In April I bought a used 48 with 2K miles, after some mods I love the little thing. Easy to ride and handle, slow or fast. Not my long distance (250+) bike but good for anything less.
I have been riding for many years, just wanted something that was not "work" to ride around town, parking etc.
Still love the CBR and Wing for there intended uses.
Just my .02.

 

There is one section of road that is 7% grade uphill, that I wish I had a few more beans, I can only do 90 mph on my 883.

 

I too agree that the 06, 1200 XL Low is a great choice. I had that model myself and prefer the simple carburetor. Hopefully you're a taller guy and can go with longer shocks to further improve the otherwise poor ride quality. Might put some Progressive drop-in fork springs in front as well. They're cheap and make a huge improvement over stock. I sold mike with 51k miles on it and it was still running excellent & fast. Fun bike for sure! You're going to need a seat as well. The mustang vintage is a comfortable choice.

 

Is that a stock color? What is that blue called?

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I added an 03 883R. I like how tall the older Sportsters are. It has a SE intake and SE II mufflers.

Handles and rides great. Yes a big hopped up engine is fun to play with but the 883 will cruise with the best of them on the Interstate or back roads.

If I want brute power I hop on my 13 Street Bob with a 120R. If I want to relax and look at the fall colors along the Mississippi River at the Palisades it doesn't get any better than motoring along at 63 mpg on the 883R.

 

No, it's not stock. I do my own paint and that was a generic Aqua mini flake over House of Kolor Black base coat. If ever you want to get a hold of some, just PM me and I'll send you the full info.

 

My 883 2016 is perfect when riding in town but is slow as a dog when riding on highway and when accelerating from a stop.

I will be upgrading the air cleaner and the pipes this winter. This should add more horse power. If still not satisfied on highway, i may do the stage 2 upgrade - 1200 conversion kit.

Since you are an experienced rider, i dont see a good reason for you to get a 883.

 

I just downsized to a XL1200 from a FLHTC and I love it. So much easier to handle and plenty fast. I have an 08 and the rubber mount and the fuel inj make it really nice compared to the 94 I bought new. I agree with the others to go with the 1200 , not the 883.

 

Picked up a 2015 1200c back in April. Getting tired of the Road King so going back to the Sportster. I don't do enough highway miles to justify the RK so after putting it back to stock as much as I can it will be going up for sale in the spring and the Sporty will be the primary ride. Funny how things go around.

 

My brother was going to do the same thing.

Sell his RK and then buy a Sportster. Then he sat on a Wide Glide and decided to try it. It does have that nice low center of gravity and handles pretty well even around town.

It sits a lot lower than the Sportster and he likes the ride better than a Soft tail.