Alright Sportster fanatics...

I'm looking at buying a used Sportster for a build with my teenage Son in mind (haven't decided which direction yet). I hate to admit it, but I really never was interested in Sportsters and so I never kept up with them all that much.

I would like to know which year is a more popular choice? Any dos or don'ts with the various years? The amount I'm willing to spend will be dependant on which year I decide to go with.

Thanks for your help guys!

Twi$t

 

Kind of depends on what direction you're intending to go with the build. For example if you're looking to hardtail it a solid mount evo sporty would be a better starting point than a rubbermount EFI sporty.

 

Thanks. I do not want a hardtail build nor do I want EFI. The build will be relatively inexpensive and not too drastic. I want him to kinda choose the direction we go. Plus, I want my Son to work for & earn the parts we need for the build and get dirty doing the build. He'll appreciate it more.

 

Sound's like you want the '04-'06 sporty. That way you have a carbed bike with a rubber mounted engine for a smoother ride.

 

You can pick up a nice solid mount for less than $3000. A rubber mount will probably be $4000. Both are great bikes. I find most rubber mount snobs have never ridden a solid mount bike, so take any advice with a grain of salt.

 

I have a solid mount evo I'd rather ride while getting a massage then ride and fall asleep. Bikes are suppose to be hard core if you cant handle it get a scooter.

 

The rubber-mounts ('04 up) don't have a trap door for the tranny. Sportster's transmissions are about bullet proof, but it means splitting the cases if you want to work on it. An '04 is the only year rubber mount that has a 3/4" rear axle. A 4.5 glln tank (vs. 3.3 "peanut" tank) is factory on the rubber mount Custom models.
For a rigid mount, '99 has a better bearing somewhere in the motor. I don't remember which bearing. I just remember reading about it - somewhere. In '02, the XL line got the smaller bullet turn signals.
Enjoy the build.

 

Thanks for all the input so far...!

 

Don't fall for that junk talk about real Sportsters and putting up with pain. The first Sportster I ever rode was a late seventies model and it was the most uncomfortable machine I had ever thrown a leg over...so much so it was thirty years later before I even considered another. Myself, I would go for a '04 - up bike.

 

I would say 06. Not because that is the year model I have. It was the last year before EFI, and there was a change in the cut of the tranny gears between 05 and 06. That change appears to have been a good idea.