When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.
No. My first bike was a vintage honda shadow great set of training wheels but, no. I'm surprised you didn't like the new roadster.
sportsters are special. No other hd is like them. Folks try to talk down on them but, the are probably the most visceral/reliable hds available. All the rest are bigger, less nimble, often slower, less enjoyable around town.... sportster just suck on the highway. The bigger bikes shine there. The sporty is just pure motorcycle. Love mine to death.
I have a dyna wg that was a 103 and that was fine. I hated it at first but, i learned to like it and it is a beast in the highway. I spent hella money making it a wide glide lowrider then I converted it to 110 and its great... but still nowhere near as fun to ride as the sporty. I ride my sporty more.
no bike is going to feel like the sporty... they aren't better or worst.. just different.
The newer softails may make you happy. They handle like sportsters and have great acceleration. Try a few.
My first bike was a 15 XL1200X. I loved that thing, but I traded it in for a 17 Softail Slim, which kind of is the bigger brother of the Forty-Eight. No regrets (the Slim is a superior bike in almost every way), but I wish I could have kept the 48.
My first bike was a yz80. Hell yes Im biased or is it nostalgic? So many excellent memories. My first street bike was a susuki gs500. Helped me get laid so yeh guess Im biased.
My first bike (after my Red Rollfast) was a 250 Zundapp in 1964. Second hand set up for hillclimbing. Father got it for me from his brother who had got into trouble with it. Not sure what he was thinking giving it to a 16 year old with a new drivers license....
A recruiter came thru our rural small WV town to our local trade school recruiting people for NN Shipyard. I sold that bike for a $100 and with that got a train ticket to Norfolk, VA. with about a few weeks of living change left.
From that $100, I ended up doing a 46 year career and am now retired and set for the golding years of life.
So yes, I would love to have that old exact Zundapp back. I have my Flexible Flyer and could have any new Harley I wanted, but more than satisfied with RIPSAW. That stuff these days and my age can get you hurt...
Last edited by Jackie Paper; Jan 29, 2018 at 08:49 AM.
I still have a soft spot for BSA's; my first couple of real motorcycles...but that soft spot isn't in my head.
Would be little more than expensive garage jewelry now.
My first Harley, yes. I still have it. An 03 Road King with 105,000. I have purchased a 15 Road Glide as well and even tho the 15 is better in every way (except the motor as the 03 puts out 130/120), I love the 03 more. Even tho that old frame wants to kill me lol
7 Surprising Harley-Davidson Products that Are Not Motorcycles
Slideshow: The bar-and-shield logo shows up on far more than motorcycles, some of the company's most unexpected products have nothing to do with riding.
Slideshow: From the troubled AMF years to modern misfires, these bikes earned reputations for reliability issues, questionable engineering, or disappointing performance.
Crazy Bunderbike Build Looks Amazing, But Is It Impossible to Ride?
Slideshow: The Swiss custom shop has taken a Harley Softail and stretched it into something so long and low that it looks closer to a rolling sculpture than a conventional motorcycle.
Engraved Rebellion: Inside Bundnerbike's Glam Rock II
Slideshow: A standard cruiser becomes an intricate metal canvas in the hands of a Swiss custom house known for pushing Harley-Davidson platforms far beyond their factory brief.
Slideshow: Harley-Davidson's challenges aren't abstract; they show up in dropping shipments, shrinking dealer traffic, and strategic decisions that aren't yet translating into growth.
..
