So I've been shopping for my Nightster in the off season here so I can hopefully get a good deal and have time to customize it to my liking before spring, I plan on doing quite a bit right off the bat. That being said I have found 2 that I like

option 1: 07, 1000 miles, had a couple oil changes even though it has low miles it is several years old so that was important to me, has Arlen ness A/C, Bassani Sweepers, mini apes, nicer forward controls, Power commander and been dyno tuned. These are all pluses because I would do most or similar of the above so it saves me some $ and he has all stock parts so i can sell those to help finance my other mods.
looks like I can get it for about $6500.

option 2 is 11 w/ 1300 miles all stock. probably get it a lil under $7500..

Both are all gloss black which is my prefered color

Do you think the 4 years newer out weighs the $1000 savings and the $1500 or so in parts? They're are no changes that Im aware of between the years and I plan on doing a ton of modding and chopping so the more money saved seems like a better chance of not getting negative equity down the road.... I know this is no investment but I change toys alot so being able to get out of it w/o a huge hit is important to me. I figure if I buy the 11 Im gonna be in it at least $10,000 the way I like it and the 07 probably only $7500. So when Im done the bike is gonna have about the same miles and pretty close to the same mods, do you think it being an 11 is gonna net me $2500 more? probably not...?

The 07 I would sell the apes and get another set of apes I like better, if I was to do all the mods myself from the get go I would probably do twisted pipes instead of bassanis but I really like Bassani sweepers too so I can certainly live w/ them, that and I like the rest of the mods, maybe not exactly what i would get but still all good ones and certainly easy to resell if I decide to get something else. So is the savings in original investment and value in parts worth a 4 model year difference? TIA

 

have you test ridden both bikes? Also consider things besides the mods like, if there is any rust, any cosmetic damage, check the appearance of the oil, if all lights work, if the battery is being charged properly. I made a list of things to "inspect" each bike I considered to buy which made it alot easy to find the right choice. Even if your buying the bikes from a dealership, which doesn't sound like you are, I would still test ride them. The 07 sounds to me like a better deal but that is only if it in better or the same condition as the 11. With that many things done to the 07, I would want to be sure its been done by the dealership, or atleast test ride it to make sure (I recommend test riding other sportsters at your local dealership if you have never ridden a sportster just to compare the sportster your considering to buy to a sportster that has been properly maintained).

 

IMHO, highly modded bikes can limit your resale audience and depending on what you mod, may even scare some into thinking you rode it like you stole it as long as you owned it, rather than offering up a cared-for machine for resale. Again, IMHO, a highly modded bike is best if it's a keeper. Just my $0.02 worth...

 

I bought my 07 almost 2 years ago now. It had 150 miles on it. Here are a couple of things to check closely. Paint, especially on the engine, triple clamps and frame. Depending on how it was stored and how long it sat between rides you could have oxidation issues that are not easy to spot. Mine ended up having severe oxidation under the paint on all the above listed spots, most of which I didn't find until after I bought it.

Also, bear in mind that the 07 was the first year for the Nightster. One minor issue I found was that my front axel is 3/4" instead of 25mm. Apparently about half way through the manufacturing year Harley decided to change everything over to 25mm. If you're going to change the front end or front wheel make sure you measure the axel before you order. Might save you some time and shipping costs.

Despite all of that, if I was going to tear into and do significant mods I'd choose the least expensive of the two.

 

Kinda what i thot, Im definitely assuming both are like new. I havent looked at either yet because of the holidays but from the mileage, Im sure the 11 is fine but Im in the car business and have an eye for seeing every little knick or rust and certainly would be put off by the 07 if it showed any of those issues. But for the sake of the comparison assume they both look like 1000 and 1300 mile bikes, ie basically new.

 

I picked up an '07 in April with 1100 miles on it. It came with V&H slip ons, bags, a windshield, Sundowner seat, detach sissy bar and pad. I got a good deal on it. I liked all the extras. I was even able to swap the Sundowner with a Mustang even up with someone.

Just make sure they're both in top running order. I'd choose the one with more extras if they're the extras you want.

 

I vote for option 2 because it is all stock and it probably is still under harley warranty

 

Ergonight, how was the oxidation hard to see? was it like the paint was still there but bubbled and had oxidation underneath or what exactly am I looking for. I can obviously spot rust and flaking paint, Im just wondering what hid what you found later or other ways stuff was hidden from an initial inspection? thanx.. Im leaning towards the cheaper one w/ mods saves me at least 2500 out of the gate and I will have the same bike at the end just be in it less and with the amount of mods Im planning I think someone would prefer to get a good deal on a well done bike than pay a bunch more for a custom bike thats a little newer.

 

and like I said the modded one has all the original stuff too, so I could always put it back to stock if need be and sell the mods and be in it even less. Does anyone think $6500 for an 07 w/ 1000 miles and Bassani sweepers, forwards, apes, pc, A/C and hidden turn signals is to much or a good deal?

 

The oxidation on mine was almost undetectible except in a few spots, which I blew off as being chips in the paint from rocks or road debris or some small abrasion. Admitedly, I immediately fell in love with the look of the orange and black Nightster when I saw it. I had looked at a few grey and black ones but I've got a thing for orange and black and I don't think I inspected as hard as I should have.

Anyway, on the engine there were a couple of small bubbles in the paint that I figured I could just touch up. But you can't. The oxidation gets under it and spreads without causing most of it to bubble. So when I started chipping away the small bubbles I found that the oxidation actually covered a very large percentage of the engine. The triple clamps were different, in that I didn't notice any bubbles at all. The paint is thicker and doesn't bubble like the grey paint on the engine. One day after a month of so of riding I noticed a crack in the paint on one of the outer edges where it wraps around the fork tube. Closer inspection revealed one whole side of the lower triple clamp had oxidation under the paint and it was coming off in one large chunk. I took the whole thing off, blasted it and repainted it.

It all worked out in the end because I was never satisfied with a stock bike and had to modify it heavily anyway. But if I'd noticed this stuff before I bought it I would have paid a bit less for it. Obviously.

Make sure you check anything painted that's made of aluminum. I didn't have any problems with steel parts.