Sir,

The God of bikes has smiled on you, yes benevolent Harley-Davidson has seen fit to give you the gift of first rides. Take your bike, ride your bike, enjoy your bike, sayeth the lord.

It was the first bike, it was good and he crused into the sunset.

Now to get real,

You will enjoy this bike but till you've ridden the others it will always be in your head that the others are better, faster whatever the reason for this temporary insanity you may try someting else, but... you will be back, Harley is what everyone wants but few will ride and keep till they drop.

The sporty is a keeper (now that the leaking is under control!).

 

I got my 1200C from my dad. He is 60 and had bought it as a first bike a few years ago. After a few longer runs on it he decided it was time for a cruiser and asked me to buy the sportster from him so we could ride together. It had been 19-20 years since I had really done any riding so I took it slow and started all over again. Just as Osco said, I spent time around the slower neighborhoods and practicing starts and stops before doing some early morning short runs. The first real pull on the throttle will surprise you but is manageable if you are ready for it. Be smart and take your time and it will be a great bike for you. I am little over 6' and 200ish and bike feels great. I love mine!

 

Some varied opinions on this matter. My opinion is that it is simply too much too soon. Cut your teeth on a couple of years of small bikes & you won't be constantly intimidated.

 

i hadnt ridden in about 30 years when i got my 1200c. began very cautiously. will never forget the ride home when i bought the bike (off craigslist from a private party). have been riding it for 2 1/2 years now and am just noticing that it would be nice to have a bigger bike sometimes.
have to say that around town its great, even two up. its just longer trips (200 miles) and freeway rides that make me think of a bigger bike. have mine set up with bags and removable windshield so i can do 200 miles or so a day, but am starting to think about another bike if i can figure out how to fit it in the garage.
so imo the 1200c is a great first bike if you take the motorcycle safety class and respect the bike (no full throttles or heavy corners until you are comfortable which takes miles and miles).

oh- forgot to add that i have never dropped a bike either... (i do have a "crash bar" at the front and bags at the back that would help if it was dropped). thats a myth that you will drop it . you might- but its not a requirement!

 

One of the most dangerous times when riding is when you change bikes, so get the one you want first and take it easy until you and it are one.

 

Unfortunately I was one that helped this stat. I put my first bike down. But luckily it was a Yamaha and I was like 17 years old. I would think a sporty would be a good starter bike. Just start out slow as others have said. Learn the bike and riding for a good year. Learn that sand on corners suck. Also I new one I just learned the other day. Fresh tar (the kind that they pour in the cracks) also causes your tire to slide a bit when on a corner.

 

Well, I just got my first scooter and its a Nightster and I love it.

Im 5'7" and 185 so a little on the short stocky side but the bike fits me great and so far for riding around town it has been great. I really enjoy the power and get up and go it has. I took a MSF class here at a local college and the 200cc and 250cc bikes they had were great for learning but nothing I would feel confident on riding around town I don't feel like anything that small would be able to get out of the way if I needed too.

That being said, I havent taken the bike on any road trips yet so I can't comment on that.

 

Robo, you touched on what I alluded to above, if a guy goes out and buys a 500 V-twin of the eastern flavor then moves up to a Sportster he'll have to unlearn a lot because the Sportster will be so different.

 

+1 - I came to say exactly this - my experience is very similar.
I am 6' 3", 240lbs and am looking to get a bigger ride next year - Heritage.
I love my 06 Custom, and bought it since it was in my budget. If I knew how much I was riding to work (120 miles daily), I might have looked closer at a Dyna (6 speed makes a world of difference)

 

6 Grand, Find a 2007 or newer Fuel Injected C.
So much nicer than the carbed models.

My 2008 hauls my fat *** about at 80 just fine