Tanya,
I would look on the used market for a used sportster. Odds are it will already have lowering kit and a lot of extra chrome installed on it. The advantage is you get all of this stuff as a bonus because hey it is used and blue book is blue book.

If this is your first bike and it sounds like it is starting off used is best because of the savings and it will save you dollars when you decide to trade up because you will not take the depreciation hit as much since you bought it used already.

So try new and then buy used. Your dealer probably has some used sportsters there but I am sure they are charging a premium for them. Do a craigslist.org search in your area for sportster and i am sure you will come up with a deal.

 

Bought mine ('06 Street Bob) from a petite woman (not taller than 5'2"). She had it lowered front & rear with pullback risers. She said it was much easier to ride than the sportster she had before.

 

Tanya,

I do not consider a Sportster as a beginners bike because the Dyna's and Softtails are better balanced in weight and power. My wife started riding in February of last year. We bought a 1200 low sportster for her to ride. She is 5' 4" and was able to reach the ground fine. We added mini ape bars (laid them back) and had the Harley Sundowner seat modified and refoamed by Mean City Cycles and she was still not comfortable, especially on the highway. Her and the bike were too light, at highway speeds, and got moved around by the winds; plus the vibration of the pegs made her uncomfortable.

We looked at the Deluxe and the Heritage Softtails and decided on the Heritage because it already had saddlebags, windshield, and the headlight setup she wanted. We went to the local dealer and she test road the Heritage with me following on my Lowrider. Eventhough it was her first time on the Heritage she was smoother and more in control than she had ever been on the Sportster. This test ride was last summer, so she did not have that much riding experience, maybe 300 miles at the most. That was on a Friday, we bought her a used Heritage on the following Tuesday and she is always ready to ride. Since she is a little taller the only thing we have changed is to put 4 1/2" pull back risers on to move the handle bars closer to her. She can actually flat foot the Heritage better than the Sportster. Oh by the way, we took a heavy hit on selling the Sportster because the used values had dropped so much in the past year.

We bought the Sportster initially because she was concerned about the weight of the bigger bikes and because the Sportster was less dollars. Now we both agree that buying the Sportster was a big mistake on both accounts. With what we spent on trying to get her comfortable and what we lost on the re-sale we would have been better off buying the Softtail to begin with. By the way, there is a lady in our HOG Chapter that is less than 5' tall and she rides a Softtail Duece without any difficulty.

If you are unable to find a seat that fits you, I suggest you give Mean City Cycles a call. They do excellent work and can help you decide how the seat needs to be modified for you. Narrowing the seat will make it easier to reach the ground.

I suggest a Deluxe or Heritage, depending on what you want on the bike, with the Lowrider as a second choice. The big Harley's are only heavy when you are stopped. If you was to drop it then you could pick it up using the right technique. My wife picked up a Road King when she attended a Garage Party, at the dealership, and was shown the proper technique.

Just wanted to add some thoughts about our experience with my wife. The advice already given on getting the "Ride Like A Pro" dvd is right on. Get the dvd and then go practice in a large parking lot, no matter what your choice of bikes.

Good luck on your choice and ride safe.

sporty06

 

[sm=bounceybounce.gif]Toevery person who responded, thank you again. I'll start over with my research,from a different perspective. The vtwinmama website & others suggestedaregreat, andreading of others similar experiences anddifferent ideasare very helpful.I'm excited to get out there!!!!

 

+1 on the used bike first.
My oldest daughter is 5'2" and about 115# and can flat foot my lowrider. I hadn't ridden in 40 years and bought an 03 883XLH Sportster last year. Rode it for 3 months and any distance over 150 miles was painful. Bought the 02 Dyna FXDL and can ride that10 hours a day incomfort.

 

I have several short friends that have gotten off their sporties and are now riding street glides and road glides. They have done the lowering kits and they look much better on their new bikes than they did on the sporties. They hunched over to reach their handlebars on their sportsters and now they are set up on their baggers and aren't hunched over reaching any longer.

Best thing to do is talk to the dealer you are looking to buy from about your options.



[IMG]local://upfiles/13603/8472D08E3E984A63BD3D8335B6C69719.jpg[/IMG]

 

+1
Tanya,
I agree with itileman...a good friend of mine bought a Dyna Lowrider a number of years back after Harley 1st went to the rubber mounted engines & she let me take it for a nice ride...I was sold! ('course I'd been ridin' a hardtail for years) but the Lowrider was SO comfortable, fun & sporty; that I knew the next bike I'd buy would be one. Mine's pictured below.

Also a great idea, I don't think I read anyone suggest, is to ask the local dealer to take a couple of the different bikes you think you're going to be comfortable on that you really like & go'demo' ride them!

Good luck! Let us know what you bought.

 

+1 to that

 

They are also the highest sitting Harleys(Sportsters). But like any of them. They can be lowered.
A Dyna Super Glide is a nice bike to start on. Plenty of speed and very comfortable.

 

My FXST is a chick magnet on rides as a lot of gals come over and ask me if they can sit on it. I let them and they love the way they fit on a lowered bike. My seat is 23.5 inches from the ground and with a lot of heavy parts replaced or removed, it tops out at 525 lbs with gas. I'm only six feet, but I look taller next to my bike. You could handle riding my bike.