hey i bought the nightster because it beat the thruxton in the quarter mile, while the thruxton beat the nightster in the twisties.

i figure the vtwin just makes better torque, and thats where the fun is.

the xr is neat, but i dunno. i like it but what the hell is flat-track racing anyway?

anyway... i have a nightster.

i inverted my bars because i like the look, and the aggressive riding stance is way more fun. the center of g is lower. on long trips i lay on my tank bag and ride all day. i think the nightster bars are way too wide for modified suspension (keep reading to understand why) but clip-ons, or drags might be ok. i'm looking at bars from the 883 iron. i think they'd be perfect (inverted of course).

i put road king shocks on my nightster cause they were dirt cheap and raised the rear a great deal. plus theyre air-adjusteable. the dampening is good enough as far as i'm concerned.

raising the rear but keeping the short front-end gives two notable points:
the front suspension is garbage and will scare the crap out of you on uneven surfaces.
the lower front end/ higher rear end equate to less rake which means more responsive steering and a higher lean angle.

when i wrecked last year i was running behind a 750 commando and an rd350. both riders were excellent. i kept up with them untill i ran out of lean angle. not bad for "bar hopper".

i have no engine mods by the way and i was running on stock hd dunlops. the commando was running very skinny/sticky avons. that bike was faaaaast in the curves. in straightaways he had nothing. i owned his ***. same for the rd, but in the curves he was the messiah.

so, if you really want to have a lot of fun, pick up a nightster and do this:

get taller shocks. ghetto-fabulous road king air shocks are a good cheap alternative.
toss the front suspension. you can probably find someone willing to trade for that lowered front-end. get a normal set of forks and slide them down into the trees to lower the front. if you can find fork tubes from a 1200S you'll be pimping hardcore (they are adjustable cartridge type and hard to come by)
forkbrace? i'm not convinced these things work.
invert the bars or get some clipons. anything to get yourself hunkered down on that thing.
rear sets are a must. i have rear passenger pegs but really want rear seats.
flames, whitewalls, dice. all this stuff is necessary to hot-rodding, as any serious racer knows

 

I currently own a ’09 XR1200 and a ’07 XL1200L and a ’06 XB12R Firebolt. The XL1200L has more Torque than the XR1200 but the XR1200 has more Horsepower than the XL1200L. Honestly, to me, it seems like the brakes on the XR1200 are much better than the brakes on my Buell and I noticed the other day at the local California Harley Dealer that the ’09 Buells have a different caliper installed on them and this may be the reason why. The XR1200 is very stable at high speed and accelerates on a par with the Buell. The suspension is firm but inspires confidence in turns. On Sunday I went up to the Rock Store up in Malibu CA and I was on the tail of a Ducati Monster. He was hanging off of the bike in the turns trying to scuff up his knee pads to show his buddies what a great rider he is and I was right behind him cursing along with little effort on my part. The XR1200 is a very fun bike to ride and with the rear sets and the wider Flat Track style handlebars, the turns are just a blast to go through. The weird thing to me is the lack of the air cleaner making me hang my right knee out to miss it. It doesn’t really feel like a normal Harley to me. It is more like one of my ’75 850 Nortons as I can tuck both of my knees into the frame as I rip around the corners. I have read some posts that wonder why there is about 10 horsepower less in the XR1200 than the XB12 Buells and what I have been told is that the XB12 Buells have a much larger air box to help out in this department and the XR1200 had to sacrifice the large air box for the style and the look of the bike. I do like the look of the 1200 Nightster, but why go through all of the expense of changing out the front end suspension and the rear suspension and the rear swingarm and the brakes and beef up the motor and all of the stuff that you would have to do to get it near where the XR1200 is at to start with? Adding up all of the upgrades to the price of the Nightster and it is way past what the XR1200 is currently selling for. Hey, you can even get it in Black if you want to, it’s cheaper that way. The suspension on the XR1200 was designed with the input from 9 time AMA Grand National Flat Track Champion Scott Parker who is one of the greatest riders of all time and who I think knows a little something about handling. Just throwing on some Ohlins in back and some cartridge emulators in front is not a tuned suspension. Well, in any case, this was my two cents. I hope that you like what you end up with. Just get out there in the wind and RIDE!!!

 

The Thruxton and 1200N have roughly the same horsepower but the N models poor lean angles are going to kill it in the twisties. It's also about 6 inches longer on the wheelbase side of things too. Go for the XR and tear it up....

 

Remember these wise words? The bike was designed to go under your *** and move at high speed. WTF does it matter how it looks?

Saddle up and enjoy that shiny speedometer!

 

I like Burnettes myself, but red heads are easy

 

Joe, you're absolutely right - I was a gnat's *** from buying one of the new Bonnies when I bought my '08. To be completely honest, I kinda prefer the Bonnie to the Sporty in terms of handling and styling...


They're both beautiful bikes with a very rich heritage - and they've both come a LONG way from where they started. The two bikes compliment each other, kind of like that yin-yang stuff. The road from the old Bonnies and XLs to the modern ones has been twisted and rough, but I, for one, am damned glad they're both here today to remind us where our bikes came from and what they're capable of.

Jupiter was a Triumph Tiger....


Not that it matters to anyone but me, three things sold the Sporty over the Bonnie in my mind. Belt vs chain drive, dealer support network / parts availability, and the warranty (7 year, unlimited mileage)

 

You would be happiest with the XR. Many consider it the best handling HD ever made. It will handle the twisties like a sport bike. The fastest stock sportster in the 1/4 mile and 125 mph top speed.

 

I'll take anything

 

But they sound like a moped! I had been sort of in love with the bonnies I saw on the interenet, then I was riding next to one, and all I heard was a faint whine... I just can't have that. I want SOMETHING out of the stock pipes.

Anyway OP, it sounds like the XR would be more right for you. You are more used to performance, so the XR will get you closer there. It looks good too.

 

If you are looking to hotdog and hang with you Tri running buddies than I think that you are better served with the XR. The nightster is a fine bike for cruising and such, but it isn't built for what you described as your riding style.