I went from a Ducati 1098 to an '11 Street Bob. Everyone (including a few dealers) assumed that I would be more comfortable on a Sporty, so I test rode everything. The Sportsters just didn't hold up in any way against the Dynas. The only hard part for me was deciding between a Street Bob and a Fat Bob. Dyna for sure!

 

Between an 883 Sportster and a Dyna, any Dyna, the Dyna is going to have more power everywhere. A 1200 Sportster is a whole different animal.

The question becomes why are you looking at trading up? Do you commute far or do a lot of long distance riding? If so, the Dyna will be the more comfortable bike stock for stock. For short, in town runs or twisty roads, the bikes are equal if you're talking a Street Bob or any other "standard height" Dyna.

That said, there is a lot you can do to a Sportster. Different seat, $50 Road King air shocks, and a 1250 kit and an 883 Sportster will outrun that 06 Dyna up to about 90, will ride just about as good if not better (though if you're over 5'11" you may have to do something about the controls to get the right seating position), and get better gas milage. But that's about a total of $1500 in upgrades not including labor. Good news is you might get that back in what you save on insurance (my insurance company bases rates on the engine size...and all they care about is what the VIN says it's engine size is).

 

Street Bob

 

About time u dumped that chick bike.

 

There's a lot to be said for a dialed in Sporty. I got a buddy with a badass Chopper Guys FXR and he prefers his 1200 Sportster Street Tracker for around town riding.

 

Well, I guess there has to be one decenting opinion. An 07 883C with mods was the best bike I've ever owned. Like, "NO" vibs like my FXDB has. I could see a bird on a fence post in the mirrors and ID the bird if not too far away. Had S&S air cleaner, Andrews N3 cam, American custon slip-ons, Thundermax ECM, forward controls of course as I'm 6'1". with winshield would run close to 110 mph WFO. 50 - 55 mpg on hwy. Did I mention Mustang seat to replace the H-D board it came with, some suspention mods. Would run the twisties in Colo real well. Went from Green River Utah to Amarillo, TX in one shot. Got tired of sitting, but then I get tired of sitting that long in one place at home.

The Street Bob is modded with S&S intake, cams, exhaust, ecm, Mustang seat, etc. lots of fun torque, will pull a freight train, about 36 mpg, is quick, handles well, but the vibs wear on my a$$ after a couple of hours. And top speed is only to see what it'll do not to ride at or the FXDB will come loose - sporty will last longer. It looks real good, but at the end of the day it's how your a$$ feels and how much you have to spend to run it. Something about that extra 20 mpg that really adds up, and when I'm steady rolling the Super-slab at 65-80 all tht extra torque does'nt matter, just smooth and 55 mpg.

So don't rule out a good Sporty, especially if the price is right. You can mod it up to do what you want. Did I mention it was comfortable and has the best tranny ratios that H-D makes. Not knockin the Dyna's, I got an FXDB. Lots more torque with a cam etc. More accessories available, soaks up bumps better but IMO just not as comfy and smooth as the 883C. - or maybe I just got a good one. If you're gonna sell yours, drop me a PM.

 

I went from an 07 1200C to an 06 SB, love the SB and wouldn't go back. But like others have said, there are the mechanical issues. I just had the rotor/stator go out and the IPB was also out. It was about $800-900 to get that fixed, but if done already, don't be scared of the dyna. An 07 would be nice with the 96" though.

 

dyna all the way