Heads up; just spent the day @ Harley test ride @ k.c. mo. assy plant. Rode the XR1200 'bout 5 times.Then read some of the "stuff" on this forum. It Ain't a 'Busa, Kwacker crotch grabber, or Yammyhammer. It ain't t. f.b. i. t.w.( the fastest bike in the world) What it IS, is F.O.F. ( Flat out Fun) .It's comfortable. It's quick.It's nimble.IT's Harley!!!! (no Vrod/P.
orsche)
Yes there is no good reason for it to weigh nearly 600#, but in motion, you can't feel a gram of that,lest it FALLS on you from a 3rd floor window. It's nimble and BIG FUN TO RIDE, and you don't need a chiropractor when you're finished!! Sportys have been getting porky since '01. The cure for this is Steve Storz. His Street Tracker Sportster mods cut weight down to 474#!!
In the Midwest issue of Full Throttle magazine (Aug. '09) , a Supertrapp exhaust and a Power Commander saved 21# and produced 93 h.p. to the ground.
The stocker, w/ some 77 r.w.h.p. is Tons of Fun! Just think what a few choice mods and a strict diet would do to the needle of your fun-meter!!!!
So qwicher-bichen and RIDE the Lil flikker!! ( Who leaves a Harley bone-stock anyways??) Dis bike rocks.... and with money and desire it can REALLY wail!!! Give the Motor Co. some cred. Sure we couldn't get it @ first, (probably because of some of the whinin',er fault finding, and apple to oranges comparisons, like some of these comments posted here. RIDE THE THING . You don't like it, then choose sumpthin' else. Or FIX IT!!!
I've always been wild for the mad men who attempted to convert REAL XR's to the street. ( unlimited resources of every type). Yes.... Harley has tried the XLCR ( no-go showboat IMHO) and the XR1000 ( OH Yeah!, but w/ problems) And now they offer us the XR1200. Take it or leave it... or F.I.Y.S.( Fix It YourSelf).
I'm going back to the Demo ride tomorrow and ride it like I stole it. It's the Real Deal and Fun on Wheels IMHO. Opinions vary, of course.

 

I don't care about the reviews there opinion is never mine . The Xr1200 is the coolest looking harley to come out in a long time i want one bad ..

 

meh xr.

i get excited about the uly though. theres a smart bike. i'd trade my nightster on one in a heartbeat.

 

we stayed at a hotel in Sturgis with a XR1200 rider from the east-----new Ohlins shocks, Progressive fork springs, aftermarket seat,Italian SS exhaust, and over 14,000 mi. and counting, traded in a BMW for the Sporty and likes the "modified" ride and rideability-----constant 7/800 miles a day. Only complaint was air cleaner under tank

 

What is it?

 

Everyday rider? Ask my buddy who has a new ZX-14. He can ride it about 30 minutes before he has to get off for awhile. It is scary fast but NOT even close to an "everyday rider".

 

The infamous "My buddy/sister/bible school teacher/dog/a moose I saw, has one"
Gimme a break.. I own one, and you know absolutely nothing about them.
If you knew the bike, you'd know it was designed as a 'hyper-tourer". Just like the Busa. Their clips are on top of the bars, as opposed to being underneath, the seat-to-peg clearance is more than most sportbikes, it's got an instant and average mpg gauge, and two trips.. It's designed to be ridden long distances. I've got a bad back, and for me it's more comfortable than my XR, because the XR puts my spine in a more vertical plane, cramming my vertebrae together, while the 14 leans it forward a tad, spreading the vertebrae apart.
You weren't aware of the 14 or the Busa... No shame in that. Admit it to yourself and move on. Making statements like you did just makes you come across as ignorant.

 

In terms of where the XR falls into the scheme of things... it looks like the 1100 Monster is a fair comparison, at least according to motorcycle.com. I read this article a while back and seems appropriate here.

http://www.motorcycle.com/shoot-outs...iew-87928.html

 

Then there's something wrong with his body. I can ride a fricken R1 longer than that without a problem. The ZX-14 is not a race replica, it's a sport tourer (granted on the sporty side of the spectrum). Magazines have toured Europe on that bike without a problem.

 

I don't believe you would classify either the Busa or ZX-14 a sport-tourer. Even the companies website doesn't classify them as ST. It's certainly not a Concours though they share many of the same components. I can't make any claim as to how comfortable the bikes are as I have never ridden one but I'm just saying I wouldn't call the sport tourers.