Good afternoon from South West France.

I am a new member hoping for advice. I am seeking to buy my first Harley Davidson. I have ridden a number of bikes from the age of 17 yrs to about 40 yrs but finally at the age of 62 yrs I have the time to buy my Harley
I am currently looking at a 883R, 2014 model with 8,000 on the clock. Are there any issues or things I should be looking at with the 883R when viewing bikes?

Thanks in advance.

Phil

 

Sporty's are known for being practically bullet proof. The only known issue that comes to mind is the riveted spring plate in the clutch pack. You can do searches on this site and others to get more information. You'll likely want to go ahead and take care of that soon if it hasn't already been done (there's a risk that when the rivets go - which they eventually will - they could take out the basket). Replace it with a Barnett extra plate clutch kit (or equivalent) and you'll be good to go. It's an inexpensive fix.

Other than that... You are pretty much golden. The EVO sporty is often touted as the best motor HD ever made. The platform has more aftermarket support than just about anything else out there. You can make into just about anything you want.

 

8,000 KM I wouldn't worry about the Spring Plate yet, they generally don't go till at least 20,000 miles (32,000 KM). And having replaced the spring plate with an extra plate kit on 2 of the 4 Sportsters I have owned, I don't think it is that much of an improvement, I'm going to pull the extra plate pack out and put a new spring plate back in on my 2006 at my next oil change. My 2006 Squeals as the clutch engages and is very grabby since removing the spring plate.

That being said, while I feel the spring plate is there for a reason, and it seems to me like it is better to leave the spring plate in place, the spring plate is the weak link in the clutch design and should be monitored for damage or just replaced every 20,000 miles or so.

 

How big are you? The Sportys can be a little cramped if you're a tall fella.

 

I am really grateful for the information, it’s put my mind at rest. Very impressed with this formal and it’s members.

Thanks again.
Phil

 

It sounds good advice to change the spring plate every 20,000 miles. Thanks for the help.

Phil

 

I have a 2014 Iron as my second bike. Probably the most fun bike I have ever ridden. Buy it and enjoy ��

 

Sounds like I have found the perfect bike for my 5’ 9” frame

 

TracerBullet,
I’ll have a look at an Iron. That’s a great quote bye the way, very true.

Phil

 

I beg to differ a little bit...

I've seen people report the rivets going well before 20K miles. As to "improvement" - improvement wasn't the point. Preventive maintenance, unnecessary parts destruction, and reliability was the point. As to issues with going without the spring plate... I've replaced my stock clutch with a Barnett extra plate clutch kit and have had absolutely no issues. I can't tell the difference (desired outcome). The benefit of course - no possibility of a spring plate coming apart. I my mind, it's cheap preventive maintenance you should just do. Skip the "monitoring"... Seems like an unnecessary hassle. Same goes for perhaps premature periodic replacement.

From my perspective... the notion of putting the spring plate back in doesn't compute.