Aviationrookie
Get your self the Harley-Davidson. After you do... You''ll know what I mean

 

My wife has owned the V Star, rode it several times while a dependable machine, will never bring the smiles and pleasure the Sporty delivers .. Nuff Said ...

 

I've got an 1100 Yamaha Classic in the stable along side an 883 Sportster (Girlfriends). I have ridden the Yamaha a lot and the Sportster a couple of times short distance. Since owning the two Harleys that I own, I hardly ever ride the yamaha. The 1100 is a good bike but is somewhat underpowered. It needs a 6th gear as highway cruising puts the rpms way too high. If you can swing it, I would look for a nice used HD bagger of some sort.
Chief

 

I can certainly appreciate your love of Harley Davidson. All Harley's are the finest of motorcycles...including the Sportster family.

you say; "...long rides "trips"".
For this type of riding...I would suggest you look at an older ( but larger ) Harley.

all the best with this

 

I guess I will be the dissenting opinion for a bit...or at least the Devil's Advocate. The V-Star 1100 is a very capabale bike...and it has the feel of a much larger bike. Having ridden that, a Suzuki C50, a VTX 1300, and my 1200 Sportster - the Sportster is the last of the group I would take on a long ride...sorry to say. The V-Star is a well made bike, solid performance and a good dealer network. And if you are not a tinkerer, the Yamaha is cheaper to own when it comes to Oil changes and accessories if you have dealer work done. As was mentioned - sometimes it does fee like it needs a sixth gear. You may want to expand your search a bit as well. The Honda VTX 1300's are about the same price used. They are air cooled and not fuel injected - but they do not want for power that is to be sure. The Yamaha Road Stars are also a great bike - maybe even on a quality level similar to a Harley - and they are powerful, customizeable, and still pretty comparable price wise used. Both bikes are a little easier to set up for touring as well - as you have more bike to work with.

Now...that being said - I dont have any of those bikes anymore - just the Harley. There IS a noticieable difference in quality that goes with the difference in price. I realized that for every longer trip I was taking...I was taking 50 short trips to the store or bike night, etc. There IS NO CRUISER MORE FUN for that type of trip than a Sportster - plain and simple. I just wasnt willing to sacrifice the fun on the riding I do most to have a little more comfort on the rides I do every so often.

 

Rick, last year I was basically in your shoes. I was in the market for a bike, although not my first bike, and I was looking at the sporty and the VStar. I kept going back and forth until I sat down with the wife and she asked me what I really wanted. It was the HD so I just started looking until I found one that I liked and that was in my budget and I haven't regreted it one minute since.

Like others have said you are asking on an HD forum so you are going to get HD replys but if that is truely what you want then go with the Sporty and enjoy it!

 

Two trains of thoughts here.

I have owned both, I had a Yamaha VStar, Honda Sabre, and Honda VTX1800.
They where all good bikes. If money is an issue, get the most bike for the $
You can get a nice VTX1800 new for $8,000 to $9,000. Because of this used ones go for $5,000 to $7,000 depending on what accessories they have.
My neighbor bought his wife a VStar 650 two years ago, has 300 miles on it and because she doesn't ride it he is selling it. $4,000 and it's brand new.
There are bargains.

or

Get a low end Sportster 883, you'll be cool and part of the Harley Clan.
But for long rides your butt will be sore.


I don't care what you ride, I'd be proud to ride with you. But don't be pressed into getting a NAME BRAND bike.

I don't bash metrics, they are some good bikes out there for those on a budget.


I bought my Harley once money wasn't an issue. And I could afford more.

 

go buy a 1200C it will make you happy....

 

The Japanese bikes are built on a different paradigm than either the non-Japanese metrics or Harleys. They are built to a price point and are decorated with chrome-plated plastic. I owned a Vulcan 1500 for 10,000 miles and, while the bike performed ok (not great, just ok), it felt and looked cheap. Metric people were always laughing at Harleys, saying bolts would loosen and the owners were forever picking stuff up off the road. That's nonesense.

I'm on my third Harley and I absolutely love it. I'm 6'2", 235 and I've got this gorgeous tricked-out Sportster. It's powerful, fast, smooth and durable. NO Japanese bike could stand up to it in a side-by-side comparison. I also own three BMWs and can compare across an even broader spectrum. Both the Harley and the BMWs are the very best of their respective breeds. There are a lot of BMW guys who also own Harleys, but not so many who also own Japanese...and with good reason.

Curt

 

well I am not going to steer you towards a sporty just because. BUT I will be honest, a sporty will be hard on your azz on long rides but 2 or 3 hrs will be fine. so if it is comfort, I would suggest something bigger, maybe a dyna or the Vstar. Now here is the thing, when you buy that Vstar, as soon as you pull it off the lot, you have lost about $2000 in depreciation, Harleys do not do that! There is a reason for that!