead.

I really like the bike and the special details of the anniversary edition but after putting only 1200 miles on it I want to replace it with something bigger.

Is this the common thing with getting into HD riding?

 

Luckily for me it is/was. A few months ago I traded my 2003 Heritage Classic for an 2014 XL1200C with only 600 miles on it. My legs aren't getting any younger or stronger and the Sportster is just the ticket--easy to get in and out of the garage, fun to ride, easy to control, fun to ride (or did already say that). Put more miles on it in a couple months than I did the '03 in a year. Salesman told me he tries to counsel first timers into NOT buying small--go all in with a full size. You get old; things change.

 

it's common in life, period. more more more.

i'm glad i kept my sporty though. i like it better than my dyna. it rides better, lighter, more agile, better mpg, et al. the world at large likes my dyna better...more "oohs/aahs", "bad-***", "nice", and random conversations than the sporty ever got. really odd all things considered. really demonstrates how brainwashed people are. sporty bad; big goofy bike good.

 

I started out in 1971 with a Sportster and it is now 2016 and I ride a Sportster so NO I never wanted to trade for a over weight under powered bike.

 

i hate hearing that. sales dude cares about his pocket. i witneesed a sales dude tell some tiny young girl and her mom (mom was buying for girl, neither was a rider) to buy a dyna or a softail over a sporty as a first bike. yeah the girl could have been riding off road for years but, c'mon man... that's fkd up

a 700+ lb bike could ruin her perception of riding period or cost her her life. i hope she made the right call, it wasn't my place to jump in on it, the sales dude has to eat, and personal responsibility had to kick in for her at some point, right?

 

Pretty happy with my Sporty; don't see that changing any time soon.

 

The one and only HOG ride out I've ever done, which was in Spain, there were several guys that wouldn't speak to me because I was on my first Harley which was a Fatboy Special, and they thought that I should have started out on a sportster. What a load of rubbish.
Incidentally, I love the look of the sportster, and the 48 was a contender when I was looking to buy the Deluxe, but for me at 6'3 it was just a little too small.

 

I love my nimble sporty, it's my prized possession. I work on it every weekend and it's and awesome project. Soon I'll buy a dual sport, but obviously that's for different reasons that no harley can fill.

I like the look of some of the softails, but too expensive for what you're getting in my opinion. I have no need for that. I lane split, I ride twisty roads, these bigger bikes just can't do it and I wouldn't have the same amount of fun, which is the whole reason I ride. I don't ride for image or anything else, I ride for fun, and the sporty suits me perfectly.

 

I started on a Sportster and soon jumped to a Vrod, then to a Road Glide because I wanted more, more, more. I then went to a Triumph Bonneville T-100 and then to a Kawasaki Versys. Today I am back to a Sportster in my garage and I couldn't be happier. Had fun with all of those bikes but the Sportster can get the job of all of those done while being much more fun to ride and less to muscle around. It's good to be "home"!

 

Wow that is a open question...you will get a lot of opinions and since it is in the Sporty section...well you know what kind of answer you will get.

For me, first bike wasn't a sporty (wasn't even a HD) but that was 40+ years ago...but my first real bike was a sporty and it will be my last. Honestly, I thought about going bigger but never had the need to get a cruiser. The sporty fits my riding style and use (town riding). If you only intend to go touring with the bike, then perhaps some consideration should be given. As cvaria said " it rides better, lighter, more agile, better mpg, et al....simply more fun to ride. Those are the guys you should be asking (owners of both types) as they have a point of comparison.