Hey all, i'm a new rider as far as motorcycles go, ridden dirt bikes a few times but thats the extent of my bike experience.
Ive settled on a Harley Sportster for a few reasons.
1)Small and light: Being a new rider, I want to get my wheels under me and learn to handle a bike proper. I don't want to be learning on a 700 lb bike
2) Re-sale value on a Harley is better then a foreign bike. In a few years when I go to trade it off on a bigger bike, I won't take as big of a loss.
3) Price of a new bike vs used. Used sportsters here are only couple grand less, with no warranty and couple thousand miles. Id rather buy new and pay extra to get what I want.

Now for the meat and potatoes of my post. Ive narrowed my choices down to 2 models. The 883 Iron and the Forty Eight. Ive been doing a pile of reading about both bikes and understand the main differences between them (fuel tank size, motor size, tire size, seat etc). Now the real purpose of this bike is as I stated earlier to get my wheels under me. I won't be riding it on massive road trips (Couple hours one way at max) Ive looked for used bikes and have found nothing that really turned my crank for their price, I walked into my local HD Dealer and they happened to have both bikes sitting there.(Because of my license status as Lerner I haven't been able to ride them yet) Now here is the dilemma. The 883 Iron is a 2017 model, brand new. Blow out price of $9000 plus a $1200 in-store credit (would be used for riding gear). The 48 is a 2018 Model and $5000 more (14,000 plus $1200 in-store credit) Now the price of the 883 is what is appealing it to me, however everyone I talk to who has ridden bikes are saying the same thing, give it a year and you'll want more power. So my question is, is the 883 enough power for a new rider? Or would a guy be better to fork out the extra coin, go with a 1200 and learn on that? My biggest fear is buying too small off the bat as I dont wanna be trading it off in 8 months.

I'm not a small guy, but not big either. 5'10" and 200 pounds. I am a speed freak as I own snowmobiles and know the power of machines like this which is why I dont wanna go big off the hop, but dont wanna undercut myself.

If you had to choose between the 2 as a new rider, which one would you choose, and why?

 

Sportsters ARE 700 pound bikes. I am quite happy with an 03 883R at 6'3" and 210 lbs. However the 03's were taller off the ground due to larger diameter tires, taller suspension and also had forward controls standard. It will cruise 70 mph on the interstate all day long.

Some folks start with Sportsters and stay with them their entire riding life. I got the 883R a couple years back from a guy who got too old to ride anymore and all he ever had was Sportsters. Others find that they want more power after awhile. Some people like a Prius and some like a Demon.

Possibly you might want to look at a midsize like the Street Rod and even a midsize metric cruiser.

 

Welcome to the forum! There is a lot of great information here.

This is just my opinion, of course, but I think you'll be fine with the 1200 if you take the rider safety course (assuming they have that in Canada).
But, I also think you should look around more once you get your license. I bought my Sportster after 30 years away from riding. Now that I've had it a couple years I wish I'd bought something else. It's fun and easy to ride but even with aftermarket suspension parts it rides like a brick, which (for me) takes a lot of fun away. In addition, I had to spend a load of money for a seat and rack (not cheap) to make it comfortable and useful.

There are lots of other brands that are competitive in terms of price, weight and fun factor that have much better suspensions, seats and accommodations for carrying stuff as standard equipment. It's great to look at resale but in the end you should be focused on something that is comfortable for you and makes you smile. If it doesn't do those then you won't ride it and it won't fulfill the purpose for having it.

So I suggest riding as many different bikes as possible before you make your decision to buy and definitely take a riding course. You will not regret doing either. :-)

 

Several points, I have a 2016 883 Iron, it is not a light bike . Mine weighs 560 Lbs . Not a beginner bike, very high center of gravity and it is a pig to handle . My bike for a newbe would be the Harley Softail Slim . I will now change my position and say , I believe the Twin Can engines are a defective engine design . The Sporsters have the Evolution engine that is near bullet proof . Best engine Harley ever made . So that being said , buy the Sporster Low model .

 

"Sportsters ARE 700 pound bikes."

Uh, no, they aren't. They're around 200 pounds or so lighter than softails, which are around 700 pounds and up. Do a little research, don't give a new guy bad info.

 

So in my province its basically mandatory to take a weekend motorcycle course to obtain your license, there are ways around it but they charge you out the a** for your license ($1500 over the 3 year term) so I will be taking that for sure.

A fire brother of mine has a 2013 ST Slim for sale actually, but thats a big bike, I went and looked at it just to compare weight. I don't think i'm ready for a bike of that size yet. Thats a pile of power with the 103 and I feel like I would get to comfortable on it, to quick and end up hurting myself.

Another fire brother just got his license this year too, bought a 1980 some Suzuki Savage 650, thought it was the bomb until he rode it for 2 days and now wants something bigger, with more power and little more weight. And I really don't wanna be that guy. My city I live in is small (11,000 people) and i'm in the prairies. Its flat, and open, and windier then heck. Most days average 25 MPH winds, yesterday was 40MPH winds so I don't wanna go to small and get blown around on the highway when out for a sunday cruise.

I am leaning towards the 883 for the simple fact of the price, and from what Ive read, down the road you can do the 1200 conversion, not to mention the aftermarket options are huge. I have sat on both at the dealer as well, and found the 883 to be more comfy overall and I didn't find it that heavy or even unbalanced, although my buddies 13 ST Slim was balanced quite nice too.

 

I have an "add" to my post above. Given the points about the seat, suspension and rack, if you do end up buying a Sportster, strongly consider getting one that someone's already done the upgrades to the seat and suspension. That way you won't be out of pocket for that stuff and buying used you don't take the depreciation hit either. But I do strongly recommend that you ride them before you buy, and pay attention to things like seat comfort and suspension compliance and control placement. It's really easy to overlook those things when you're in the ecstasy of being on a bike for the first time.

Do ride the 1200. For me (30 years since riding) it was not too much - the performance feels a lot like my very first bike, which was a 450 Honda. It's definitely a far, far cry from the 1100 Yamaha I last rode.

 

I would strongly advise against getting an 883. You'll end up like most people. In a week or so, you'll want more power and curse yourself for getting a bike that's too small. More power is not only more fun, it can help you out of tight situations.

 

If the price is right I would look into your buddy's slim. I would hate to see you wanting a bigger bike with more power shortly after your sportster purchase. If you are set on a sportster, HD is offering some trade in plan within a year that I would look into. I don't know if it is being offered in your neck of the woods. Welcome and good luck.

Phil

 

Neither, prices of used HD's is down in the West big time, lots of Big Twins to choose from. I'd look into a used Dyna for a first bike, with some add ons, stage one with pipe, tuner, bags, shield etc....they have a low center of gravity and you won't want to sell it and move up quite as fast as an XL.