I'm thinkin of buying my wife a Sporty. Which one would you recommened,the 883 or the 1200. She's new to riding but the size of the bike is not the concern. Save money on the 883 or go with my gut and get a 1200. How much difference is there in power? Any help would be great.

 

I own both a 2007 XL883 and a 2007 XL1200L Low. On the initial price difference between the XL883 and the XL1200, if she is new to riding there is a chance that she will stop riding or not ride as much as you would like her to and then you might take a bigger financial hit if you decide to sell the bike. It would seem to be easier to sell a stock motorcycle that wasn't converted, then to sell a 883cc to 1200cc converted motorcycle.

There is a noticeable power difference between the XL883 and the XL1200 and the gearing is different too so highway riding is more comfortable and less of a strain on the rider with the bigger engine because the RPMs are lower on the bigger bike at the same speed on a XL883.

If you go with the XL883 you can always change the pulley size from what comes stock on the XL883 to what comes stock on the XL1200 for about $70.00 or so and that will help to make highway riding more comfortable as far as Sportsters go. The XL883 will be less to insure and they also get a little better gas mileage too. The weight difference is not too much between the two bikes.

I have crossed the continent from CA to VA and back on a XL883 that I changed the pulley on and as far as power goes I have only needed to downshift a few times over the many years that I have been riding as at the time I was going up a large, steep grade and facing a strong headwind at the same time while trying to maintain 80 MPH loaded up with my luggage. Kind of a perfect storm so to speak. Outside of those kinds of scenarios, (Steep grades, strong headwinds) power may never be an issue with her or her riding style. In any case, good luck with your decision and ride safe out there.

 

What kind of rideing does she intend to do? Since she's new to it, I would say get a used bike, that way when she drops it, she won't be as pissed, and if she don't like it, you ain't out as big a pile of $$.
The 883 is cheaper, The 1200 is stronger.
Personally, I went with an 883 because I knew at some point, I was going to dip into the motor. The $$ saved on the inital purchase was used to make a 1200 that would eat a stock 1200, and then some.

 

I had an 883 before I bought my now 1200 Custom, although I was not new to riding when the 883 was purchased, it was my first Harley. The 883 was a blast to ride, easier than the 1200, it did seem to run out of power when I was on the freeways, going back and forth to work or just cruising, I thought the 883 was the better bike, but I like to get on the freeways alot and just go, so the 1200 was better for that, anyway good luck and let us know what you decide...

 

Definitely ask what type of riding she will be interested in doing...I bought a used 883R thinking I was just going to cruise around town and shorty trips; I love it for that. I have now done the 1200 conversion and taking it on 3-4 hour jaunts is no issue either (although 2 hours was my longest ride while it was still an 883). Either way, I still say buy used there are plenty of good deals out there with people looking to get "bigger" bikes. I paid $4k for a 3 year old bike with all the maintenance records.

 

XLCR4GM, are you saying that you changed the pulley without doing an 883 to 122 conversion and that worked well for you? What kind of difference did you notice on the highway? Thanks.

 

Yes. Exactly! I did NOT do the 1200 conversion yet. I just changed out the stock HD 2007 XL883 28 Tooth pulley and replaced it with a HD 30 Tooth pulley and I run it that way now. It is MUCH more comfortable on the highway now and I tend to ride at around about 80 MPH or so most of the time and my RPMs are at around about 4,000 RPMs or so. The engine just loves 4,000 RPM. I go for hours and hours at 4,000 RPM and I generally do 500 + miles a day when I go off on the weekends.

 

The 1200's are fast for what they are, but i'm also a sport bike rider so the 1200 feels on the sloers side to me, but still a fast bike. Like was said if she likes to ride alot and gets use to it she might not be happy with the 883 for all that long. I say the 1200 is ok for her as long as she does not get a heavy right hand at first. The 1200s cost more, but have better resale as well. I know I would never by a bike that was converted from 883-1200, but that's just me.

 

whats so bad about the conversion? everyone seems to talk like its a crap thing to do

 

You buy her an 883 simple. If she loves riding and feels like she needs more power you can convert it to a 1200 for less money than buying a 1200 originally.
chances are she will be more than happy with an 883cc motorcycle