Hi All.

My wife and I are looking at buying our first Harley.

I really like the Nighsters but they arent very big for riding 2 up.
We have been to 3 dealerships and every time I mention her on the back, thesales person tries to get us
looking at different bikes. The comments are always, she wont be very comfortable on the back for more
then a short local ride... Any opinions from owners on this?

We wont ride a lot, weekend trips, maybe an hour each way.
Shes not very big if that matters any. 5' 2" 100 pounds wet.


Should I just forget about this bike and start looking at other ones?

Thanks.

 

If she's that little, she'll be FINE...lemme put it this way:

See my rear fender?

My girl is 5'7', weighs about 110-115, and she's comfy most of the time when she rides....and the real kicker here is that my fender is mounted to the swingarm..... Needless to say, she HATES pot holes........[sm=badbadbad.gif]

I think your wife will do just fine on a Nightster. Have you thought about test-riding one with her on it just to see if she's ok with it?

 

I can tell you this much. I have a XL1200C, and with an upgraded seat, my wife is comfortable. The engine can pull the two of us with absolutely no problems, however on the nightster the issue is the suspensions.

From the service manual.

page 1-32
Caution:
The 883 Low and 1200N are designed for solo operation. If you choose to add an adult passenger and/or cargo to the vehicle, the ride quality will be compromised. See a Harley-Davidson dealer for high capacity suspension options. (00487e)

 

Sometimes the salesmen actually ARE right... lol....

The Nightster was not designed to be a two-up bike... Can it be done... Yes... Will she be comfortable.... No

 

listen to your salesman. by the time you upgrade the nightster to be 2-up capable, you'll have wasted a lot of money on a bike that no longer looks like the bike you fell in love with.

consider the other models. you'll get better bang for your buck.

 

my gf (105lbs) and i (215) lbs (muscular).........ride just fine two up.....is it the most comfort? nooooo....theres nothing like hopping on my dads 08 street glide w/ dual backrests, cruise, radio, and a great suspension........but as mentioned earlier by the time you make the 1200N two up comfortable you will have lost the awesome looks of a sick sick bike....... nightsters are mainly made for bar hopping, around town.....but when you want to take the gf or wife its not a big deal for short local runs.....just dont buy it for the purpose of two up riding!..you should look more to a touring bike...

 

Damn.

Thanks All.

Is this something that can be improved with a shock upgrade? Or not really?

 

They are telling you correctly. Get a super glide. They look almost the same as sportsters but are a little wider and lower. If the price is to high, look for a used one. I think you will be better suited on a used Dyna then a new Nighterster.

 

We ride two up on the Nightster, for short rides less than an hour she says it's fine. I bought the HD Sidekick seat and a detachable padded sissy bar and luggage rack for her. It only takes 5 minutes max to go from solo to two up. Here's a pic of the bike in the two up configuration plus the windshield that I bought but only used once on a road trip.

[IMG]local://upfiles/19046/5DBB385EE8C847969C2652BD0D03A2B4.jpg[/IMG]