Hey all, I thank you for the time you have to take to read this thread post. So here is the thing... I am a new rider, haven't rid anything other than minibikes and have had a little time on my friends dual sport KTM 500. I took the class that HD had to offer and passed the class a couple weeks ago to get my new Drivers License to ride motorcycles out and about now. So right now I am looking at getting a HD sportster, preferably that of the Forty-Eight 1200. I've already test ridden the bike, among others as well and feel very comfortable on it; However, what I am wondering about is how much the bike is going to cost me in service? I plan on getting it used first, and progress to a brand new softail street bob later down the road when I have a lot more experience riding, which is my dream bike as of right now. My friend whom has the KTM 500, on the other hand, tells me that getting a Harley right off the bat is the worst choice to ever start out with, and has proceeded to tell me that service is very costly (Somewhere around $800 or more). He too rides a Harley Davidson, specifically that of a Road Glide. So I am not entirely sure whether or not he is coming up with the cost based off his Road Glide, or try to talk me out of starting out with a Harley, but that is why I am here to discuss this issue. My main concern is having a bike that is way to expensive to upkeep, but if the service is only like $100-$500 or so, then I am fine with it. For all the people that rides sportsters, or had ridden a sportster, do you mind sharing what you paid in services, just so I could get a general idea where I am looking at.

I really want to get a Harley, have been wanting to get one for several years now, but never had the chance to get one.

Again, thank you for your time, and will love to hear from all of you.

 

You change the oils every 5000 miles. Do it yourself and will cost ya around fifty bucks. I've owned sportsters and they are great bikes. You won't go broke owning one. With that said. If you go to a dealer for every routine service youll be looking at four bills a pop. Good luck

 

Hi, and welcome.

My first-ever bike was a 2015 Forty-Eight. I loved it. It was super fun to ride, and it looked really bad ***. I ended up needing to do a bunch of stuff to get to perform and sound the way I wanted: new seat, shocks, fork springs, grips, and a full stage 1 with the now-illegal Super Pro tuner, and V&H Straightshot slip ons.

And that’s the REAL cost of owning a Harley: all the mods you end up doing to it, because no matter how much you tell yourself you’re happy with a stock bike, that’s never the case.

That being said, the regular maintenance on a Sporty is generally less than on, say, a Softail. I think the 1000 mi maintenance on my 48 was something like $300+ bucks, with a slight increase on price for having them put in synth oil. Also, a lot of dealers will do stuff like put on your grips for free during some other maintenance if you buy the grips from them.

On a related note, I had the 48 for two years, then traded it in for a brand new ‘17 Softail Slim because I just couldn’t get the 48 as comfortable as I needed it due to my bad back. Otherwise, I would have kept it.

 

Much appreciated, I've been wondering about it for a while now, and that is also something that I am kinda looking at doing as well, taking the bike in for the routine service every 5k miles. Since I don't know much about what I need to do myself on the bike, I just would want to take it in to be on the safe side.

Thank you very much for the details and what not, I'm also starting to have some really good connections with a Harley Davidson branch close to where I live as I go into their store to talk with them and proceed to check out their used bikes. As much as I want to go new, the fact that I am a new rider and the scary fact that I may crash on the new Harley screams start out with a used bike. Though honestly, that fear of dropping the bike came from my friend who I think is trying his best to not have me start on a Harley lol.

 

Dealer work on any bike is expensive. Servicing a Sportster is about as easy as it gets, imo, these days and dealer time should be less. If you go metric used or new be sure and check the interval for valve adj. if it is needed and find out the cost. If you buy used be sure and check into it. Don't be surprised if you are told nobody does it and that is simply because of the cost and not because it is not req. service. Dealers and sellers of metrics don't talk about it for a reason. Shim and bucket valves adj. on a DOHC engine can be quite a chore or expense to do or have done every 15K. It sounds like you would have someone do it which means expense vs. chore. Good luck with whatever you go with.

 

 

I have a sportster an it is cheap to maintain.

stop talking to that guy about hds, he's exaggerating for some reason. i agree with not buying an hd for the first bike... i'd buy some junk and learn to ride then get a decent bike. that's just me

do your own work and keep your receipts to prove it. if you buy new with warranty. (i wouldn't but, again that's just me)

work a service manual into your purchase price (make them include it in the deal)

 

Buy a manual, do the service/work your self. I need to learn about the bike and how it works. My first HD was a new 1200 Sportster. I rode the **** outta that bike. Dealer did the first service (cause it was free) I did the rest.
Don't let your buddies talk you out of getting what you want!

 

I had a Sporty..... great bike. BUT..... I would start on a smaller cheaper bike and ride for at least one season. Nothing against your skill set, but you have much to learn, especially with idiots on the road. Nothing worse than having part of your attention span spent worrying about dropping your new bike. At least with a "junker" you won't have much to worry about if you drop. And you will drop!!!
That said, there are many who start out with what they want (ie Sportster) and never have an issue. But I feel as a new rider, you need at least a little ride time first.
Also if you are mechanically inclined, get the service manual and a parts manual. Even if you're not, this is great reference material. Oil changes and minor adjustments are fairly easy. Lots of you tube video to watch to confirm/help. Get yourself a 3 ring binder and record all your work, service, maintenance, repairs, accessories. Great reference down the road. And lastly get an app for fuel mileage. You do not have a fuel gage on a Sporty.... I use Fuel Buddy and reset my odometer each fill up. Know your tank size, fuel mileage, range.... I got about 100 miles on my 3.3 tank.
Good luck!!! and keep us posted.

 

The 48 is a great bike and they are not expensive to own, they are a lot of bike so don't let its size fool you. But most importantly they are a fun bike and a good run around bike if you don't have to go long distance between gas stations... if it was me and i fit the bike I would look at a 1200 custom.