I couldn't agree more however, lets leave every other bike accept Harley out of this because the XR1200 will be a disappointment to anyone who wants a sportbike and to those who want a Harley for some kind of relative looks or comfort they too will find the bike harsh. The XR1200 has more raw power than any other standard air cooled Harley. When designing the bike they even took the time to get some input from the likes of Scott Parker and Rich King. Harley engineers took the time to address the weight factor of the rear swingarm and used aluminum but why did they stop there? Well, the folks racing the XR1200 in Europe didn't as they are dropping 45 pounds off the bikes by various means so they can get them to perform as best they can.

As far as Harley and performance goes, yeah, they're in but this is done by the CVO Screamin Eagle folks and for a good price to. An example of this would be the 2007 FXDSE Screamin Eagle Dyna that came stock with 90 horsepower, 105 ft lbs of torque and ran a very solid quarter mile at 12.31 and 107mph and this is a bike that weighs roughly 700 pounds wet. Harley went further with the V-rod too as they stepped it up to 1250cc from 1130 and upped the horsepower to around 120 with a 240 rear tire making it a very worthy opponent on the street from stop light to stop light. Take it to the limit and we find the VRSXE Destroyer, which is built from the ground up for all out performance in a straight line. We're talking the only bike in America that is offered to the public from a major manufacturer that can do a quarter mile right out of the box in under 10 seconds. Now that's performance and it's Harley all the way.

 

Thats what I figured brother. As a road bike the weight isnt a factor.

Funny how this bike all of a sudden became a race bike.

And before you dive into the fact that the XR has its own race series, I know. Just the same as the old 883s.

I noticed you put your .02 cents into the XR threads but you have no real basis of your information. I do. I own one...

By the way, this will be my last post here in this forum. Too many idiots like 7/11 that dont know **** about what they are talking about...

 

I'm with you that anyone that want's a true sportbike would be disappointed with the XR. But I can't imagine anyone choosing between say a GSXR 750, CBR 1000R, Ducati 1098, and the Harley XR1200. So that *shouldn't* be an issue. Still it'll perform better than most other Harley's and any Sportster. (Which is why it's being discussed on this forum)

You mentioned CVO performance and those bikes do run pretty well. In a straight line. But the CVO's aren't performance motorcycles. They're factory custom Harleys that have larger engines and are produced and priced as such.

As far as comfort? I'm sure the XR1200 is no K1200GT BMW, or Road Glide, but I'll bet it's more comfortable than many or most Sportsters, Vrods, and some other Harley's with their slammed down suspensions.

So if you like Harley Davidsons and Sportsters, yet would appreciate much better handling and performance, and like the retro XR styling (I do except for the over-under up-angled mufflers) the new XR1200 may be for you. It has the makings for a nice standard motorcycle. If you need more performance get a VMax, FJR, BMW, or whatever fits your desire, that you can afford.

 

Well I think it is cool. If I could afford a second bike I would park it next to my Street Bob. I don't like the look of Buell's and no one is making a good looking standard bike, until now.

Everything else is either a pseudo-crotch rocket, a crotch rocket, or a cruiser. This neutral ride position and spunky engine would be fun for me. I think it is also great that Harley is putting something else out there besides cruisers.

If any of you guys showing thumbs down, happen to win one in a contest or something, send it to my house.

 

Well I have looked around for a bike that wasnt a race bike (i.e. GSXR,CBR) and wansnt a cruiser and the first time I saw the XR I knew I wanted one. The styling appealed to me and with a reliable powerplant It will fit in and do exactly what I want it to do. It would be cool if they made a lighter 883 model or even a 750. Thats just my opinion.

 

An 883 and 1200 weigh about the same. They are basically the same bike with two different bore sizes.

 

Not True.. Kawi's ZX-14 does the 1/4 in around 9-1/2 seconds, bone stock. The Suzuki 'busa is right there as well..
The 14 is the most powerfull production bike made, and it along with the Suzuki lay claim to being the quickest in the 1/4.
They're both every-day riders, as well.

 

Yes I know that the 883 and 1200 are about the same weight. What I meant was they could make the bike lighter (frame etc) the engines weigh about the same but HP is lower on the 883.

 

In the world of Harley, the XR1200 is the most performance orientated Sportster being offered by the factory. It is what it is! It has the best brakes, the best handling and the best acceleration of any stock Sportster. It will not appeal to everyone, but it does have a market. I, for one, am dam glad that Harley put this bike out. It’s not your fathers Sportster. It is its own animal. It will take some time to get the after market to catch up with accessories for it but they will come along. Right now most are coming from Europe as they got to have the bike first and I understand why Harley did it that way. They did not want another XLCR disaster on their hands. When Harley put out the XLCR in the late 70’s they were trying to pick up a slice of the Café Racer crowd and unfortunately the Café Racer crowd was not looking at Harley for a performance bike that costs much more than the competition cost. In addition, the Harley crowd was not looking for a Café Racer either so no one really bought any. The XLCR are now collector bikes worth much more than 10 times their original cost. Harley had a demand for the XR1200 from the European crowd that were willing to put down a deposit for the bike and so like any wise company would do they just supplied the bikes that were being demanded. I think that we are lucky to even get the bike offered over here. I snapped up one of the very first 750 bikes that were offered over here. I LOVE my XR1200! It is not a typical Sportster but it does have its place. I really like the retro style but I enjoy the performance too! It is not a GSXR, but I didn’t want a GSXR! It is really closer to a Buell than to a Sportster in performance but it has a Sportster look about it. I took it on a 300 mile round trip and I felt good afterwards. I wasn’t beat up or hurting from the ride. Quite nice actually! I get lots of people asking about the bike everywhere I go with it, although the orange color is like a cop magnet. I talked with another owner that had put on the Vance and Hines exhaust system and he said that it was 40 pounds lighter than the stock unit and it added between 10 and 12 horsepower to the stock figures. I have seem an after market air cleaner that has the air scoop extended out from the side of the tank and that is said to increase the horsepower as well, but, I personally, do not like the look of it on the bike. But to each their own! I think that it took some courage on the part of Harley to even come out with something as different as the XR1200 and now that there has been an economic downturn, I hope that Harley does not suffer for their efforts.

 

I have an 08 Buell Ulysess 12XT and the XR1200. The Buell is 103hp compared to the 90 hp XR which got that power over the XL1200' 65 hp by dipping into the Buell parts bin.

The Buell also puts the hp very high in the rpm range.

However the XR is not far behind the Buell in 1/4 times. A stock Buell can do consistant 11.8's and the XR comes in the 12.4 range.

The XR has much lower gearing to make up for some of the power and weight disadvantage.

Both bikes brake and handle great with the Buell just edging out the XR. The Buell has fully adjustable front and rear suspension with preload, dampening and rebound adjustments. so it can be tailored just like a race bike to the conditions.

I put over 9K on the Uly this year and less than 1k on the XR. I bought the XR just to run around and simply to have it in my collection. The Beull is a good all around bike. Light duty off road, touring and local riding.