Isn't the 883 a starter bike? If you get anything smaller you mightas well be walking.

 

Wrong.

It would be watered down Bull ****.

Fu©k Marketing!

Marketing is the Devil!

HD should go back to just making cool bikes.

 

I personally think if you're on two wheels, it doesn't matter what brand it is. Extremely reliable, well-built, and good riding bikes with decent value are available from Japan. I don't diss any bike. And the Metricsare REAL bikes....it's just that they aren't REAL INSPIRATIONAL! I'll ride with you regardless ofwhat you ride, becausewhen I had my Honda 750 most of the guys I rode with were riding Harleys! Didn't matter to them, and I appreciate it. It's just that Harley for me frees the mind and soul better than a metric.There's just nothing like a 45 degree v-twin to set the spirit free. And the firing order of the 45 degree v-twin sounds like no other manufacturer.

As to the "overpriced" thoughts of your two metric buddies? Sportsters are $10K. So are comparable metrics. Metric OEM accessory parts are on par, if not more expensive than HD! Metric service intervals at the dealer are 4,000 miles apart. HD is 5,000 miles apart. Service prices are about the same. The Sportster handles better (IMO) than comparable metrics, a lot of that due to it's shorter wheelbase. The Sportster is MORE FUN to ride!

Teek

 

Hey Thump, I had a 1962 Pacer in Hi Fi red, it was 175cc and had 11 hp. Before thatI owned about 3 different 165s and a 250 Indian Brave before them. I just gave the Hi Fi redaerosol touch up spray paintcan to a friend in Alexandria a couple of years ago. My Dad had it in his safe all these years. I bought it at Heaton's Harley-Davidson in Wellsville, Ohio in 1962.

 

The best starter Harley is the Savage 650. To me, it is the bike that they would love to build, but can't make at a competitive price. That said,a used Blast is probably the best used buy around.

Anyway, the Harley and Davidson familities often recommend other makes to the new riders in the family.It justmakes a Harley something toaspire to owning.

 

IMO, the Blast is a turd. They named it correctly "Be Last". It may make a fine bike for parking lot training, but that is about it. I have a buddy that just had to buy one for his wife when they first came outbecause it had the Buell name on it. It was way to small and way too underpowered for the average sized adult.

 

It's called a "DYNA".

[8D]

Settle down, I make a joke there. (Gotta point for the Dyna guys or they never see it)

 

My wife's first bike was /is an 883 Custom..... I rode it before I put her on it and felt it would be a very easy bike to learn on. The bike feels lighter than it is and the 883 is plenty docile for beginning riders but they will not outgrow it too quickly and can hop on the highway and run 75 mph easily. So in my opinion the 883 is Harley's "starter bike".

 

You know why the Chevy Corvette is the "elitest" sports car?


Well, take a guess...

Unlike Mustangs and Camaros (back in the day)... there is no V-6 entry level Corvette.
Harley would never consider such as it would take away from the Harley image if any Joe Blow could scrape together $4500 and buy a brand new Harley.

My $.02

 

Most don't know that in the '70's while owned by AMF Harley developed just such a bike.
It was decided they could not compete in the middleweight bike class marketplace and the project was scrapped.
I'm not taling about the Nova water cooled V-4 project here ,this was a small V-twin aircooled bike and some say that Yamaha stole the design when they came out with the Virago.
This engine sure looks very much like a Virago with it's offset crank and overhead cams but Harley's prototype was developed in the mid '70's long before the Virago was built.