I know that the Sportsters got the rubber engine mount around 2004. My question is, would a pre 2004 (1996 specifically) really chatter my teeth as i've read other places? Or is it nearly as smooth as a sporty with the newer mount?

 

I have an '02 (solid mount as you stated). I've ridden some newer balanced 88 Softails and an Ultra Classic. The vibration on the sporty is noticeable in comparison. That being said, it's not all that bad. You can slightly feel it at idle/low RPMs and when you hit a certain spot around 65/70mph on the highways. On occasion the vib's in the handlebars can get my fingers a little numb, especially on the colder days.

Overall, it's not gonna shake your nerves and rattle your brain as you may have heard. The new rubber mounts are quite an improvement, though, and they make highway riding a heck of a lot more comfortable.

 

Thanks for the advice. That was pretty well written.

So basically the rubber mount is nice, but not really necessary if the price diff is around 3 thousand bucks.

 

In my personal opinion, I would not spend 3k more for a rubber mount on an otherwise equal bike. If you're going to do that you might was well move up to fuel injection and so on. A lot of very new bikes can be had very cheap these days. It's all about preference. Take a test ride on one and see what you think. What I may consider mild vibration may be enough to ruin your ride, you never know.

Also, I've heard the low-speed vibes are worse on a 1200 vs. an 883, but at highway speed the 1200 is a lot smoother based on the lower gear ratio.

 

I have an 02 XL1200c with drag pipes and at around 70 mph there is noticeable vibration in the handlebars. The vibration gets better above 75 mph. Things I do to help keep my hands from feeling numb when riding at those speeds are wearing padded gloves, and try not gripping the bars so tight. Other than that none of my teeth haven fallen out yet from the bike.

 

At age 69.6 the vibes make my arthritic back feel better. We ride a 96 1200C. Have ordered a 30t final drive gear and new eurathane bushings for handel bars. Grab on grips also help as well as the stock cushy foot peg rubbers.