Here's a girl's bike for ya.

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I didn't want to go into specifics but...


Sorry if I struck a nerve but I was just speaking from personal experiance.For six years I rode a Jap 650 that cost less and will run circles around an 883 not to mention my over priced, over weight big twin.I quickly got to a point with my dyna where I was bored with the performance and wasn't going to get any more out of it without spending thousands.It's for sale,I'll no doubt lose thousands but if had bought a 1200R I would have had more horse power and less weight right out of the box for less money.For what I spent on my Bob I could have had a piped and jetted Sporty with cams and high flow heads.So why did I buy the Bob in the first place? At 45 I thought I was over the whole horsepower/speed/ performance thing. I was wrong, it was mistake, a very expensive mistake. I was just trying to help keep someone from making the same one.The throttle turns both ways you dont have to use all the power all the time but if you're using most of it all the time you'll get tired of it pretty quick.

 

hell get the 883 then get the 1200 conversion kit done to it later, you get the best of both worlds. I have an 883 to 1200 conversion bike and my MC mechanic says they pack more of a punch then the stock 1200's do. My insurance charges me for the 883 price $150 a year for full coverage, yet it is marked so that if its stolen or if i get in an accident they will reimburse me for the price of an 883 and the price it will cost for the dealer to give it the 1200 conversion kit, pipes and all. They did that because they couldnt figure out how to mark this bike with that conversion, or at least my insurance agent didnt. I tried to explain it to him, he said how many CC's is it? I told him 1200, he said yeah but what is the model? i said an 883, he said okay i give up well charge you for an 883CC's with the conversion kit added if the bike has to be replaced. At this point, im almost (knock on wood) hoping someone steals it cause id get reimbursed for the blue book of a 2001 883, with an additional 2K for the conversion kit. With that dough i can go out and buy a newer year. But then again, my insurance rates would be so jacked up by that time i woudnt be able to ride it.

 

Ditto to Saltlick. He took the words from my mouth.

 

Ok well after having read some of the postst on here I am more convinced then before that you should go with the 1200.Insurance on my 1200 is only 175.00 a year so thats only 25.00 savings over the 883.And if you have to use premium gas then thats about .20 a gallon difference so .60 to .80 per fillup.So if you get an 883 and then want a 1200 its going to cost at least 800.00 to do that.Thats a lot of years of insurance and premium gas.And you may have to use premium after the upgrade anyway.Not trying to put down 883 but I just dont see the reason for going with it and then as you can see most people who have them go with the upgrade anyway.
And my 1200 will stay with anything short of a crotch rocket in the twisties also.

 

I've never ridden the 883 but my daughter loves hers...I have the 1200...and I love it!!!
I never have a problem keeping up and we do a lot of highway riding..I keep it up around 65-70.I like 80 plus...but it's against the law...!!

I have to keep it in my mind that speed limits are not just suggestions!!!!

 

Get whatever you want or whatever you can afford. I have an 883 and am planning on eventually building a 100hp 1250 out of it. What is really important to you. Do you need all that extra chrome. The only thing that I liked about the 1200 was the heads and that it has hotter cams. I just did not see the need to spend the extra 2k for that. You can build a pretty badass motor for 2k that would eat a factory 1200 alive for the same price. This is a topic that will get beat to dealth because no one that has a 1200 is going to tell you not to get a 1200. So basically get what you fell comfortable buying or what you can afford to buy.

 

I have a '06 883 Custom with V&H staightshots, SE intake, SE race ignition with SE plug wires. I have outrun my buddies 1200 several times and I am very pleased with the performance. Jetted carb with 190 and 48 jets, with larger emulsion tube. Gas mileage was lost but huge gain in performance. I may do the conversion down the line, but for now I don't see the need.

 

The 883 vs 1200 is a real tough decision.

Buy a Low Rider and be done with it!!!!

LOL

Sammi

 

I have a couple friends with the 883's, and they are nice bikes. They have ridden with some of us on Poker Runs, and don't have any problems running at high speeds on the open road.

Even so, I don't feel like one bit guilty in recommending a 1200, and it's not a put down to those that have 883's.

I'm just a 'high performance' type of person when it comes to vehicles, including Harley's, muscle cars and trucks, and have always opted for the highest performance options I could get on a vehicle; L88's, Hemi's, LT1's, LS1's, etc.. If that type of opinion makes me a 'jerk', well, so be it. LoL...

The 1200 is an excellent base for making easy horsepower, even if you don't use it. I can probably count on one hand the number of times I've opened the throttle 'wide open' on my modified 1200C, but when you do you had better hang on.

It just depends on what you are happy with when it comes to performance.