Posted on 05/12/2009 11:01:39 AM PDT by brwnsuga
Can anybody tell me if the Harley Davidson Sportster 883 is okay for a beginner? Any suggestions on the best bike to start out with?
Btw, Type-O Negative rocks.
I ride like I’m behind enemy lines....ALL the time.
I watch EVERYTHING obsessively.
It used to be that I sat on the back, happily watching the beautiful scenery going by and when we’d stop, I’d ask Himself if he’d seen the amazing [fill in the blank] and he’d always say “Nope. Musta missed it”.
In retrospect, he missed all that wonderous beauty I’d been serenely watching because he was driving for *two*.
Our safety took precedence over mindlessly gawping at grazing cows or florid sunsets...but I’d been indulging myself, blissfully unaware, back there.
He’s been riding for over 50 years and built and drove drag bikes in Florida, back in the “Rat Hole” glory days.
Never did I imagine that he was working so *hard* to get us home at night.
DANGER! was the first thing he drummed into my head...long before I was allowed to ride alone.
My first rides were in my dirt lane, state park parking lots...deserted back roads and then 2 lane county roads.
He is by no stretch of the imagination a “patient guy” but he let me go at my own pace with no complaints.
For the first summer, we didn’t ride on one highway and *rarely* went over 50 mph...and he never griped.
To this day, he rides behind me like a dark guardian angel to protect me from behind...from the things that may be coming at me that I ~can’t~ see.
And, to my eternal wonder, *he* is proud of my bike driving skills....says I’m a “natural”....:)
Start small, slow and easy.
That way, you’ll have the rest of your life to “move up”.
Thanks about the friend.
You’d have loved him as much as we do.
He was one in a million.
The Sportster XR 750 was CREATED as Harley's first ~racing~ bike.
The Buell is a modified Sporty motor in Buell’s frame that's currently breaking track records.
Harley Davidson statistics clearly show that the Sportster is *the* #1 motorcycle being purchased by women riders, overall.
You can draw whatever conclusion you care to, from that.
Around here, though, I see perhaps a ratio of 2 women on Sportys versus 5 or 6 on Dynas or Softails.
[and my best friend is good friends with Ralph, having become fast friends with him when they were both in the same hospital in adjacent rooms, so there]...:-P
My “ignorance” is not showing...your self-consciousness is.
The “Harley Hugger” is the official name of that particular Sportster ~model~.
Call HD and ask them, smart ass.
By the time she went through all the necessary modifications you listed to make a stock Sporty into a RIDEABLE bike, she could just go get a nice Low Rider and be done with it.
FYI, I hang out with “real bikers”.
Show up on a Sporty and you're gonna get ragged.
They rock slow, deep and hard.
You betcha.
[why else would I put their weird art all over my ride?]
I can call my up friend and find out what Sonny’s riding, these days....;]
[the only bikes “allowable” by the club]
He's riding a couple of big V-Twins now but I can't recall which models.
[and he's still *hot*]...;-D
I quit riding quite a few years ago. I never had anything bad happen, but topped a bridge on a clear beautiful day and a car was stopped dead in front of me. No room to stop, car beside me blocking the left lane, slid in between the car and the bridge guard rail on the right. I got stopped about even with their front dash.
I rode for another two years, but I don't think I enjoyed another minute of it. I finally said, "I don't enjoy this anymore, who am I trying to impress?" and sold the bike. I still drop by the Harley dealership every so often and drool over the bikes, but have no desire to get one or go riding again.
I am very grateful that you are alive!
I *creep* over hills and bridges and around curves where I can’t see at *least* 100 yards ahead of me.
Where I live, it’s not likely to be a car blocking my way...more like a herd of deer or a loose cow...but still....:)
A friend of ours came up the I-70 entrance ramp and a semi just snagged him withh the running board and dragged him along the guard rail...until they ran out of guard rail.
Luckily, the crash bars on his Dresser took the brunt of the damage.
He just pulled what was left of them off and kept on riding like it was no big deal.
[he is one hard core dude...I’d have needed intensive psychological therapy]....:))
Why the hell would I want to hang out with them then? FWIW, I'm not only a "real" biker, but at 45, a second generation biker at that. I grew up with pans and shovels lined up in the front yard on Friday nights. With the exception of a couple of RUB's and HOG types, who I don't consider bikers, I've never once been ragged for riding a Sportster. Nor would I rag anyone else for their choice of ride. Well, that's not entirely true, I'm merciless on the 15K types because I just can't stand them.
For you non-bikers, $15K and 15 miles on your pile of chrome doesn't make you a biker, stop pretending it does, because we laugh at you. While I'm at it, 4 days worth of beard doesn't make you look rugged either. We all know you'll be clean shaven and wearing a tie on Monday.
