Hello to all. I'm a new rider, never rode a bike before,unless I was pedaling. I had hip replacement about 8 months ago, I feel perfect. In the past few months I've been wanting to purchase a 1200N, but the stockmid controls put alot of pressure on the knees and hips, I figured I'd just have the dealer install forward controls raising the final price to about $12K, but yesterday my wife and I went into Harley to take delivery on her 2007 883L when a salesman asked me to get on a 1200C with the forward controls already installed and see how comfortable I was, it was a perfect fit for price10K and feel. I'm in a dilemma. Do I go with the Nightster which initially caught my eye (But unsure if the add- ons of Forward controls will be as comfy)or go with the 1200C which I know will be comfortable? [sm=boohoo.gif]


Quick question, does anyone know if and how I'll be comfortable riding those Buell bikes in The Rider's Edge course. Thanks in Advance.

 

If ya ain't comfy.. ya ain't gonna ride. Safety first, comfort second, style third. Good luck. Instead on the Riders Edge, many community colleges have courses taught by MSF personnel. They typically have Honda's, or Suzuki's to ride. They may be more comfy.

 

Hey DC- no advice from me on which bike. heck, if i always made the right decision, i would be able to afford one of each!!!

i can tell you, the Buell... wellll,,, ummmm.... the girlfriend has one and gotta tell ya, not the most comfy bike on the block, especially if you do not care for mid controls. to ease the pain, try to get a bike with the standard seat, not the "lowered" one. you'll know what i mean when ya see'em. the low seat makes ya feel like a parade shriner as well as is uncomfy as he!! unless you measure in at 3'6" tall.

best of luck with your decision and the class!!!

 

DC-

Well I am 6'4 and have a nightster with forward controls. This is pretty comfy for me, the only thing I would say is that the nightster being lowered it does offer a rough ride sometimes when the pavement is crappy, so not sure how that afffects a new hip. Also, you can always put highway bars/pegs on the bike and really stretch your legs, not sure if that looks good on a nightster but that is an option.

 

For 2K difference I'd definitely go with the Custom. And I love the Nightsters, but there is no way I'd pay 2K more like it would cost in the deal they're giving you.

The other thing is, when the Nightster came out, it was new and different, but now I'm seeing quite a few of them. Soon the novelty will wear off, and while you still will have a cool bike, so will a whole lot of other people. I also think you have a lot more options in aftermarket stuff for the Custom (for the time being).

 

Check if they will let you ride them both, that way you can form your own opinion. Like ultraultra said, many comm. collages have courses and they do use metric bikes, way more comfy. the price is better too. unless the dealer is giving you the course for buying the bike.

 

You never said you liked the look of the 1200C. You got to like the look if your gonna like the bike.

 

When i took the MSF this spring the metrics they used totally sucked, the seats were nightmares and your on them for 8 hours over the period of two days, i was sore the day after, the metrics front brake was wayyyyyyy grabby and tough to learn on, but then again they were beat to crap, when i sat on a blast at my harley dealer they werent exactly the cats pajamas when it came to comfort, the blasts have mids and the metric 250cc harley wannabes at the MSF course had forwards but the bikes themselves are so small that the forwards dont feel like forwards in the least. Though i do miss that easy pull clutch they all had, my sportsters is buried in concrete... Once you get on your sportster you'll have a load more power and a ton more comfort especially if you go for the 1200cbut if i were you i'd go with the nightster , especially with all the new gloss black parts that came out (including black forward controls) for 2008 and it may have more resale value if you ever decide to give it up...

 

I'm a firm believer in getting the bike you want, no matter what the cost, even if you have to save money for a while before the initial purchase.

If not you will end getting something that will be great until the 'new bike thrill' wears off, and then you will probably regret the purchase.

Unlike back in the old days, you very seldom will get your back back when you sell or trade a Harley, so you will end up taking a financial hit.

In the long run it's better to get your 'dream bike', even if it takes longer to have the finances available to make the purchase.

Only you can decide which bike will made you happy.

 

I've been riding a long time and I've never met anybody on a 1200 who wishes it was smaller.