What's up all. I usually hang out in the sportster forum because currently I own an 06 883 custom. This was my first harley and I knew I would eventually want to "upgrade". I have always had my eye on a night train and I think I"m going to make the move later this summer. Sometime within the next few weeks, I plan on renting one from the local dealer to test it out for a few days just for fun.

I would appreciate any advice from other night train owners on their experiences with the bike. What type of extras do you have on. This will be a bike I plan to keep for sometime so extras will be added. First thing will be pipes. With that said, what type of pipes sound best for the night train. All advice is welcome. Thanks everyone.

 

not a nt owner but i ve heard lots of diff pipes
v&hines sound nice,so does sampson
to each their own good luck

 

I upgraded from an 883 to a 2008 Nightrain last year and I've never looked back since. When I'm riding my NT it feels like I have much more machine & power beneath me compared to my sporty. But be prepared to shell out some $ for upgrades, not that the NT isn't great right out the door; but once you see the wide array of wheels, pipes, bars, etc.. Well you'll surely want to mod it. Good-luck!

 

Same here just bough an 08 NIght Train in Red Denim after riding my sporty for 3 years. My bike was set-up already with V&H big radius pipes, stage one kit and download. you won't be disappointed with a softail. I enjoy mine. Had for three weeks and already have 500 miles on her.

 

i bought an 07 night train about 6 weeks ago and have put 2000 miles on it since. great ride and you can make it what ever you want it to be. check out the night train pic threads to get some great ideas on how to make ityour own. the only thing, the first thing to do is get rid of that *&%#@@ stock seat. i rode 600 miles last weekend and my *** almost fell off. i have a corbin gunfighter on order and am looking forward to it getting here. it takes about 1000 miles to break in but everyone i talk to loves them.

as to the pipes, vance and hines are good but everyone has them. me included. they have a great idle sound and when your in the throttle but around mid rpm and steady they kind of suck. i hear good things about samson and hooker headers. everyone has their own preference but night train riders dont follow the pack!! we are on the DARK side!

just be sure to take pictures of the stock look because it wont last long.

"i dont ride rice, i eat it!"

 

bye the way, with the 200 rear tire, it likes to go in a straight line. you have to kick its *** to go through the twisty swirlies and muscle it through. dont go to sleep or get timid or you'll end up in the ditch. it wont turn like a dyna or a sporty but you'll get the hang of it.

besides, you scare the rice burners to death!

 

Thanks everyone, I appreciate the posts. Right now, I'm running hooker troublemakers on my sporty and it honestly sounds awesome. I'll have to go and check out other bikes online to see what ya'll have done to them i guess. I want the black powder coat paint and I'm deciding on if i want black pipes to get that murdered out look or go with chrome. Gotta love chrome.

 

I'm the minority with apes and V&H longshots no baffles Most people like short pipes and drag bars for a train but I'm not most people . For exaust you cant go wrong with V&H in my opinion .

 

If you can afford it, I'd keep the sporty and then buy a second bike. The differences are big. I tell you, Stripperella gets a sh*tload of compliments on her Hugger. Dammit, I've had people walk around my Deuce to see her bike. The overall lines of a sporty are really good. If you get good paint combined with a nice customizing theme that flows, you have a good bike.

You have to look at why you want to "upgrade". Stripperella, and I'm sure many others here, put mega-miles and tour on their sporties. When we went to the Gap, her sporty was better than my long & low Deuce through the Dragon.

On the other hand, I look at driving a customized Deuce versus a sporty the same way Robert Duvall explained his actions to Sean Penn in "Colours"

"A Poppa Bull & a Son Bull were watching the herd. Hey Dad! Let's run down there, and screw a cow, the son says. No son, says the Poppa Bull - we're going to walk down, and f**k them all."

I'd say you have the best of both worlds.

Cannon

 

I rode a 94 Sportster 883 (became a 1200 somewhere along the way) untill my 08 Night Train purchase about a month ago (Do I get an award for riding the same Sporty for 14 years?).It is a different feel but a good different if you know what I mean. The center of gravity is lower than the Sporty and I think it handles just fine. It takes a little more lean to get through the twisties, but you will get a feel for it pretty quickly.

As far as pipes, I viewed a ton of pictures and went to my local bike night to see some in person. I ended up with V&H BSS. They are pretty common, but I really like how they look on the Train. They sound great to me and that's what really matters. As stated above they have a great idle sound and also when you get on it a bit. Cruising at 65 they are a little "soft" but that's OK with me.

I said to myself when I purchased the bike that I would leave it stock for a season and than do the upgrades. It didn't work out that way, as I had to do a few things...

Stock about a month ago



...As of last weekend (the "football" is going next)


Good Luck and be safe...

Jim