The answer my friends is in the OP.

she wants a small sportster

So does everyone want her to have a big bike to please husband and son?

Wait a minute. There is another possibility. Maybe she is not capable of making a good decision on her own.

 

Nick, good luck on the bike. Hope your mom finds the scoot she really likes and is comfortable with. All that said, can we see a pic of your dads Indian!?

 

take her shoping ! If she sits on a bike
that you HATE with all of your heart, tell her
"that bike makes your butt look fat" , LOL.
Let her go harley shopping buy her self and
suport her on what ever she decides.

 

Different people have different wants and needs. Only she will be able to decide what she feels comfortable on.

Test ride, test ride, test ride. If you can find a dealer who allows them (these days most H-D dealers do). Or have her rent the bikes shes interested in (may be able to have rent put towards purchase).
They did have a fleet of bikes for demo rides at many events. http://www.harley-davidson.com/wcm/C...bmLocale=en_US

You can try the link but I didn't see any scheduled. Maybe they discontinued them

 

My wife had a Honda Shadow 750 it was great bike to learn on . Then she rode her friends Deluxe for a full day and she decided that was the bike for her .We found her a used 2007 Deluxe on Craigslist.
Like others have said let her go siit on a few models test ride them or even rent one a lot dealers will refund the cost of renting if you buy a bike.