This COVID-19 is gnarly, when all this subsides I need to spring loose. its time for some hard summer riding, perhaps a road trip from southern california to the redwoods in humboldt county (1400 miles plus!)

This last winter I completed over 25k on my 2018 Iron 883. Right around January of this new year my clutch went out due to the infamous grenade plate. I spent the remainder of winter and beginnings of spring getting the clutch kit replaced with an extra plate, new sparkplugs, new set of tires, wheel bearings and brake pads. I think its time I ride a little farther or longer if possible. I have been itching to test the limits of my sportster and wonder what the general consensus is.

Taking into consideration that my bike has been "broken in" quite a bit if I do say so myself, my recent maintenance and replacements do I stand a good chance of not beating the crap out of my little sportster? I'm considering another 5k for the summer. By then my bike will be pushing 30k! At what point is it safe to really consider the mileage on your sportster and the bikes longevity?

**I hope everyone is doing well in these tough times!

 

30K on a Sportster, that's just getting broken in. Just do the scheduled maintenance and ride.

One of the riders around here (cacomly) does Iron Butt's with his Sportster, IIRC he had over 200,000 miles on his last one before the engine went. And the only reason the engine died was because the little cap seal from an oil bottle fell into his oil tank and plugged an oil line starving the engine of oil and causing it's early demise. Last report he had over 260,000 miles on the bike.

 

it is all about the maintenance. Stay on top of that, and she will outlast you and still be going strong. I will be riding my '91 tomorrow when the sun comes out and I will NOT be riding timidly, I will beating the snot out of her as I have for almost 30 years, and she keep coming back for more. Great bikes, think less, ride more. Good luck.

 

I rode my Sportster on Sunday...

 

All very inspiring haha! I won't feel so guilty if I want to stay out a little longer on my bike then. I guess I've been babying her a little bit

 

You've got the biggest weakness of the Sporty taken care of (clutch rivets). Like has been said, do the maintenance, make sure you're comfortable (see The Comfort Triangle Link ) and ride til you can't anymore!

Here's a LINK to a 2000+ mile, 7 day trip I took on my Sporty. Lots of photos.


photo taken right before leaving-





Here's a video from another 1,000 mile trip on the Sporty-

 

I am just now looking at all this, this is motivating as heck. I'm about to embark on a nice 3k+ trip. I will upload some photos from the journey! Thanks for the replies and insights.

 

Well said.

 

Based on my recent experience of touring in the UK , one thing I would advise you to do is spray a little water dispersant around your electrical connectors especially around the tank area . I rode for half a day in torrential rain and parked my bike up for another day in the rain . As a result I developed an electrical fault that I could have well done without . I eventually traced it to water in a connector that was turning the clocks on with the key out and consequently draining the battery. So although the big stuff like crank and pistons might go on for ever , it's the little things like a Deutsch connector that can spoil the trip .

 

A couple years ago, my riding buddies and I took a trip from NC to the 4 corners. We all have touring bikes and would normally take them on a trip like this, but we decided to take our Sporties on this trip. It was a 10-day trip and we had a blast. I agree, comfort is the key, and we all have highway pegs mounted where the forward controls would go.

I use to live in SoCal, and the coast route or the back side along 395 would be a nice ride. Safe ride!