well you came to the sportster area of the forum! what did you expect? its not like us guy are going to put the sportsters down..and i dont really see how anyone has bad mouthed the big twins..they are all harleys. and the fact is the sportys are faster out of the factory then the big twins..we cant help that..as a matter of fact i didnt even know they were faster before i bought mine.until i ran against my cousins 06 wide glide and ate him up..im proud to own my 05 xl1200c and i wouldnt really want anything different it suits me fine in every way..so the bottom line is--if you come to the sportster section be prepared to hear us rant and rave about our sportsters because we love our girls bikes..

 

Thanks for the link I will read it tonight! Girls bike I thought that was a Vespa or was it Honda?

 

I just sold my BMW RT touring bike. I rode it 20,000 miles in two years. I now own a Sportster. I love this thing. I am having a blast on this bike. It is what it is...cool.

 

Well I don't get too much of that. (Mainly because its kinda dumb accusing a girl of riding a "girls bike") I have heard the old 'half a harley' to which I always ask, why what do YOU ride.
So far the only reponse has been a mumbled, well I don't actually have a bike at the moment. That cracks me up. I usually tell them that the only person in this conversation with a real harley is obviously me then. Frikken loosers.

I don't think that they are starter bikes. They are simply the cheapest in the line up - older technology, smaller frame, simpler and cheaper parts, thats what makes them the MSRP they are. Most people think they are starter bikes because they are a less risky investment than say a softail.
I fully admit, my husband and I got them because they were all we could afford. He will probably trade up to a softail when we can afford it, but only because he is so flaming tall, even then he wants to keep the sporty because its so much fun to ride. I'm pretty much in the same boat. I love my sporty, it fits me perfectly and I disagree that you can't tour on one. I did a 2000 trip last month to the twisties in NC. With a proper touring seat, even my stock suspension rode extremely well, pounding away the miles on the interstate there and back. Once we got the the smokies, my sporty, well smoked (heh heh) the road king and fat boy we were travelling with in the mountains. I do believe my bike was way more fun to throw around those tight corners. As for making the BTs stop, well, for a start, even with my 3.3 gal tank, I get 150 miles before I hit reserve, and about another 40ish before I run out.. The gas economy on my 883 is awesome. I get over 60 mpg on the highway, and in the mountains it was up to 79 mpg at one point. My husbands 883c with its 4.4 gal tank was almost getting him as far was they would. Still, it wasn't the sporty riders that needed the break every 100 miles it was the BT posse.
Would I get a BT - maybe if we did a lot of long distance touring, but I'd keep my sporty forever as my in-town ride. I can't think of a better all round bike.

 

I have a Yamaha V-Star, and my wife has a 98 XLH883. I love both of our bikes, they are both paid for, and I don't give a damn what I/we ride, or what anyone else thinks of what we ride. We probably spend an equal amount of time on each others bike as we do our own!!

I just finished putting a Fat Bob tank on my wifes Sporty, along with a Lindby crach bar, new saddle bags, mini-apes, and a new paint job (was blue, now is black cherry). My father-in-law, a LOOOOOOONG time HD owner, said he had to walk around it to see what side the belt was on so he could tell what it was. He thought we bought a new bike! Had no idea it was a Sporty!!

Great bike, and if I come across another at the right price, I may pick it up to play with for myself!

 

Don't waste your time arguing with a moron. It isn't what you ride, it is the fact that you do.

 

Sectioneight, I just sold my 02 1150 RT on e-bay after buying a Sportster a month ago. I had originally thought I would have two bikes complementing each other. However the Sportster is so damn much fun I let the Beemer go.

 

Personally, if this is what a "Half-Harley" or a "Girl's Bike" can look like...then it's the bike for me! Oh, and no this isn't MY bike though I would take it in a heartbeat.

Can't wait until I get the Jockey Shift done on my 2001 1200 (hopefully I get to do the change over in the next week). Also, going to flat black the bike soon too!

http://1983ironhead-xlx.50megs.com/

 

Evel Knievel rode a Sportster - 'nuff said?

 

I obviously get that crap all the time. Are the Geo's not Chevy's? Just because it's a little cheaper, or doesn't have a 45 degree V-Twin, does that mean the "Harley-Davidson" on the side doesn't mean anything? Just like XL OCD said--