Take the cash+ deal and have fun!

 

I'd trade that 4 wheeler for any one of those before they come to their senses.

 

I will have to wait to see if i hear from the guy with the 95 tomorrow so i can see the bike.

 

They didn't rubbermount the Sportster until 2004, and that's the first year I would consider purchasing one from. I've owned both, rigidmount and rubbermount Sportys and hands down, get a rubbermount.

 

Im going with whats offered to me for a trade .

 

What is with all these people saying a Sportster is only good for bar hopping and you can't go for a long ride on a Sportster? Especially the rigid mounts?

I'm 54 years old, have crushed disk between L2 and L3 and I did a 4,000+ mile trip this summer on a 1997 Sportster.

It's all about setting the bike up for your needs, put a decent set of shocks on the back, a decent seat, windshield and some saddlebags and a Sportster is just fine for touring.

OP,

As for what to look for on an old rigid mount sportster, general condidition, rust in the gas tank, normal things you would look for on a bike like brakes, hoses, ect.... The one weakness on the Sportsters is the extra spring plate in the clutch pack. They can go out anywhere from 20-50K miles. But it's not a big deal to replace a clutch, the spring is different than jap bikes and needs a special tool, but it's not difficult. If you are looking at the 2000 model year, it was right around that time frame (2000, 2001, 2002) that some of the Sportsters had a problem with first gear. It feels like it's skipping a tooth under hard acceleration in first gear. Pretty easy to detect on a test ride. The older Sportsters have the trap door transmission and you don't need to split the cases to replace the trans parts to fix it, but it's something to look for.

 

Thank you VAFish. Im mechanically inclined so most work is no problem for me. So it sounds like the older ones might be a little easier to work on?

 

Something bigger. I've had a couple of Sportsters in my life that I picked up to flip and after about 20 miles and a few burnouts I was bored with them.

 

I dont want anything big . Not my style

 

Depends upon what you want to do. For basic stuff like Oil changes, carbs, electrics, ect.. the 2004 and up rubber mounts are just as easy and the older rigid mounts. IIRC Fuel Injection came in 2007, my 2006 is carb. The big difference is the trans, the older rigid mount bikes have what is referred to as the trap door transmission which as I said allows you to work on the trans without splitting the cases. If you aren't inclined to dig into the trans it doesn't really matter which one you get.