Hey all, I'm about to lemon out my VW Eos (Love the car indescribably, but the dealers are incompetent) and since there is not another car on the market I want, I'm finally going to get a Harley.

I am already enrolled in a MFS course (start in two weeks, yay!) and my Dad has ridden a bike his entire life, so I get the risks. I have not owned a bike because of practicality reasons. Now though I am lucky enough that the sportster can be my primary transportation, with my SUV for winters and taking family, friends and dogs places.

I drive a lot of miles and live in the mountains of So Cal. so I want something the handles well and rides smooth. Also since I am a brand new rider and haven't ridden anything 2 wheeled since I was about 8 (turning 35 next month), I don't want too powerful of a bike, but I do need enough power to go uphill and move around at 5500+ feet of elevation. I'll be going up and down the grapevine 2-5 times a week.

So here are my questions,

How does the 883 ride over long distances? I assume it is stable at highway speeds.

How does it handle on twisty roads? S-curves? I'm not looking to race, but I don't want to have old ladies honking at me either.

Should I be looking at a Buell or some other less powerful/lighter bike, until I get some miles under my belt?

I think it's a good beginner bike, but since I will most likely put around 30-40,000 miles on in the first year (after tooling around the mountain getting comfy on her), will I out grow her and want something more powerful/better riding in a year or 2? Should I look at a 1200? A Nightster would rule!

Is it really, really, stupid of me to buy a new bike for my first bike? I figure I'll drop it, but that happens right?

How reliable are the sportsters, I know to keep the maintenance up, and I'll be replacing tires regularly, but the engines, transmissions are solid right?

Any mods to recommend for a long hauler (going to the bank is a 120 mile round trip, going to work is 250 miles), or just to make the bike ride smoother, handle better? I'll have about $14,000 to drop after paying the loan on the VW off, so I am very interested in mods and already have a long list from reading other threads!

That's it I guess, and thanks in advance for the help, I don't want to walk in to the dealer without any information. I'm already lusting after one so much I can't sleep, if I walk into the dealer I'm going to buy the thing. So I want to make sure it will work for me. Right now I'm not interested in anything else (other than a Night Train, a Night Rod, or a Tri-Glide, but no way I want one of them as a first bike!), I want a Harley like I wanted to get laid as a high school freshman! (Hope that doesn't offend, I just couldn't think of anything else that has ever consumed my being like this!)

 

As has been said people used to tour on 250's. make sure the bike fits you. You will know when you sit on it.if you are worried about droping it buy a slightly used one and put more in the mods. then trade later. I bought mine used and it runs just as good as my friends new ones and you dont have to go through the break in..(as a first time harley rider I am sure you will want to be in the throttle). There are plenty of deals out there to be had. BE PATIENT! I have a tendancy to rush my purchases and I got greedy and bought a honda because i just wanted to ride and right after that I found a sportster for the same price. I waited this time and the deal found me and I have what I want.

 

You should be fine. I think you'll want a more comfortable seat. All the Harley stock seats suck! I've put over 50,000 miles on my 883 in less than 3 years. I don't have a second thought about throwing a leg over and taking off on a 300 mile or longer trip. Even traveling alone, which I usually do.

It will handle well in the curves. The only real issue I have with the 883 on the interstate is the gearing. At 80 mph, the engine is turning a lot of RPM's. In that regard, the 1200 would be better. But the 883 will sit out there and run 80 mph all day if you want. It will be fine in the mountains also. I ride in the Smoky Mountains fairly often. I notice a slight power loss at around 4,500 feet, but it's not significant. My bike is carb, so it's not tuned for peek performance at elevations above 4,500 feet. But, I've had it has high as 6,000 feet. And with the Fuel Injection on the IRON, you shouldn't have that problem.

 

I had a 883 and became very bored with it. I have a 1200 now, as a second bike. With the kind of funds that are available to you, you could buy an "experienced" Sportster to ride for fun, tinker with and polish, and another bike that does everything you want better. You could ride the Daily Driver all week, racking up the miles. And you will drop it or bump into something.

 

why would you think a 900cc bike would not have enough power?

do you know that most of the plastic japanese sport bikes on the road that you see in the canyons are barely 600?

ok so the sportster isnt as quick as a sportbike but 900cc is WAY more than you will ever really NEED, that is not the question

a really nice ride is an older sporty, think between '91 to 2003, they are set up taller and allow for a LOT more cornering ability, trust me my 88 with 13 inch rear shocks leans as far as my ducati in the mountains. also they weigh less, handle better, you can pick one up for VERY cheap, and they use the EXACT same engine as the new models, which happens to be a 100,000 mile engine. all you do is change the oil and adjust the chain and your set.

i put 1k a week on my bike, and since your in the area i can help you out with any maintenace you might need


btw where are you in socal? im near the azusa mountains but i only drive thru them for fun. i assume your somewhere on the other side?

 

I'd recommend only spending about $7-8K of that $14K on getting a used scoot that already has the Stage 1 and other add-ons....& Pocket the rest. There's to many good deals out there to pass up right now with the buy back program and the economy, sporty or BT. As for the 883 VS 1200 VS 1340.....ALL bikes will only do what you tell it to do through YOUR throttle hand/wrist or by your braking. And actually, sporties can ease out of the hole as slow as a BT or they can blow the BT out of the hole just as easily. What's your sizes, height & weight, and do you plan 2-up riding alot? That may factor into more than anything. My buddy got his first street bike ever just lastyear and nobody would have recommended a sporty for him & his girl.....He's ~6'3" & ~300 lbs +, and his girl is 6' 1-2" and ?(160-IDK). As for the dependability of sporties, the engines & tranny's are very reliable.

 

Hi CephasM,
I'm in the same newbie boat as you. I have the course coming up in 2 weeks and I already bought the nightster after riding on my friends 1100 cc old metric cruiser. I chose the nightster because I have been in love with it for 2 years now but couldnt get in a class last year cuz they were booked. I bought it a month ago cuz I wanted to take advantage of there ride free for a year program just incase I feel alitle cramped from riding long. Then I could trade up to the crossbones. But so far I love the nightster. it takes a while getting used to the slow riding but I'm sure the course will help us both out.
As far as the reason I bought brand new as my first bike. I didnt want to drop any money into a bike I new I would grow out of in 3 months anyway. I knew I wanted to nightster so I bought it.
As far as the dropping the bike goes. everyone drops the bike. I dropped my friends bike and almost ate it on the nightster. Thats why I bought an engine guard and just practice practice practice

 

The 883 will do everything you need. However SportyPig's right about the gearing...if you plan on doing a lot of high speed freeway riding, you may want the 1200 and if you're a big guy or going to be doing a lot of 2up riding, then maybe the 1200. But for me, my 883 hasn't let me down yet and I plan on keeping her around for a long, long time.

If you do decide to get a new one, I believe the Ride for Free trade in deal ends at the end of March.

 

I have a 2008 XL883C and it will haul my 6'1 170lbs all over the place with out any problems. This is the 1st bike I bought in 15 years so like you I'm starting all over again. Buy what you want and enjoy it.

 

good idea to start right by attending the MSF course. I'm sure you know your commute route very well but PLEASE be careful carving those canyons on a bike as a newbie. When I was a newbie, I still remember how OH SHAT happened too quickly when I was faced with a "blind" decreasing radius turn on a 2-lane road, cager on the opposite lane and a long drop on the other. Ride safe.

P.S. I purposely bought a used bike as my first (a Kawasaki EX 500...which I dropped less than 5 minytes after I paid for it). After a few months, I bought a Honda CBR1000 as my commute bike.