Well, I'm a soon to be owner of an 08 883L. I've already got the 1200 conversion lined up, and will probably be adopting some parts from the Nightster on to the 883 when it comes in. I've been a sportbike guy since about 91, but figured it was about time to give that up and grab a piece of American History to plant my butt on. Figured the Sporty was the best starting point for me since I'm a H-D virgin and all. I guess coming from sportbikes I'm used to a little wider rear tire than what the Sporty comes with stock, so I was wondering what is the widest tire that can be thrown on there? I saw a site where a guy went with an 18 x 5.5" wheel and got a 180 on the rear, but it didn't say if he had to modify anything to get it to fit or not. Anyway, hope I don't get flogged too bad for being a former crotch-rocketeer and I look forward to getting my first H-D and learning as much as possible.

 

Captain,
Welcome to the Forum.
The 180 rear tire would require some mods to work. You can use a Metz ME160 without any mods (have it on my '05 1200 Custom) they are slightly wider than the stock dunlop 150

 

First off, Welcome.

I won't flame ya cause you were a crotch-rocketeer...[&:]...My question is...Why you only doing the 1200 kit and not the 1250 kit? I may flame you for that since your already tearing into the motor. Atleast, I see you're smart enough to save several thousand dollars in getting the 883 model and pushing the engine out to the 1200 or more for less $$$than buying the 1200 outright. As faras the tire goes, I can't get more thanstock on '00....You might want to check outa wide tire kit if that's the route youwant to go. Just type in Sportster Wide Tire Kit on the web, and you'll get plenty ofresponses.

 

First, Welcome and Congratulations!

To say, "...Figured the Sporty was the best starting point for me since I'm a H-D virgin and all..."sadly shows how little homework you've done. The Sportster has the highest center of gravity and seat heightin the Harley line up, and is not as easy or as comfortable to ride as some of the big twins. I know you're getting a "Low", but the COG issue remains the same.

If you're not into some laid back cruising, and really want to get some "oomph" out of your bike, (i.e., going to a 1200 or 1250 right away) you'll be sorry you left the sport bike category for the Sportster.

It might sound like I'm a sportbike guy, but I'm not. I love my XL1200R and bought it knowing full well what it is - and is not. I hope you have the same experience, because that, and not speed, is what Harleys are all about.

Good luck!

 

Good point about the high COG, but the main issue for me is the overall weight of the bike, and the sportster is about as heavy as I want to go for my "maiden voyage." Like I said in my first post, I already have it arranged to have the 1200 conversion done before I ever take the keys to the bike, and after doing a little more homework I may just go for the 1250 kit from the jump. Believe me, I know full well the night and day difference from jumping off my K7 Gixxer 1000 to any type of cruiser. I have a very close friend who was severely injured while we were out riding together last September courtesy of a woman failing to yield, or even bother to look, signal, or slow down before turning left right in front of us. That was sort of my epiphany moment where I decided it was getting to a point in time in my life where it was time to slow down a bit. The irony of that accident is that we were going about 40 mph in a 55 zone, go figure. I'm definitely not buying the H-D in hopes of magically transforming it into the same 160 wheel HP machine my gixxer is. I'm buying it because I'm ready to buy it, and ready to experience another aspect of riding.

I know after I've gotten comfortable with the twin and get some miles under my belt on a much heavier bike than I currently have, I'll definitely be ready to step up to something bigger, but I figured straight out of the box I want to take baby steps. Kinda the same principle that lead me to buying an EX500 as my first bike instead of the Gixxer 1100 back in the early 90's, and fter having been away from bikes for a few years lead me to the Gixxer 600 instead of immediately buying the 1000. I'm all about progression the right way, and don't mind baby steps or going through 3 or 4 bikes along the way.

 

Welcome to forum.
And remember, some of us buy Sporty's and thennever buy anything else

 

If you think you are gonna trade up you should look at the dynaglide lineup. Nice bikes, good handling, good power and only about a 100 or so extra lbs...
You dont wanna waste your money do ya? Also if your gonna trade up you should not get an 883 and put a kit in it you should get a
1200, better trade value. The kit wont help you a bit when u sell the 883 used. It will still have 883 book value and some folks wont like it that the engine is modded.

Those aremy answers. Welcome to the forum and goodluck with whatever you choose, shoot us some pics when you get setttled in.

 

If you are going to make all those mods then why not look at the other lines, as x2lee has said, the Dyna's have a lot to offer and are not that much more if you are going to make those changes. Comfort and COG is definetly different.That does not mean that the Sportster is not a good choice, just different. The 1200 upfront choice is better as stated and even more the Dynas will hold a better value alltogether.

Welcome to the forum, either way you will happy with a Harley!

 

Welcome, Captain, I'm 40 something, raced cars most of my life ( stock cars, dirt late models), always had access to bikes but never had my own, then after several bikes of Japanese origin, I wound up with a 69 XLH. Not like my Kawi I had been riding, or my RM 250, but a rebel all of it's own. Didn't have it long, in fact had to sell all the bike's and not ride for a year. Last May, talked the wife into going to the Stealer and looking at a Nightster, course they let me test one out, well 5 day's went by ( I swear, that was the longest 5 day's of my life, it was like christmas)of frantic figuring out the best place to get the money from, and finally I went and picked my orange and black beauty up.Having a Harley is truly an experiance. And having the opportunity to make it mine, and hot rod it is so cool. Put 4500 mileson it between June and October, and am chomping at the bit to goNOW. There's a lot of things out there faster, but not much cooler than having a hog in thegarage. Always wondered how I would satisfy my need for speed after I stopped racing and I have found it. Good luck with your ride, hope it's as much fun as mine.[sm=biker.gif]

 

Welcome from northeast Georgia.