New to the Forum. Been lurking for a couple days.
Ok, so I started riding in 2001. First bike was Honda Shadow 750 ACE. Loved the bike at first, very comfortable, easy to ride and handle, however very lacking in the power department but I feel a good first bike. I sold it back in 2005 and have been bikeless since.
Finally got the boss (my wife) back in the groove and she's onboard with my purchase of a new bike. Gave me a $12K limit with our budget so that immediately drops me to the Sportster category if I want a Harley.

For just a little more background, I'm a 27 year old Navy Lieutenant, married with two little girls, who grew up in Wyoming just across the border from SD and Sturgis. I've been there many many times and my entire family rides Harley's. Not buying a Harley is almost a Sin in this family. I've always loved the sound, and look but this is my first chance to buy one. However I also had no qualms with my Honda so right now I'm basically looking at a Kawasaki Vulcan 900 Custom or maybe someting a litter bigger on the metric side but I also freakin love the Sportster 1200N. The only time I ever rode a Harley was my brother-in-laws 2002 1200 Custom and other than the extra power, my Honda was much more comfy and easier to ride. The center of gravity just seemed kinda weird on his.

Just want to know if it's worth the extra couple grand and if anyone has any comments/suggestions or regrets about thier 1200N or have previoulsy owned Metrics and now own a Harley?

 

With 12K I would buy a nice used Sportster with under 5k miles.

A few things about SPortsters. After 03 they went to a rubber mounted engine to reduse vibration. In 07 they went to EFI, so no more carbs.

I have an 03 and the vibration does not bother me one bit. Plus I love the simplicity of a carb.

Anyways, buying used for a 1-3 year old bike you will spend about $5k-$8k depending unpon the year, mileage and condition.

This would give you $4k or more left over to customize the way you want.

And trust me, no matter how much you love your new bike SOMETHING will suck about it in less that 24 hours. AT least it did for me. In my case it was the foot controls as I am 6'4".

So use that extra $4k for customing, insurance, training and final;ly a nice night on the town with your wife.


That way you will have a great bike that fits you personnaly.

And thank you for your service.

 

Welcome to the forum. I'm somewhat new myself, just a few months lurking.
Started riding 'way back when' with a Honda 450. Moved on to a Yamaha xs650. Still have that one (30+ years). Just this spring, bought a 96 Sportster. Stage 1 and mustang solo changed it quite a bit. Absolutely satisfied. Been riding demos at the HD dealers and bike weeks. Got a feel for some of the others. Softail would be nice and some are within your price limit. The deuce I rode at the dealer handled as well as or better than the sportster. I did not like the dynas. Just my 2 cents, but I think you'll be happier with the softail, more hp, more space for 2-up, comfy ride. If you can get to a dealer, try a demo ride. Much like a picture, worth a thousand words. Best wishes.

 

Keep your eyes out, you can get alot of used HD's with low miles, and already piped, saddlebagged, chromed etc....for $12,000.....hit alot of dealers, you have alot of options.

 

After reading your post I am assuming one thing: that you are mechanically minded.

One reason I bought a Sportster is cause it is so dang easy to work on. With a shop manual and some wrenches I can dop anything to it.

That is why buying a certain year or a new one didn't bothered me. Cause I knew I was gonna change stuff anyways.

When you buy newe, the value drops 25% as soon as you drive it off the lot.

Let someone else take that hit IMHO.

 

Here is mine with 11,000 total including bike and it's new. 9,020 off the floor.

[IMG]local://upfiles/32401/B058A619F1D443A7A5FAF1C6F873BD5E.jpg[/IMG]

 

The question for me would be what haven't I owned. I've done it all within the lasteighteen years. Honda ACE1100, Suzuki GSXR's, BMW 1150GSA ( Paris-Dakar style ), numerous Ninjas including theNina ZX10R ( the most insane hyper-bike ), Harley Heritage, Harley Ultra Classic, and most recently a Harley Nightster 9 which has been a blast ). I loved them all. Some more than others, but motorcycling is motorcycling. I've fooled myself into the wife's going to ride with alot so I got big comfort like the Classic. Well with two small children that rarely happens for me. I fooled myself into the idea that I was going to ride to the rockies with a tent, and find alot of fireroads hence the BMW. Once again, children and the job. Renting a full-dresser works well for me when I take a vacation with the wifey. For the kind of riding that I get to do, which is short stints on weekday nights and maybe 200 miles on a weekend day, the sportster works nice. I would love a Softail Custom, but it's hard justifying another 9K into a toy as a sole provider of four. If you go the cruiser route, look into a Suzuki C90T. This is like a roadking classic that I had negotiated at 11.3K OTD earlier this year. You should be able to get a Vulcan 900 OTD for low 7's. There is alot of room for negotiating, especially on metrics. A good rule of thumb is MSRP -10% for an OTD price. With Harley they are pretty much all MSRP. The area that Harley dealerships will vary are as to what they charge for freight and setup. Harley can also throw in store gift certificates to get your business over another dealership.Just bounce the dealerships off of each other, and research your local CycleTrader. Thus far I have no regrets on the 1200N. It is the cat's pajamas man. I was afraid it would be a little small at 6'210lbs., but you forget it is a 1200. The 1200R is a beauty also. If your wife is really going to come along often...., and make damn sure,....you'll want to go with a metric cruiser. Thanks for your service, and God Bless.

 

My 1200L was $10,500 tax title out the door. Payment is $180 a month.

 

Personally, I would check the used BT's. For $12K in the Fall you can get a lot of bike for your budget and don't have to settle for a Sportster if you had others in mind...

 

Wow, in my area, $12K will get ya a new 1200 with a couple of grand left over for upgrades. Well, after taxes, maybe $1,000 left over.