out of the box it's fast enough for 99% of riders out there. if you do a lot of performance mods it can be scary fast. i agree no crotch rocket and it doesn't aim to be it's a an air cooled harley not a performance crotch rocket. if you pull along side a gsxr 1o00 don't get any crazy ideas about racing him or he will embarass you.

if you want a harley get a harley if you want to do 0-60 in 3 seconds and top off at 180 get a crotch rocket.

 

I agree, the Sporties are plenty fast. I think it's really more about the bike fitting you. If it fits, wear it... everything else pretty much falls into place.

 

The Sportster will be fine in a straight line. If the BMW wants to play in the twisties, he will kill you. But he'll kill the Vulcan also. If the sportster can't do it, you probably are trying to do something you shouldn't be doing.

 

This thread is 5 months old.

I think the OP prolly made his decision.

(But, yeah, the 1200s are a ton of fun. It's an air-cooled Harley, which means crappy cornering clearance, schitty suspension, and weak brakes. But still a ton of fun!)

 

Old post, but the V-Rod is the fastest STOCK H-D, XR1200 Sportster is the fastest STOCK air-cooled H-D.

 

What about the Buell XB12? Ooops!

 

If you want to talk about air-cooled non-Harleys, look at Ducati Monsters.

The air-cooled 1100cc L-twin puts out 95hp & 76 ft-lbs. STOCK. and it weighs 200 lbs less than a Sportster.

 

Sure, but the Buell is kind of a Harley. If you're really looking at performance though, liquid cooling, baby! But then, the guy doesn't seem to be looking for all out performance just keeping up. But.... The Ducati is a great bike. At least the Monster. Don't have any experience with the other models.

 

Yeah, the Buell kind of was, and kind of wasn't. By the time Erik and his engineers got through with them, there wasn't a lot of Harley left.

And, of course: liquid cooling is peerless for performance. But you know how it goes: a liquid-cooled bike will have higher RPMs with a much shorter stroke. At higher RPMs they will put out a lot more power at the expense of low-end torque. And you have to keep the revs high in the powerband to really ride the thing. Good liquid-cooled bikes are smooth and fun, even if noisier.

An air-cooled bike, even a Duc, can just purr along. Air-cooled engines will just have different design properties. They have lower power, but a broader powerband, better low-end, and cruise at lower RPMs.

Asking for a high-performance air-cooled bike is like asking which SUV is NASCAR ready.

 

First how fast is fast.

Second XL will get you all the speeding tickets you want.