Hello from England!
Outstanding HDF Member
Joined: Aug 2007
Posts: 3,394
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From: Bristol UK
Welcome from Bristol, England.
Liz, I have a Sportster and love it. However, I cant recommend strongly enough that you get a test ride.
Many people buy a Sportster as a first Harley in part because its physically smaller than the other models and also because it's cheaper than the other models only to discover they cant get on with it. Compared to other models, the weight of the bike is somewhat higher and some people find them difficult to control.
I have read numerous reports on here and elswhere, particularly from female riders, who have initially bought a Sportster, but very quickly been forced to trade it in and switch to one of the Dyna models. The Street Bob seems to be the favoured model and having sat on one a few times it does actually seem better balanced and as though it might be easier to manouver. That said, the Sportster is probably better on the bends as the pegs wont hit the deck as quickly.
However, I recommend you try a test ride of both before shelling out any money.
Also, moviong from a CBF250 to any Harley is quite a jump. Your going to notice a huge difference in the weight of the bike. It's certainly doable, but if you do experience any difficulty it's most likely to be with slow speed manouvers and possibly hill starts. Practising slow manouvers in an empty car park or similar area will probably help improve your confidence greatly. Ditto, if you can find a hill nearby which has minimal traffic you might find it beneficial to practise some hill starts.
I'm certainly not trying to put you off your purchase, but give the bikes a try and be sure its for you before laying out your hard earned ŁŁŁŁ.
Good luck Liz and let me know how you get on.
Liz, I have a Sportster and love it. However, I cant recommend strongly enough that you get a test ride.
Many people buy a Sportster as a first Harley in part because its physically smaller than the other models and also because it's cheaper than the other models only to discover they cant get on with it. Compared to other models, the weight of the bike is somewhat higher and some people find them difficult to control.
I have read numerous reports on here and elswhere, particularly from female riders, who have initially bought a Sportster, but very quickly been forced to trade it in and switch to one of the Dyna models. The Street Bob seems to be the favoured model and having sat on one a few times it does actually seem better balanced and as though it might be easier to manouver. That said, the Sportster is probably better on the bends as the pegs wont hit the deck as quickly.
However, I recommend you try a test ride of both before shelling out any money.
Also, moviong from a CBF250 to any Harley is quite a jump. Your going to notice a huge difference in the weight of the bike. It's certainly doable, but if you do experience any difficulty it's most likely to be with slow speed manouvers and possibly hill starts. Practising slow manouvers in an empty car park or similar area will probably help improve your confidence greatly. Ditto, if you can find a hill nearby which has minimal traffic you might find it beneficial to practise some hill starts.
I'm certainly not trying to put you off your purchase, but give the bikes a try and be sure its for you before laying out your hard earned ŁŁŁŁ.
Good luck Liz and let me know how you get on.
Thread Starter
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Intermediate
Joined: Jun 2010
Posts: 44
Likes: 0
Wow!
Thanks for the lovely welcome folks - it is great that so many of you took the time to say hi.
I have to say that Americans are some of my favourite people. I have run the Disneyworld marathon a couple of times and have met people from all over the States there, many of whom I'm stll in touch with on Facebook etc. I have always found Americans to be very sociable and great fun.
I'll keep you posted on the bike purchase.
Thanks again,
Liz
I have to say that Americans are some of my favourite people. I have run the Disneyworld marathon a couple of times and have met people from all over the States there, many of whom I'm stll in touch with on Facebook etc. I have always found Americans to be very sociable and great fun.
I'll keep you posted on the bike purchase.
Thanks again,
Liz
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Thread Starter
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Intermediate
Joined: Jun 2010
Posts: 44
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I think that a lot of our roads are perhaps not as suitable for Harleys as yours. In a lot of the country, we have twisty roads which are fun but might not be great for ground clearance. The roads are sometimes not well maintained either which doesn't help.
