Best advice I got from the HD salesman when I was looking for my first bike was to get the 1200. He told me that once I learned to ride, if I buy the 883, I'd most likely want more power. Took his advice and bought a 05 1200 XLC as my first bike at 45 years old. 5 foot 8, 180 pounds. Next advice...take the MSF course. I bought a 1999 Ultra a year and a half later so I could talk to my son while riding, butI still have the 1200. It's a blast to ride, great on gas mileage, is comfortable for long rides with the Sundowner seat and highway pegs. Still, all that being said, there's a lot of folks that love their 883s and find the bikes work for them just as well.I've only been riding just under 3 years and have found that women ride everything from Sportsters to Ultras but for some reason, Sporster owners don't get a lot of respect from the typical Harley owner. They are absolutelygreat bikes and plenty fast. There's another online forum for Sportster owners at Sportster.org that can be a great resource. They even get together for Sportster only informal rallysalong the east coast and midwest. I didn't find out about this other group till after having my 1200 for over a year. Whatever you do, ride safe, and at your own pace.

 

.ARE NOT the Sportster models the WETTEST and COLDEST models in the line-up?? I think they are......

.I admit, I do and say LOTS of dumb things, but "how are sportsters in the rain and cold?".....Man oh man............... that fricken PONTIACsounds realrealGIRLY to me...I mean come on,implying to sporty dudes that it is a girly bike...on the sporty forum, non the less.......man oh man......it's just my hangover talking.....
ya'll enjoy the rest of the weekend............BINNY
Thanks H-LAP for answereing that question for me..........woulda bugged me all nite............


quote]




ORIGINAL: HOTLAP

Wet and cold.
[/quote]

 

I know your going to get wet in the rain....BINNY.I said I'm new to Harleys and this Forum, So Chill the F out. What I ment was: How does theSportster handle the wet roads. Do

 

it's only a girl's bike if it looks like this...

[IMG]local://upfiles/35583/1EC2A92DE6774745B15B54DFCD26CAD0.jpg[/IMG]

 

Ironically, I just read a post from another newbie that had a similar question. Except in his post he wrote about getting anew nightster for his first bike and now he has regrets. Keep in mind that not everyone likes riding motorcycles. Sometimes the theory vs. the actual riding isn't what someone expects.

It doen't make you any less of a man, or demean you in anyway,to get some smaller, cheaper bike to learn on. And even more important to get some experience actually riding. This will allow you to see if riding a motorcycle is something you want to do.

Ron

 

My opinion here really has nothing to do with the issue of 1200 vs. 883.

Before I bought my 883L I rented a Nightster (1200) twice. I actually really liked it. It's actually weights 20lbs or so LESS than the 883L and I liked how it felt. However, I didn't want to spend $11-12K on my first bike. For me, a used 883L for $6K was a much wiser choice.

This way I didn't sink a bunch of money into a bike before I put enough time in to decide if it's for me or not. I could care less if someone thinks it's a "girls" bike, (which I don't) because face it...it's YOUR bike and more importantly, it's YOUR life.

And here's my conclusion. I've come to realize that regardless of what Sportster you get, if you end up liking it, you'll probably want to trade up to a bigger bike (non-Sportster) down the road. This is why I'd rather have gotten a less expensive 883 which I'll end up getting rid of

 

You gotta take Binny with a grain of salt... he was just funnin ya, no harm meant I am sure.

 

I just registered to this forum, First time user. I purchased a 2007 XL883L today at the local Harley Dealership. It has been over 17 Years since I last rode. That bike was a Honda 550. I will be picking up the bike this Sunday. Does anyone have any words of encouragement for this 57 year old KID!

 

It is wet today and my sporty did fine. I live in NJ also. I got wet today but not soaked you just need rain gear. I wear coveralls in the winter with many layers underneath. I get cold but only have 20miles to work. 70 miles on a cold day, below 30*, would be way to far for me. I can go 70 miles down to about 45* but everyone is different. Some people ride when it is in the teens.

I also bought a 1200c as my first road bike but spent my teenage years riding dirtbikes and 4wheelers. Respect the machine and it will respect you. WATCH OUT FOR THE CRAZIES cause I am sure you know we have a lot of them here in Jersey

 

Rain: fine, as long as you are

Cold: fine, as long as you are

Mileage: did you say 40-50mpg? If you really try, you can get that number down into the 30s

Room: I'm 6'1"...it's fine; I have forwards. Sometimes after a couple of hours on the interstate, I think highway pegs would be nice. Of course, so would a ten-minute break at that point.

$$$$: HD has recently cut production, leading to a lot of speculation as to what will happen to dealers' asking prices. According to some, the dealers are already marking things up in some parts of the country. Around here, no change. But, when the 2009 models come out (end of July, beginning of August) deals on '08s may be had, and certainly there will be some deals in October.

Yor riding: if long-distance highway commuting (at highway speed, not rush hour speed) is gong to be part of your daily riding, you may want to look for a used Dyna or Softail or even a bagger. If 50% or more of your riding is going to be highway riding, those are better highway bikes, though they are fine of course around town and Sportsters can do just fine on the highway, too.

883 v 1200: 883cc's is still a big bike. Most insurance companies consider anything 750cc and over to be "large displacement." But, don't let the numbers fool you. A Suzuki GS500F (500cc) will blow away most (all?) Harleys. Cc's/cubic inches don't tell the whole story. Plenty of smaller-displacement bikes that will kill a Harley. But, Harleys are cruisers, and few do that better. Still, even though a Harley isn't the fastest thing on 2 wheels, it will still give you a permanent grin like the Joker.

Reality check: many here do move on to bigger bikes or are thinking about it, including yours truly. But it's not because the Sportster (883 or 1200) is no less of a bike. People just like to get new things once in a while, for a variety of reasons. The only way you cold not have fun on a Sportster is, well, if you're just a boring person to begin with. But, if you're looking at a Harley, I doubt that.

LEt us know what you get.