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Picked up my first Sportster (and first Harley) today! It's an 04 with 8000 miles. Coming from riding small Honda Twins for about 5 years now and I'm really excited!
Bought it from a dealer in the area and its running pretty darn good. Some scratches and dings on the tank but that just means I won't be totally bummed when I ding it, ha!
Sweet bike! I went from the sportbike world over to a Spirtster 48 and I don't ever see myself going back. Sportsters are the funnest scoot I've ever been on and you still have the raw feel from the bike that I'm not sure you would have with alot of bells and whistles. Congrats!!
Hey Dude, If you're putting it away soon, think like a boat owner/marina, change all the fluids, pull the plugs, spray the fogging oil into the cylinders, turn the motor over, put the plugs back in, clean it, polish it, cover it up, hook up battery tender or pull the battery, if you can keep the tires off the ground, that would be Great ! You're ready for Spring ! Good Luck, BJ
PS, The jury is still out on running it dry or Stabilizing a Full Tank ? NON-Ethanol would be BETTER !
I don't know about you guy's. I'll be keeping my Sporty ready to go all winter. It my not actually go anywhere but you can be damn sure I'll start it once a week and let it purrr in the garage and dream of nice spring days to come.
Last edited by ChromeSporty; Oct 31, 2016 at 07:53 AM.
I don't know about you guy's. I'll be keeping my Sporty ready to go all winter. It my not actually go anywhere but you can be damn sure I'll start it one a week and let it purrr in the garage and dream of nice spring days to come.
Ha! I was thinking the same thing! My garage isn't heated, not sure if that would be a bad idea or not for me, especially with Minnesota winters hitting well below zero in January and February.
Thanks for the tip atrox! I might stick with what I have for another season and focus on other things - like progressive 412 shocks! Ordered a set today, stock length, standard duty (I'm 160 lbs). Hoping they get here before the snow flies so I can try them out. Might do the fork springs too next summer.
I put 412 HD 12.5 inch on my bike. They are giving me a great ride. BTW they take a few rides to get fully broke in.
When I got the bike it had 10.5 inch 412 Progressive's on the rear. It had very little suspension travel and was a hard ride but really stuck to the road nicely. The 12.5 inch shocks are giving me a touring bike ride, even better than my old 81 Goldwing I had years ago. I also noticed a huge improvement in handling and cornering by putting the rear suspension back closer to stock height as well.
Here's where I'm at now. Put a stock Iron seat from a '14 on. I prefer the look and feel, just not 100% sure it fits with my bike. With the weather changing I doubt I'll get out to try it on longer rides until spring, but I can wait. Next step is to get the wheels off and my new Metzler tires installed at a shop by my house.
Wow, I've changed a lot on this bike since October '16, haha! I suppose a lot of you could say the same. Here's as it sits now, still loving this bike. Might have to do a 1250 Hammer Kit soon.
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