Hey all,

I want a Harley. Always have, as long as I can remember. Always wanted a Road King. Can't afford a Road King, even used. My budget is Sporty. Maybe a 1200 if I'm lucky.

My conundrum is thus-

Intended riding- mostly daily around town for fun (I walk to work)
-Wife loves to come along, so its a 50/50 chance that she decides to come with me any given ride, if she has nothing else to do.
-Saturdays I'm off, so I'd probably do a little day trip once a week, definitely with the wife
-I have long vacations, and I live in Mexico, so we want to do long trips, possibly up to a month on the road at a time.

For the price of a Sporty, I could also get a bigger non Harley cruiser. Practicality tells me I should do that. But sentiment says, get the Sporty, you'll be happier cuz you have a Harley even if its a little uncomfortable for the long haul for now. (I hope that someday I will be able to have that Road King).

Waiting and saving for the road king is out of the question, it would take far too long, like a few years, and I can't be bikeless that long.

What do you think?

 

Sporties are not too bad...I had a 883C i am 6'1" 240 lbs The sundowner seat was good....Plenty of power to ride but a bit small....You could get VTX1300 or 1800 for a good price... I know the HD has it's attraction but don't feel to bad about riding a nice Metric for a few years...sell it and get a Road king or a Heritage.....As long as you ride it's a start....

 

If want to do 2 up hold out for a the RK or Heritage ... your wife will thank you for it... Wasn't for my wife not being able to ride at all anymore would have kept my heritage til the end.. but with her knees in bad shape had to go the Bagger route...

 

Haha, thats funny, I had a VTX1300 and sold it. It rode nice enough, but it just felt really....plastic-y. Wouldn't want another.

Forgot to add, I'm 6 feet, 185#.

I think maybe I should have titled this thread, metric cruiser or Sporty?

 

I had a Sportster 1200 for three months, before my wife decided she wanted to ride too. I loved that bike, but there was no way the two of us were going cross country on it together. I traded it in on an Ultra and we enjoy the confort. If you're on a budget try looking for something older but invest in road-side assistance.

 

I ride a 1200 and love it. I sorta want a Road King one day, but I'll have to wait for the day when I actually have the time for month-long road trips. Even then, I wouldn;t want to give up my Sporty.

Till then, no complaints. I got a sissy bar and it is great for two-up riding. Not nearly as small as you'd think. (I'm 6'1" 200 lbs.) In fact, last month I was fully intending to take advantage of the trade-in promotion and get a Low Rider. I test rode one and decided to keep my Sporty. I just love it that much. (I used my trade-in money to buy a *new* KLR, which is another fun bike.)

For around town, day trips, and shorter road trips, the Sporty is fine. A ton of fun, actually.

But Notgrownup has some good advice: for the same price as an XL1200, you could get a *sweet* metric cruiser that will outperform a Harley (V-Rod excepted), or a lightly used sport-tourer (FJR, Concours 14, etc.).

When you ride a bike, you see the road ahead and the panorama views. Whatever got you there you will love. Trust me.

Just ride.

 

Yeah, I went back to the dealer the other day and saw my Sporty up for sale $500 over what I got for it. I almost bought her back.

 

hold out , collect your money , be ready. the right ride will come along.. Unless your just real fond of the sporty. A friend of mine bought a 2009 RK for $9,000.00 slightly damaged..I did the work on it. bars, controls, new head light, and back rest.. total cost about 10,300.00 looks perfect , rides perfect. checked out at the dealer for alignment , it was good. nothing wrong with the bike. If you look around you can get the deal that will put you into the bike you really want. I found a 74 FLH like the one I use to have, needs work,he is asking $ 2,000.00 for it. I think I am gonna have to get it.

Nothing wrong with the sporty , but you'll love the ride of the bigger bikes once you try em.

 

I couldn't agree more... I made the mistake of starting out with a metric because I wanted something bigger than a sporty for my wife and myself to ride. After saving for a couple years I could finally afford my Street Glide I was looking for. Had a helluva time trying to get any money for the metric I was selling (bought it for dollars and sold it for cents). If I were you I would hold out for the bike you truly want... You won't be happy with anything else...

 

Since it hasn't been mentioned, you oughta also consider a decomissioned cop bike, either RK or EG. A WHOLE lotta bike for the money spent. Got mine with an ESP to boot.