Will I regret a Sportster? Yes...Yes YOU will.

Not me... I Love my Sportie!
It fits the bill perfectly in just about every way for how I like to ride.
I love where the 10'' mini apes place my hands...I love the forward controls...I love the appearance of the peanut tank...it has great throttle response and sounds GREAT...it's fairly nimble...and I fell in love with the 72's appearance...TO ME this bike just feels right in every way.
I Love it ...because... it's what I wanted!

But You...it doesn't appear to be what you truly WANT.
You are settling...
In fact, before you've even ridden one (any model), you've already made a lengthy list of everything that will need to change.
Therefore...I think you'll regret it.
Look away!
The very fact that you're asking the question is in itself your answer.


Oh yeah...Congrats on the move by the way!
Sounds like an awesome opportunity.

 

I bought my Iron because I liked the look of it. I knew nothing about Harleys but considered the bigger ones to be of no use to me as I commute in London rush hour traffic and i've done it on big BMWs etc and, for me, big bikes are a PITA on my commute.

On the ride home from the dealers I thought the brakes were frightening, the seat uncomfortable, the mid pegs made my hips ache and the vibes numbed my hands. Upgraded the brakes and seat, put forwards on it and got used to the vibes.

I didn't buy a Harley for performance and I don't carry passengers, so far its worked out pretty well for me and i'm approaching 2 years of ownership. I lane split through London and chuck it about like a moped. Its a surprisingly agile bike despite its weight. Maybe if I rode bigger, more open roads I might have gone for a different Harley, but I don't so I didn't.

As others have said, take a few test rides. Good luck.

 

I'm agonizing over my own bike purchase sometime this spring, and I'm torn between an Iron 883 and a Scout Sixty. I'm getting back into riding this spring, and looking at having a 10K budget available (fitting some gear into that 10K as well as much as possible). Both bikes fit the bill on that count, and I love the styling on both. I've owned a Sportser wayyy back in the day and it tried to assassinate my kidneys, but I know they're much more smooth now (relatively speaking). I'm not overly thrilled with the feet forward on the Scout, but that can be corrected to a certain extent. In looking at the two, it seems you just get 'more bike' with the Scout- but on the flip side accessories are expensive and the aftermarket has HD covered six ways from Tuesday.

A secondary concern is that this may be the only bike I buy- I doubt my finances will allow a second one anytime soon, if at all. So naturally I want the most bang for my low-rent bucks.

Given those two choices, is there any real 'downside' to either bike or any distinct advantage of one over the other (other than the few I've already mentioned)? I know the stock answer is 'it's up to you' but it really may come down to flipping a coin, it's that close a choice so far.

 

you can find a low to no mile sporty 1200 for around 4-5k. Keep the rest. The scout is nice but, the quality is not on par with hd. But, you get more hp with the scout. There aren't to many floating around 2nd hand. If you are looking at the scout, you may want consider the octane or a street bob. All are in your price range.

 

I recommend you copy and paste that question into a new thread. This one is kind of drawn out and most people will skim over it as a "not this thread bickering again" and you may not get the answer you are looking for. I also agree that the scout is more bike for the dollar. However, I feel the scout is just too big and it looks rather cumbersome to me. If i could get my hands on one like they use for holligan racing I would take it in a heart beat. So for my preference I wouldnt get one, however, the sportster is really the last harley I see myself buying if I dont end up with one after it because I'm more a fan of guzzi's and triumphs anymore. But those are way off the mark for what youre looking at.

 

I might be of assistance with this one, seems though I'm from Sydney. I have a streetbob and a substantially modified Forty Eight.

Ok first things first, where will you be living.

If it's Sydney or Melbourne the Sporty makes sense, in Sydney we have some of the worst traffic you can imagine, Lane Splitting/Filtering is legal here (=<30kph) so it makes whizzing past slow/stationary cars much quicker to get anywhere. The sportster get's the win for City/urban riding.

When you get out into the country, the Dyna takes it's own here. The superior ride/comfort and range will trump the sporty everytime.

Our roads are terrible, particularly in regional areas. Potholes that will swallow a bike are not unusual particularly after heavy rain and truck access. A sporty just takes a beating in these situations.

Registration, Insurance and Purchace cost of a Harley in Aus is stupidly expensive. Let alone having 2 of the things.

Because yours is a USA model, the Speedo will need to be converted to Kph and the headlight and possibly indicators will need to change.

Australians have a weird thing where a USA import bike is worth substantially less money than an Aus delivered bike, when they are the exact same thing. Keep that in mind.

In summary, both make sense here, depending on where you live and the type of riding you like to do. For General Commuting the sporty is the best. For heading out for a long ride in the country or along the coast the dyna is much better.

Hope that helps.

 

LOL Actually a Triumph Bonneville was on my short list, but- for new ones at least- they're creeping out of my budget except for the smallest ones. And, not that it makes much difference to most, but there are three HD and one Indian shop within spitting distance and the nearest Triumph shop is 150+ miles away.

But yeah, another thread might be more productive

 

have you ridden one? The base model is no smaller than the other trims of the same motor size but substantially cheaper. It's liquid cooled and has a 270degree crank so it has decent torque and actually can keep up with a stock 1200 Sportster (but it is by no means faster) to an extent. But being the dealership is that far I agree, it is a great bike though. All I would get is the base model anyway. Too much of want to change to waste money on the add one when I could do them the way I want for less.

 

I don't think you get it. People need to quit comparing old baggers to the 15 plus models. They are nothing alike. My 15 RGS out handles my 06 Sporty in any situation except pushing it around with the engine turned off. My work buddy drives a 07 RG and wonders how i can drive hands off if i want to which is death wish for that year/ model according to him. Reality check? The Sporty is not a knee dragger and neither is the RGS. I bought my Sportster when i decided to get back into riding and after 7 years of daily driving it never lived up to what i wanted in a bike. I made an 883 scream. What do you think i can do with a 1690cc HO . I love my couchster that can handle like my Sporty . I have no problems with the Sportster but i do know its limitations.

 

sportsters are prolly the most reliable harley made!! to me a 2013 new dyna i tested was not as good as my 06 XL1200L with better + taller suspension + a 6 piston caliper up front, i wasn't going to fork out $$$$ for a new bike + have to FIX what i did on the sporty. reading on forums lets you know what other riders $$$ for bikes + parts + fuel, + its brutal down under mate, but said to be a beautiful area depending where you are. my 06 sporty got as much as 60 mpg before the corn pee went into use!!!