Harleys are not the best choice for commuting, Honda's are. Smoother, better MPG, more reliable even.
Harley sells a style of riding and there is no one-fits-all-needs bike. Harley went into sports bike market and failed. Many look at the night rod as an embarrassment.
So, you want to commute? There is Honda NC700X, or a VStar.
I agree with OddJack, the Harley brand is about cool, not fast, not clean, not cheap, reliability is in the eye of the beholder, my 2008 1200 has 170K KM or about 105,000 miles on it, I've done allot, the neighbors think I'm nuts, always working on something or other (the list is too long to note herein) but I live the ride.
I commute different than most, am self-embarrassed/ployed and the drive is always different but I would not change it, it works for me mostly.
You gotta take it as it comes, do your homework, its not a Subaru that you can drive to 400,000 miles its a bike, a real bike, a cool bike, a bike with attitude, did I mention bike?
So get out of the rut, ride, cruse, enjoy, learn how to wrench, its a bike not a tricycle!!!!
Was a great bike and i still regret selling it. no problems out of it that i didn't cause (or have to repair due to the PO dropping/crashing the bike and not disclosing it). Shaft drive is incredibly reliable. oddly, there are honda idiots that convert to belt/chain(some honda cruisers are chain stock) for looks. insane.
again. if you are worried sell the sporty now before you add anymore miles and get a metric. you'll have more than enough from the sale to cover a metric and then some, hell maybe 2 or 3 w/ a few years of insurance if you shop right. i'd go ride one first though. there is a distinct difference in overall feel.
Until 3 weeks ago I had a '15 Sportster Iron. Doing 70 miles commute a day, it ended up having to go in for repairs 9 times between May and December.
It had a fault with the kickstand kill switch which would mean the bike would think the kickstand was out (it wasn't) at low revs and switch the engine off. Brake light switch for the front brake went on two separate occasions leaving the brake lights always on, the green indicator lights under the speedo went twice, the headlight bulb blew and the wire connecting the charging system to the battery severed due to being crushed under the engine during assembly causing my bike to brick in the middle of a very busy road in rush hour in London.
The dealership agreed to give me a new one after I had to threaten to drag them through the courts for selling my a bike that wasn't fit for purpose. So far my new '16 iron hasn't had any problems for the first 1000 miles. However I think if I start getting issues with this one it will definitely be my last Harley!
Put a stage1 on that thing and make sure you work all the bugs out... Search the forums for little things that go wrong. I put LED's better suspension and better seat. Check your motor mounts it's a common cause for vibes. Sports can be customized as a commuter but there are a few things to fix.
Those are the same that refers to metric bikes as "Japs" "yellow" bikes. That think the sportster is a girl bike and not a real harley because it's not big, obnoxiously loud. Yeah. Those guys.
04-01-2016, 03:34 AM
