‘H-D Forums’ Asks: Why the Sportster?

By Cameron Vanderhorst - February 17, 2020

Sportster owners are a breed apart from other Harley owners. What makes someone pick a Sportster over another bike?

We love Sportsters here at H-D Forums. Sportsters are smaller and nimbler than many of their stablemates, without sacrificing much in the way of cruiser comfort and bravado.

A recent forum thread asked H-D Forums members why they settled on a Sportster instead of another bike. The numerous responses range from brief and humorous to long and heartfelt.

Dudepants says it best — “because it’s the best bike ever made.” Super Glidester likes how easy it is to throw the comparatively light weight of a Sportster around. He even jokes about mounting knobby tires and running it in the dirt, which has been done before. He closes out his post by stating that Sportsters are a great value for the money.

Pugslycat01 actually commutes on his Sportster. In his words, “I ride for basic, local transportation and not to have a prestige piece nor to do any touring.” While he may one day switch to a Softail, he doesn’t plan on getting anything larger than that.

Another poster, rhino1250, calls the Sportster “the most modular bike in the world, with a parts book bigger than a dictionary.” He adds that while Sportster aren’t great at any one thing, they do just about everything “okay.” He also points out that with the right combination of parts, a Sportster can be anything you want it to be.

We couldn’t have said it any better ourselves. The wide range of customization options available for Sportsters are what drew us to them in the first place. Perhaps more so than any other Harley, a Sportster can be a true expression of your personality.

The Sportster’s light weight and small size (when compared to other Harleys, at least) comes up a lot in the thread. It’s a major selling point for some people. Many also praise the Sportster’s more sport-oriented attitude when compared to Harley’s larger, more touring-focused bikes.

In fact, many Sportster owners don’t even care for the larger Harley-Davidson bikes at all. The truly die-hard Sportster guys have no urge to ever “trade up” for a larger bike. For them, the Sportster isn’t a “starter, Harley,” it’s the mountaintop.

Photos: H-D Forums members