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Hello forums, still fairly new here thought i'd reach out for some opinions before I jumped right in and started making purchases.
I'm new to the Harley family, just purchased my first Sportster a few days back and have been doing most of my nights researching
what kind of customization I can do to mine. So far in my must-have category is a new back fender, handlebars, and a seat.
Simple right? Hope I dont get to much backlash from this post, I know not everyone likes seeing these kind of threads.
I own a 2006 XL1200L Sportster, will post a pic below. And also to be a little more specific,
I want to kind of bobber it out, bobber seat style, rear fender to match, with some sort of lower
handlebars. The handlebars on mine aren't to high, i'd just like the more sporty look of the
drag handlebars or whichever they're called.
Let me note i've ran across a few seats, having trouble finding many handlebars or fenders
to fit my bike without having to cut or fabricate anything.
This is just my opinion but since the bike is new to you my best advice would be to just ride it for a while. So many people start buying things and tearing stuff apart only to realize down the road that they really wanted something different. If you're bobbing it out and cut the frame rails theirs no going back. Once you put some miles on it you'll get a better idea of what you really want to do.
Btw not entirely sure what kind of riding you want to do, but alot of us have found out the hard way that what looks good doesn't necessarily feel good. Do all the research you can and take a while to browse the unlimited aftermarket options these bikes have.
This is just my opinion but since the bike is new to you my best advice would be to just ride it for a while. So many people start buying things and tearing stuff apart only to realize down the road that they really wanted something different. If you're bobbing it out and cut the frame rails theirs no going back. Once you put some miles on it you'll get a better idea of what you really want to do.
Btw not entirely sure what kind of riding you want to do, but alot of us have found out the hard way that what looks good doesn't necessarily feel good. Do all the research you can and take a while to browse the unlimited aftermarket options these bikes have.
Yes thanks for that info Mike, and have to take it into consideration considering I didnt plan on doing anything until after income tax next year, just shooting for ideas 💡
And about the type of riding I do, well lets just say I go near and far 😉. But yes bobber style is what Im looking into and I dont plan on doing any cutting or fab to the bike just a seat switch and possibly the rear fender and bars. If I cant find any rear fenders that do not require cutting then thats out of the agenda. But as far as the other two its something I would like to change about my bike.
You have a while until tax return time to ride and see what you like.
I would check out other bikes you see...if you see something you like, as the owner what he's using.
We bobbed out a 48 awhile back, here's a LINK to the thread we did on it. You may like some of the different seats & handlebars we tried out. The specifics of them are listed in the thread.
On the fender, you may be able to swap out your fender for a 48 fender. Also, on ebay there are some folks selling shorty fenders that bolt onto Sportsters.
Below are a few pics of the 48 after we were "done" with it.
Beautiful bike DK Custom, she is a keeper! And thank you for the info thats exactly something I want to try in the future. Im going to have to do a lot more searching for a shorty fender that will fit my bike but as far as your bars and seat thats something Im very interested in. I love the sporty look of the bike. Thannks for the thread btw gave me a couple more ideas I could do.
i always like the drag bar look too, sporty, cafe racer style.....never had a problem on my other sport bikes (old now), this bike came with some, but just too wide and didn't like the reach, but put some 8" minis on mine recently and they are SO much more comfortable.........maybe you can try some friends bike with different setups, seat, bars, etc....i like the bobber look too, research and research and more of that..........you can mock up some bars with pvc pipe, see how it feels.............good luck, keep us updated
Thanks Zateeva, i have some friends in a MC back home ( Texas ) with some sport bikes but dont really know too many with cruisers let alone Sportster 👎🏼
And yeah, Idk what it is but I just love the sporty look myself something Im going to have to invest in and try out. 💡 Thats a great idea actually with the pvc pipe wouldnt of thought about that..
Might be a little while but Im not going anywhere hope you guys arent because Ill post updates as my bike comes along.
Beautiful bike DK Custom, she is a keeper! And thank you for the info thats exactly something I want to try in the future. Im going to have to do a lot more searching for a shorty fender that will fit my bike but as far as your bars and seat thats something Im very interested in. I love the sporty look of the bike. Thannks for the thread btw gave me a couple more ideas I could do.
Thank you.
I just went to ebay and typed in "Sportster Rear Fender" there are a ton of short ones there...and some are inexpensive enough that if you try it out and don't like it, not a lot of green was wasted.
Donkey Kong Custom you tha man. I headed over to eBay and found some thats an exact fit for my model of bike. I dont know why I kept forgetting about eBay btw thank you for refreshing my memory. Havent been there in years 😄. And they are fairly cheap & offer a 30-day return as long as I pay for shipping but at just $100 it wont hurt to have that fender to play with and try out atleast. Again Im not jumping right into it and will do plenty more research and searching around the internet before I start purchasing parts but that shorty fender is exactly what I was searching for style wise.
Your guys answers are very much appreciated and I thank yal for taking the time out to help me with this, thanks again.
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Customization - 2006 Sportster
Hope I dont get to much backlash from this post, I know not everyone likes seeing these kind of threads.
