i have done long distances in arizona heat on an 883 sporty...... no prob!

 

Every time i go to the dealer i spend most my time checking out new Sportster's. It's the only bike style HD makes that i think looks cool. I mean there is no better looking bike then a Nightster or 48, none. Just put a small shield on it to save your arms a bit. Don't waste your money on a HD windshield. go Slipstream or maybe Windvest. Sportsters can do anything a bagger can for around 20 thousand dollars or more less. Ride safe.

 

Or the 60's when it was like straddling a 4x4 covered with a towel.

That being said, I love my sundowner and it loves my old a$$. I'm 56 and ride the hell out of it.

 

82 Ironhead. Longest ride for me was last yr. 1400 miles in 48 hrs. Had a 22 hr layover in middle of trip so actually only about 26 hrs on the road. Stopped about every 150 miles for a 15 min stretch. No probs but definatly want different places for ur feet and stock seat sux.

 

I don't get why this keeps coming up. And the next topic . ( this is a girls bike )... When you saw the bike that YOU liked , You didn't make a post about " How many people think I (key word) should buy this bike. If there is a moped that YOU like Get it... Get extra fuel cans , Saddle bags, GPS, and it will go the long haul to.... To me my sportster is a money pit. New seat,new suspension, pipes ,air cleaner,saddle bags,tuner, backrest............The list goes on and on. And will probably change tomorrow . The money I have spent I probably could have had a Big twin , BUT I wanted a sportster.... Ride what you like and enjoy.. But stay friends with the big twins with there blue tooth gps, so when you get lost they can get you back to were you know and then GO LIKE HELL ...

 

For the long hauls I would recommend getting saddlebags or a sissy bar (or both) to haul your stuff. As suggested, you could change the stock seat.

I have done some longer (~500-700 mile) hauls with backpack and stock seat and it was AWFUL. I enjoyed the saddle time but when it was all over I was sore as heck.

 

I just did a 3600 mile solo run to Tyler, Texas from New Providence, New Jersey. The bike I ride, and love is a 1996 Sportster 1200 Evo. I did change the seat out to a Corbin of some sort, added a taller sissy bar to hold a couple of bags, put a luggage rack on, and added a smallish windshield to keep the pressure off my chest. Other than that the bike is stock. Oh I have a tender wire and a 12v 3-plug outlet and an old Tom-Tom GPS for navigation so I have a few extras, but nothing too fancy.
On the way down I went straight down the east coast all the way to Tallahassee Fla. then turned north to Shreveport LA. I took that route because I had a bunch of friends along the way I wanted to visit. I was able to stay with them all but one night, and the reason I stopped that day at all was I got rained on in Mobile, AL and was just tired of being wet. I got a motel room, dried out, got some sleep and took off again for Shreveport, and Barksdale AFB and the home of my buddy Doug the bomber pilot.
On the way down I say my first group of Hells Angels and what they say about the way they ride is true; "100 miles an hour front wheel to rear wheel in a group tight as a banker's ***". About 30 seconds after they passed me I tried to catch up with them a little bit and at 80 they were still leaving me behind, and my bike can run. Respect to the HAs.
In Tyler I saw a few Cossacks, one of the local east Texas three patch clubs respect.
I got a shirt at the shop in Tyler, oh, and I lost a clutch pivot in Shreveport and the shop there. The parts guy on duty got the pin and came out in the parking lot and put it in for me right away. Thanks for the help guys. They appreciated the distance me an my sporty had come.
I washed the bugs off in Tyler, stayed a few days with my sister, swam in Gladewater lake, ate some barbeque, catfish, and Mexican Food and started north.

The question was asked about how tired I was and if I got uncomfortable. I guess the answer is relative. It's like anything you do for a long time. There are moments when you would like to be doing something else like walking around in the air-con or something, but you are on a trip. I spent years traveling around the world in first class and I think being cooped up in an airplane is uncomfortable. I also spent a summer training at Ft. Benning and I think four days on a Sportster is way better than four days humping around in the heat with all that crap tied to my back. At the end of the trip, even after a 750 mile day I was tired but still up for dinner, a swim and hangin out, and the next day I was all ready to go again.
The great thing about a bike trip is I am able to stop and get gas every two hours or so, and take a break any time I want to. If I want a hot dog at a truck stop I can get one, if I want a really good meal I can get that too, if I want to camp out I go to KOA, and if I want a bed I get a motel with a pool and cable. The luxury is the road has everything I could ever need or want. I saw beautiful country every hour, I met cool people getting gas or a soda or a T-shirt or something to eat. There was never a moment I couldn't do whatever I wanted. It was awesome and I could turn around this week and do it again if I had the time.

I love Harley shops, and there seems to be one along the interstate every hundred miles or so. I didn't go in every one because I was running out of room in my bags for T-shirts. Actually my cargo net was starting to look pretty fat from the bags I kept stuffing under it. But I stopped at a few and next time I will at some others.

My personal pointers. Get a seat and handle bars you really like, and ride your bike for a few hundred miles in a single day to see what you might change. I think it would be kind of sucky to get 200 miles into a 1500 mile 4day and really want something else, bad. Get that sorted before you commit to a really long ride.
Also, don't feel like you have to ride farther than you are comfortable with in a single day. On this long trip I had tent, sleeping bag and Thermo-Rest so I could camp if I wanted or needed to. I had a small gas backpacker's stove and a canteen cup to cook in and make tea or coffee so I was self sufficient. If god forbid I had a breakdown I had shelter food and water with me.
I also carry extra fuel in my bags. I do this by carrying a stove that uses unleaded gasoline. The fuel is carried in a small metal bottle that can be pressurized by the stove. You get this at REI or EMS or another quality outfitter. I did run out once, my bike has no fuel gauge. It was nice to whip out my extra fuel and be on my way to the station for a refill instead of humping and hitching and trying to borrow a gas can.

I think the best wisdom I found here was the statement that a sporty 883 or 1200 has plenty of power for any distance. The difference is you are not going to gain speed uphill on an 883 loaded down with camping gear and two full sized riders. But if you don't mind taking your time you can go as far as you want on any size Harley.
Any trip by motorcycle should have a little solid planning, how far to travel, where to stop, camp or motel and decaf or regular. If you do that and are a real biker you will see the world with the best view imaginable and have a real adventure story to tell along the way and every time you get home.
See you all at the Hog Rendezvous this weekend in New York.
UBoat

 

Sounds like a great trip.

I am doing my first road trip next week on my Sportster. 900 mile round trip.

 

I have an 08 XL1200R and I do longish trips regularly. I'm leaving Thursday on a trip, about 2,000 miles over about 5 days. The longest one day trip was Sacramento, CA to Denver in 22 hrs.
Sundowner seat, Progressive shock.
It's a great bike, light enough for fun on the twisties, yet heavy enough to be solid in the wind.

I think of getting a Dyna from time to time, but it alway comes back to why. The only place it would probably handle better would be the interstate, but I'm not on the interstate very much, I find it much more fun to ride the smaller roads. I'm going from Denver to Zion, about 1,000 miles the way I have it mapped out, and only about 10 miles will be on the interstate. I'm fine with 300-500 mile days. Much more and I'm be sore the next day, which isn't good when doing a week long road trip.

 

Well said. Sounds like it was a blast!