I went from a 1200 Sportster to a 17 Road King and for the first couple rides the extra weight worried me but it never really caused any problem. I'm not tall either and find i can flat foot the bike and really its not to hard to back up as long as the grounds level and as far as your age I'm just 3 yrs younger.

 

Yea as for my age, it just means the legs are not quite what they used to be, but I am not weak. I still have a small ranch to run. I just mention that to say I am not a 6' 200lb 35 yr old that can catch it when it leans too far. LOL , that just means I get out of the way at this age.

Of course I would RATHER not do that. These bikes are low enough to make flat footing easier, for sure, and I like that.

Do not know at this point if I will keep the sporty or not. As was mentioned earlier, it probably will sit a lot more if I get a touring model. If I do get rid of the sportster, I will just drive the car in when I got into the city. Streets are narrow and a million crosswalks.

Keeping my options open. Thanks for the encouragement.

 

Ok have been educating myself on the compensator. Watch a youtube from Low Country HD, Doc Harley, and he discussed the changes from the 80" on up. Very interesting. Thanks to you guys, I will be an informed buyer when the time comes.

 

My first Harley was a new 1989 Sportster 883. Eventually I had it punched out to 1200 with an S&S carb, 2" drag pipes with anti reversion baffles and some mild head work. It was quick. I eventually got a 2008 Dyna Low Rider with a 96" and Stage One upgrade. The Sportster was quicker but the Dyna was better at cruising and pulling two up at higher speeds. I now have a 2012 Street Glide with a Stage One and wish for more power. Where the Street Glide has the advantage over the Sportster is comfort (by a huge margin) is cruising speed. I can run that Street Glide at 85-90 all day and not break a sweat. The Sportster was never designed to do that. The Sportster will win from stop light to stop light but the touring bike will win town to town or state to state.

 

With your budget I would suggest a 14/Rushmore Road King. A solid trouble free bike.
I think you will be thrilled but of course if your set on a fairing, well...

 

Don't let the size and weight intimidate you, they only become evident at low speeds or pushing it out of the garage. A few things to watch for:

Avoid pre - 2002 fuel injected models. They had the Magneti Marelli system which is finicky and parts are rapidly becoming obsolete. 2002 and later had the Delphi system which is much better and still in use

1999-2006 models had the spring loaded timing chain tensioners. 2007 got the hydraulic system. The spring loaded tensioner shoes must be checked every 25k-30k to be safe. If the shoe disintegrates and a piece gets ingested by the oil pump the engine will need to come apart 9 times out of 10.

2009 saw the chassis change, which includes going to a 180 width back tire across the board. Accessories are more readily available for these models

on ABS equipped models be sure the fluid is changed every 2 years regardless of mileage. Failure to do so can cause the hydraulic control unit to fail and a loss of braking, the unit is not a cheap date at $500 for the part + installation.

Fairing support brackets cracking on the batwing models is common. If you grab the fairing on either side of the windshield and shake it it should be relatively solid. If it flops around or shakes excessively at idle, chances are one or both of the vertical supports is cracked. Common issue, the part has been updated by HD to address this

If the radio is bad on the bike you're looking at, fear not. Aquatic AV makes a replacement radio that's less expensive and better than the oe Harmon-Kardon unit. Use it as a bargaining chip

Baggers are great bikes, as mentioned be sure to test ride each in the family- Road King, Road Glide, and an Electra Glide of some sort. Each feel and handle different, and even in the families they feel different- A Road Glide Ultra will handle differently than a Custom, an Electra Glide std will feel different than a Limited, mostly due to tourpak vs no tourpak, however the added weight of more standard equipment makes a difference.

Fitment is going to be a non-issue. I'm 5'6" and have a Road Glide. I installed 12" Legend Revo-A rear shocks and a reach seat, and I fit like a glove, almost flat foot at a stop. The biggest thing for me was the seat moved me closer to the controls, which was important. My knees are at almost a 90* angle, which I noticed by being able to handle the bike better and lean it over with more confidence. There are all sorts of parts that can make the bike fit you and ensure you're comfortable and confident.

 

I think your math is off a bit. 103cu = 1687 cc's that a difference in displacement of 487cc from a 1200 sportster

 

I guess I was referring to a lot of the bikes I thought might be in my price range. Hopefully a year from now when I am ready to buy, the 103's will be a lot more affordable. But yes, they are considerably larger than 1200.

 

95th 1200

Thats all good info, the kind I really like to know. When I bought my diesel truck, 5 years ago, I asked about good and bad for the years I was interested in, and got some 30 pages of very good responses, like yours. I ended up getting a 2006 GMC with theLBZ Duramax and six speed Allison trans. It has been everything everyone said it would be.

Hopefully my touring bike purchase will be likewise. It is always best to make educated buys. I have no desire to always HAVE to work on a bike. Making it mine or customizing is a nuther issue altogether.

I do my own maint and own repairs when possible, but much prefer to just gas and go.

So my hope and plan is to get one with enough power that factory or stage 1, for the sound as well, is more than enough and also mostly equipped with most everything I might want or need to tour. Not having to stress over known defects coming to light is a big deal for me too.

Thanks for the size info as well. That makes a difference to me also. My XL1200L came with forwards, but I do not feel comfortable with that riding style, so I swapped to mids. I too, like the better control of the bike with mids. Good to hear I can get same feeling on a touring model too.

 

23Seven
I meant to ask you earlier, what are ACRs?