Only if you actually ride it off a cliff, and then repair it with a Bronson rock
(you probably have to be of a certain age to get that reference )

 

Lol
Highwayman, I was going to say, if Bronson could do a hill climb on his sportster, so could you. The LOL part is that was obviously NOT a sportster he rode up the hill, if that was even him driving. It was a good followup line for your post though.

Hey if its on TV it has to be true right?

 

[QUOTE=08xl1200r;18185167]FWIW the 18" rear off the 16+ Roadster is cheap in the US at $330, was a direct swap on my 08 as it the first year with 25mm axles
(but do realize pricing could be very different in Oz)

That is a great price for a new alloy rim, and they are nice looking rims. Newcastle HD selling them for U$675 a set at the moment. I can't find a local price for them online, but count on at least $125 Oz tax, just too much to shell out. I've been watching the local classifieds (we have Gumtree, you have Craigslist) and nearly scored a set of 1200T rims for around U$200, which would give me a 17" rear, but I was a little slow to pull the trigger and missed out. Sigh. I've found the Pirelli MT60 RS is available for my 16" rear in tubeless so I'll go with those. OE tyre for the Ducati Scrambler so hopefully will do what I want.

 

Post 2 is awesome machine.

Off road I'd say weight is the enemy.
1200 motor, the low rev torque could be an advantage for enjoyment.
Jumping, I don't think that would be all that great and frame durability would worry me.
Belt to chain drive conversion may be a requirement.
One I think sure would like to add a skid plate

But as a gravel road/ easy terrain off road bike, a Sportster could be a lot of fun.
Yet again, these bikes sure are heavy.

 

lol, if that dirt road had been as steep as the hill in the TV show I wouldn't have attempted it even with any motorcycle. The road angle wasn't any worse than any other mountain road in Tenn, it was just rough and unpaved, more like a wide trail. In the TV show every time the real Sportster went off road it magically changed to a off road single cylinder with knobby tires, and changed back to a real Sportster when it hit pavement again. I'd shell out money for a new motorcycle if Harley made one of those bikes. LOL

Parks did all the regular riding scenes but all the stunts (like the hill climb) were done by a well known stuntman and off road motorcycle enthusiast, Bud Ekins. He probable did the stunt in the Bronson episode The forest primeval, where Bronson rides off a small cliff and the bike ends up in pieces. He then of course puts in back together out in the woods and rides out. LOL. Bud Ekins also did the jump scene in the movie The great escape. Allegedly McQueen wanted to do all the riding but the studio refused, as McQueen was worth too much to the insurance company to get hurt.

 

I had always heard McQueen did it himself. But that was probably Hollywood hype too.

Yea Bronsons bike did several endovers in that scene. IIRC. Was humerous watching him fix it with a rock. Sure wish it was that easy after a big spill. Now had they had whylees bike, they may not have needed to switch bikes between scenes.

If you look real close in the opening segments where he has his famous lines, talking the the car driver, then rolls off along the beach, etc. One of those scenes has a single cyl bike in it, but they run it through almost too fast to tell.

Funny thing, to me, is the "dirt bikes" back then were not much better than the road bikes, when taken off road, Heck I used to take my CB450 off road, and I mean where there were no trails, all the time. It was not a scrambler either. That thing weighed over 400 as well. Yup got it stuck a lot, but managed to drag it out somehow. Always road alone.

I wouldn't attempt a "Long Way Round" type of ride on it, but even those beemers broke on that trip.