took it to harley after i found out i would get a death wobble at 80 and they said thats a sporty for ya............ i had never ridden on the street before the the sporty and wanted a small bike to get use to driving on the street.. i was ready for somthing bigger in 2 days... worse mistake i ever made buying that hunk of crap. it wasnt about money for me when i got it. in fact i walked into the dealer and told them to run my credit and let me know where my limit was after 15 min the salesman comes back and says take your pick. so i picked a bike i could learn on. what i learned- SPORTYS SUCK .......i corrected it fast and now after riding numerous harleys i would still stay with the fxdf over any....

 

+1

Of the Dyna line Fat Bob good crossover choice

or

Honda ST 1300 Great weekend choice.

 

There is a reason HD makes different models. The answer...as a owner of a 97 Sporty, an '04
Dyna and now both a Deuce and 1200C...is your buddy has to get in some comparison riding on all that seem to appeal to him...with/without 2 up. Really no need to diss power/handling here on any specific model since 90% of riders 90% of the time will not push hard enough for a significant difference to surface...if you routinely run in that 10% then he is shopping the wrong brand anyway. How it FEELS to him is all that matters. JMHO of course. John

 

I have an '07 ultra, an '07 Sportster and an '09 Buel Ulyssess XT.

The sportster is quick, nimble and handles decent, but has crappy shocks and an uncomfortable seat. Easy for me to bottom out the suspension. Also has a lot of vibration when running over 70. Would not want to take it on any long distance touring or two-up riding. Makes a great short trip or town bike. Of course, I am a little spoiled by the ultra.

The Ulysses is my newest. Lightweight, powerful, nimble, quick, GREAT suspension and handles two-up riding very good. A sport-tourer with Huge bags and a trunk. Comfortable seat allows for long distance riding. It is a smotther ride than my Ultra, but not as overall comfortable. I could take it on long distance trips with very little modifications. Doesn't really sound like a Harley, since the exhaust is different and very quiet, but it is a 1200 Sportster V-twin motor (on steroids). Sporter is 65 HP, the Ulysses is 103 HP and both weigh about the same.

Since your friend is coming from a sport bike, this is best of both worlds for him. Will handle somewhat like the sport bike he is used too, but cruise somewhat like the Harleys.

Rentals are his best friend to help him decide, although renting a Ulysses may be quite difficult.

 

Ya know, I'm a pretty calm person and did my best to let this slide but Hyper must have some twitch issues. I don't have any problems with my bike at 80, 90, etc. Don't get a death wobble. Ridden Fat Boys and they are nice bikes but I'd chalk Hyper's riding experience on a Sporty as "operator error".

Yes, my bike is pretty stiff in the rear suspension but you could change that pretty easy with some different shocks and a seat. Like many have said, it kinda comes down to what kind of riding you plan on doing.

 

Just speaking for myself here you should re-read the OP. "Girlfriend" is an assumption. Just sayin'...

 

i am a very good driver bikes car whatever it is. and i guess the 5 other riders who have years of bike exp. and 2 harley techs that drove my bike all had operator errors lol..... and they all said typical sporty..... ya so your dead on with a zero with that statement... oh yea did i mention SPORTYS SUCK.............



and yes had bought new shocks tried everything. harley said the the bike was good they even had it checked for alignment. was nothing wrong with the bike was built the same as all other sportys...

 

I rode an 08 nightster and threw the hammer down until about 80mph.. The bike was not stable.

I came from the sportbike crowd as well. Your friend should be prepared not to expect much when it comes to handling and or performance when you jump on the seat of an american twin. Even when they're modded to hell and back they will never pull like a liter bike.

He should not be spending money to rent bikes, he should be going to dealers and test riding for free. That's what I did.

As everyone esle as said, he should get what he wants. It's HIS bike!

 

Although a few do it, the nightster is not for two up riding. And, it's not for long distance riding. It's definately not for two up, long distance riding.

 

I ride an '08 XL1200C out here in Montana. Bone stock. I cruise over 85 regularly. And when I want to have fun, I push it over 100.

Never had any kind of 'death wobble'.

I wouldn't push it in the canyons like my Duc at those speeds, but for slab cruising, it's fine. Actually, after riding my Duc, I learned that, for sport riding, all Harleys suck. But I love my Harley. I just don't expect it to be something it's not.

'Death wobble'...........that's funny.

If you don't like the Sporty, just get what you like. It's your money and your time.