I have to disagree with you about the Sportster. Having actually ridden them from the 1969 XLCH to the current 2005 XL1200R I can assure you that the '05 Sportsters are far superior to any previous models. They make much more power and can easily be made to deliver even more. They are lighter and handle better and have stiffer frames, better brakes and tires and more reliable and less maintenance intensive powertrains. And of course, they don't vibrate the fillings out of your teeth.
It might be nice to talk about the '69 XLCH in the garage, but for a bike to ride to work everyday - give me a 2004 (Rubber mounted evolution engine) or later.
And I DO ride to work everyday.
As for the Motor Company's position on noise; if the industry and the motorcycling community don't do somethng about it now, the legislatures of the several states will do something about it for us. Its already happening.
I couldn't disagree more. First of all, let's correct the the things you got wrong. The 2004 and 2005 models are not lighter, they're heavier than the 2003 models. The dry weight of the 2003 was 486 pounds. The dry weight of a 2005 is 554 pounds. Almost a 10% weight gain.
The new models don't handle better either. The newer customs have 29 degrees of left and 31 degrees right of lean hangle. Compare that to 34 degree for the Hugger of all bikes in 2003, and a whopping 37 degrees for the 2003 1200S. BTW, your model can dip all the way to 32 degrees. Not bad for a cruiser, but not up to snuff for previous years. The 2003's will corner rings around the newer, heavier, quicker to drag parts Sportsters.
Finally, they don't make "much more power" as you claim. The 883's are 10% heavier yet make the same power as 883's in previous year. The 1200's did a bit better and make about 10% more power. Exacly enough to offset the 10% increase in weight. The power to weight ratio didn't budge an inch on the 1200s and is substantially worse on the 883's. Cycleworld's 1/4 mile times for the 2004's were slightly higher than in 2003. A step in the wrong direction.
Hell man, that's bad enough, and that's just what you got wrong.
Let's talk trap doors. There isn't one on the 2004 and up models. That's a huge, huge, huge mistake. It's built in obsolescence is what it is. It's now $1000 dollar operation at the dealership to just GET TO the transmission, let alone work on it. The removal of the trap door alone is a deal breaker.
Let's be honest, the only real "improvement" on the new Sportsters is that the engines are now rubber mounted. The Sportster became more a Honda Shadow in 2004, and in the process lost a lot of it's Sportster heritage.
I'm a member of a large Sportster afficianado group, and I think you'll find that amongst the true Sportster devotees, my opinion is pretty common.
I lived for a while in one community that decided to * ban noisy motorcycles* from its streets from 10 PM to 7 AM.
After a couple of months of roofing nail protests, they caved.