Plus the nature of the majority of British bikers seems to be that they have to be ahead of the traffic either for safety or pride reasons. That's probably easier to do on a sportsbike/big tourer than a Harley.
I don't think it is necessarily a Harley thing - I just think that overall cruisers are just not as popular a style of bike here. In my area 9 out of 10 bikes I pass will either be a sportsbike (Japanese) or tourer (BMW/Honda) to a trail type bike (KTM).
I just don't have that impetus to be the fastest thing on the road or to be ahead of the traffic - I just want to enjoy my ride and get home safely.
I've just joined a bike club and a lot of the guys/girls have Harleys. I love the way their bikes look and I've secretly wanted a Harley since I was an Elvis fan way back! Time to live the dream now.
Thread Starter
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Intermediate
Joined: Jun 2010
Posts: 44
Likes: 0
Welcome from Bristol, England.
Liz, I have a Sportster and love it. However, I cant recommend strongly enough that you get a test ride.
Many people buy a Sportster as a first Harley in part because its physically smaller than the other models and also because it's cheaper than the other models only to discover they cant get on with it. Compared to other models, the weight of the bike is somewhat higher and some people find them difficult to control.
I have read numerous reports on here and elswhere, particularly from female riders, who have initially bought a Sportster, but very quickly been forced to trade it in and switch to one of the Dyna models. The Street Bob seems to be the favoured model and having sat on one a few times it does actually seem better balanced and as though it might be easier to manouver. That said, the Sportster is probably better on the bends as the pegs wont hit the deck as quickly.
However, I recommend you try a test ride of both before shelling out any money.
Also, moviong from a CBF250 to any Harley is quite a jump. Your going to notice a huge difference in the weight of the bike. It's certainly doable, but if you do experience any difficulty it's most likely to be with slow speed manouvers and possibly hill starts. Practising slow manouvers in an empty car park or similar area will probably help improve your confidence greatly. Ditto, if you can find a hill nearby which has minimal traffic you might find it beneficial to practise some hill starts.
I'm certainly not trying to put you off your purchase, but give the bikes a try and be sure its for you before laying out your hard earned ŁŁŁŁ.
Good luck Liz and let me know how you get on.
Liz, I have a Sportster and love it. However, I cant recommend strongly enough that you get a test ride.
Many people buy a Sportster as a first Harley in part because its physically smaller than the other models and also because it's cheaper than the other models only to discover they cant get on with it. Compared to other models, the weight of the bike is somewhat higher and some people find them difficult to control.
I have read numerous reports on here and elswhere, particularly from female riders, who have initially bought a Sportster, but very quickly been forced to trade it in and switch to one of the Dyna models. The Street Bob seems to be the favoured model and having sat on one a few times it does actually seem better balanced and as though it might be easier to manouver. That said, the Sportster is probably better on the bends as the pegs wont hit the deck as quickly.
However, I recommend you try a test ride of both before shelling out any money.
Also, moviong from a CBF250 to any Harley is quite a jump. Your going to notice a huge difference in the weight of the bike. It's certainly doable, but if you do experience any difficulty it's most likely to be with slow speed manouvers and possibly hill starts. Practising slow manouvers in an empty car park or similar area will probably help improve your confidence greatly. Ditto, if you can find a hill nearby which has minimal traffic you might find it beneficial to practise some hill starts.
I'm certainly not trying to put you off your purchase, but give the bikes a try and be sure its for you before laying out your hard earned ŁŁŁŁ.
Good luck Liz and let me know how you get on.
The Triumph Bonnie I had back in 2001 was probably comparable in weight to the Sportys. I just like the way Sportsters look which at the age I am now is more important to me than how easy or hard it is to push around. I had to learn to park sensibly when I had the Bonnie! The tank size/range of the Sporty is the factor I have to really think about!
I will take a test drive especially since my local dealership are so accomodating but I'm sure I'll still go for the Sporty to be honest. Just love the way they look!
Thanks for your thoughts anyway.
Liz