883 performance?

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Mar 31, 2011 | 02:31 PM

#31

Fridge

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From: Bristol, England.

EvilWayz, Nice seat, in fact very nice ironhead you got there!

Quote:

Originally Posted by dee48

I wouldn't get your gilrfriend a sporty for her first bike. They are not the easiet to handle. Center of gravity is way to high.

She has a little GZ125 Maruder which she has been riding for two years, it's time for her to step up to something bigger although after her test she is going to keep the 125 for work duties and go riding with me on the sporty at first.

Quote:

Originally Posted by oct1949

Spend some $$$ and she'll rock,,, U got an 883, the cheapest HD there is,,,,,,don't expect much..

I've spent £4000 ($6500) on the Street bob this winter, I ain't spending much on this thing.....lol

I've just nicked a heavy breather from a bro, have a set of baffles for the SE pipes waiting at the post office. I'll pop the carb off on Saturday and clean/set it up.
From searching on here it looks like 45 pilot and 170 main jets would be a good place to start, got a 170 in my box so will pick up a pilot jet when I pick up my new tyre on Saturday.

I'll have her race tuned by Monday.....lol

Last edited by Fridge; Mar 31, 2011 at 02:35 PM.

Mar 31, 2011 | 02:46 PM

#32

dee48

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Fridge
If she's already been riding then she should go test ride whatever she feels comfortable with. I have a Fat boy lo and love it. It rides and handles a lot better than my sporty. I'm not very tall (5'3") so some are not as comfortable for me. Although they can fit you to almost anything now. Tell her to have fun shopping!

Last edited by dee48; Mar 31, 2011 at 02:58 PM.

Mar 31, 2011 | 03:02 PM

#33

Robotech

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Joined: Dec 2010

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From: Temecula, CA

Quote:

Originally Posted by dee48

Fridge
I have a Fat boy lo and love it. It rides and handles a lot better than my sporty.

What Sportster did you have that couldn't HANDLE better than a Fat Boy Lo? EASIER to handle I can believe, but not BETTER.

I have a '99 Sportster with RK shocks on it and my co-worker has a Fat Boy Lo. I'd cruise around a turn at a leisurly pace and I'd hear him scraping floorboards behind me just to try and keep up. (Now my FXDWG, that's another story...fricken pipes scrape EVERYWHERE

)

Mar 31, 2011 | 03:10 PM

#34

dee48

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Quote:

Originally Posted by Robotech

)

I think being shorter and not having as much upper body strength has a lot to do with it. My husband handles my sporty like it's a schwin but I still feel more comfortable on the fat boy. I have to admit I have scraped the floor boards a few times up in the mountains on the FB which never happened to me on the sporty.
Nice looking bikes!

Mar 31, 2011 | 03:29 PM

#35

Robotech

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Joined: Dec 2010

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From: Temecula, CA

Quote:

Originally Posted by dee48

That makes more sense...yea, the fact that you feel more comfortable moving the Fat Boy around is because it has a much lower center of gravity. This is what makes me say it is EASIER to handle.

The fact that you scrape boards with it and never did on the Sportster is what I mean when I say the Sportster will handle BETTER. It has more clearance.

And, let me tell you, strength has nothing to do with it...

That's my girl on her 800+ lb full custom softail. The picture doesn't do it justice as that thing is HUGE...intimidates me...and she has no problems with it. She is, however, about 5'10" so she isn't short...nor is she weak by any means...but she's not super strong either.

Mar 31, 2011 | 03:32 PM

#36

Fridge

Thread Starter

Road Captain

Joined: Jul 2010

Posts: 509

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From: Bristol, England.

Quote:

Originally Posted by dee48

I have to admit I have scraped the floor boards a few times up in the mountains on the FB which never happened to me on the sporty.
Nice looking bikes!

That's due to the lesser ground clearance more than any improvement in handling. A sportster should run rings round any softail.

At the end of the day though, confidence if the key. If you feel confident on a bike you will be able to chuck it around better than something you don't feel confident on. For you your fatboy gives you that confidence. [EDIT] Robotech beat me to it!

As for her test riding a few bikes and getting what she wants, she want's a Crossbones but there is no way in hell she is getting one of those.

Mar 31, 2011 | 03:37 PM

#37

dee48

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Quote:

Originally Posted by Robotech

And, let me tell you, strength has nothing to do with it...

That is an awesome bike. She looks great on it

Mar 31, 2011 | 03:43 PM

#38

Robotech

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Joined: Dec 2010

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From: Temecula, CA

Quote:

Originally Posted by dee48

That is an awesome bike. She looks great on it

I'll pass that on, thank you, but I think she looks good no matter what (of course, I MAY be a bit biased).

Also her bike...both this one and the purple one are currently for sale but she also has a CVO Softail springer convertable that she's keeping so she will still ride.