Hey guys, Im nwe to the forum and Harleys. Im actually gonna be picking up a 06 sportster low. I just wanted to see if there are any common problems, or things I should be watching for. Thanks alot!

 

I'm a new rider also, and here are some of the problems I've found with my ride:

Roads are too short.
Rarely see the gas attendant any more.
Cant figure out what to do with the money I'm saving from getting 50 mpg.
Not using the snooze button in the morning when I'm planning to ride to work.
Extra time in my saturday routine because the bike washes and waxes faster than just washing the car.
Cheeks get sore from smiling too much.
People coming up to me and tellling me I've got a cool bike.

Other than all that I'm pretty satisfied with my sporty.

[sm=happy046.gif]

 

Not enough time to ride![]

 

Common problem with 06 883 is oil leak through the air cleaner. I've had this problem, and several other on this forum have as well. If you search, you'll see plenty of discussion about this. It seems, that we now have a contact at HD customer service in Milwuakee, that can fix this issue. It involves a new oil pump and rocker cover. The dealers, at least none that I've heard of, will do this under warranty, until HD customer service calls them. So, watch for oil on the side of your engine below the air cleaner. If you have the problem, it will probably take a couple of thousand miles for it to appear.

Other than that, I've had no other major issues with my '06 883L...except it's raining here today!!!!!

 

My 1200L only has about 3000 miles on it, but I have not had any problems other than a very rare carb cough...and a vapor lock once when I filled it quickly in very high heat. The biggest issue, IMHO, are bumps in pavement. That is when you know you have the short shocks because it darn near knocks your teeth out if you don't stand up on the pegs. (Smooth ride if you don't hit a bump though.) Some people also complain about the forks bottoming out. Mine do occasionally, but not very often. When I take it for the 5000 mile service, I'm going to try the suggestion of having them put in a heavier weight fork oil. The bike handles very well, and I really don't feel it is top heavy.

 

Not enough hours in the day to ride. I put almost 19k on mine since June 05. no problems (outside the wreck). Factory seat SUCKS!!!!!!!!!!!!! Put some Kuryakin foot pegs with Heel Rest on and a good Touring type seat. And save the Money ya save on Gas to buy friggin tires! If you ride 1k miles a month ya gonna need a set of tires every year.

 

1995 1200XR sporty....has some noise coming from shifter side of the bike....already tightened things down....what the hell could it be and how would I determine what the problem is? Thank you.

 

As you can see so far, nobody has reported any MAJOR common problems. All-in-all the Sporty's a pretty reliable scoot. I have an '08 low for 4 yrs this August, I ride it hard, I ride it often and had no major problems other than having both rocker cover gaskets replaced a year or so ago. Didn't consider that a major deal because the leaks weren't bad enough to park it or even cause any smoke. Just kept an eye on the oil level after every ride until I got it fixed. This is common on most later model Sportys I believe - and not a tough or very expensive fix.

 

Top-end noise is also very common but rarely an actual problem - just kind of annoying. Loud pipes will fix that in a jiffy.

 

you guys do realize this thread is 6 years old, right?