Around here, though, I see perhaps a ratio of 2 women on Sportys versus 5 or 6 on Dynas or Softails.
I won't argue with that. Most women who I run into, ride Low Riders it seems, and it's a good choice. It's lower, slower and more predictable.
You can go on thinking the Sportster is a chic bike. However, I know a couple of guys who wear patches that ride Sportsters and they wouldn't consider you, me, or your husband real bikers. Still, you have great taste in music, and a killer trike, so you're ok with me.
Forgot to address this part. It's about $200 to change the geometry of a generic Sportster to a Hugger type. It's 30 minutes of work, and dirt cheap. Just simple suspension changes.
Like I said earlier I thought the Sporty was "quick" in the handling department....but not dangerously so. And I've had over 30 motorcycles in my career to compare it to...Jap bikes and British bikes and Spanish bikes and Italian bikes. Road and off-road types. Fork geometry is always a compromise. The more shallow the fork angle the quicker the steering but the straight-line stability at speed suffers and vice versa. The engineers at Harley Davidson are no dummies and wouldn't intentionally create an un-safe configuration.
Yeah I'd have to say I see more men riding Sportys than women...go figure. I came from an off-road racing background and we considered a 500cc bike a "big" bike...I raced a BSA 441 Victor and Triumph 500 desert sled for a while and those bikes were only for macho types with big arms. When I fell in love with Sportys imagine my surprise when some road-bike types seemed to think a 900cc bike was a girl's bike with an engine twice as large as what we raced in the open class???
Yeah that's what I thought too. After a 25 year hiatus (I'm now 58) I came home with a new Harley one day in 2001 after a drooling session at the local Harley store and I love it all over again. I'm not trying to impress anyone, I guess I just love the sound of a V-twin and the wind in my thinning hair...:o)
I might mention that they’ve been making the Sportster for over 50 years... ‘Nuff said.
Are we talking “chic” or “chick”, now?...LOL
You keep forgetting that I started on a Sportster.
I am willing to admit that the HD “Nightster” with the “Black Denim” paint job and blacked-out motor that sat in the local dealership for a couple weeks did cause a bit of drooling.
http://www.metacafe.com/watch/yt-BxlG6Da4Sgg/harley_davidson_sportster_xl1200n_nightster_motorcycle/
I could live with that.
[if I didn’t have a one-bike-at-a-time limit]....:-\
I’m just the wife of a biker and a beginning rider myself. [this summer marks my fourth year, solo]
I’m not at liberty to disclose hubby’s past associations but we’re definitely not RUBs [too poor and too rural] and not HOGS [find them too ‘tame’ and regimented, although they do wonderful things for charitable causes] so really, I don’t know where we fit in with the current “biker culture”.
With the exception of the vet’s benefit rides, we usually ride alone.
Apparently our differences are geographical.
I have no idea which patchers reside in TX.
I’m only familiar with the east coast clubs.
[which have condensed into The Big Three plus the smaller clubs they’ve assimilated, with Veteran and Christian clubs, excluded]
“Still, you have great taste in music, and a killer trike, so you’re ok with me.”
Oh, thank God.
I feel so...validated!
[LOL just kiddin’...thanks. You’re okay, too but I’d like you even better if you bought me a Nightster]
I have to agree with Melas on this one. brwnsuga, my chief concern with a beginner starting out on a Sportster is the engine size and all that goes along with that. The bigger the engine, the harder the learning curve. Still, if you have your heart set on a Sportster (and you have a reasonable amount of self-control), you can survive the learning curve without a scratch.
Take the training course, via the MSF or the Rider's Edge. The Rider's Edge course gives you the luxury of dumping someone else's bike while you figure out the control. Don't stop there though; find an empty parking lot, grab some chalk and PRACTICE PRACTICE PRACTICE your braking skills until they become second nature. I worked with a woman who aced the MSF course, yet broke her collarbone when she locked the rear brake and low-sided her bike in a panic situation. New riders tend to rely too much on the rear brake in panic situations; practice will help you overcome that. Your braking skills are what will save you from becoming another statistic. I cannot stress this enough . . .
Buy new, if you can afford it. Harley's Sportster Buyback program is a sweet deal, if you want to trade up in the future. Plus, the new Sportsters are for all intents and purposes maintenance free, the rubber mounted engine helps tremendously on long rides and the fuel injection allows them to run perfectly in any situation.
The Sportster is really a versatile bike. It's a good canyon carver, long haul tourer, urban crawler and campsite cavorter. They've been around since the ‘50s for a reason. Don't fret too much over that first scratch; it's God's way of keeping us humble . . .
Thank you. I have been getting alot of good advice. Some of it is discouraging, some encouraging. I have a great deal more to consider and think about. I am definitely taking the MSF course. After I told my husband about some of the advice I was getting, he said maybe its best for me to buy a smaller used bike first (dangit).
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