For me, when I bought the 05 XL1200C, it was the bike's essence...sleek, sporty, agile and a blast to ride. I did have a budget, moving from retired AF to new civ job, so there was a cost factor, but the overall intention was to ride two wheels and have a blast doing it...cheers!

 

I was gonna buy used until I found out no warranty ,but still I must of walked buy the denim iron about 10 times and always stopped and did a double take,just can't beat the look of this bike,performed pretty good to,glad I got it

 

Started on sportbikes, first a 95 Suzuki katana 600, then years later, upgraded to an04 Honda cbr600rr, then a 1000rr. Got tired of hating the ride so I looked for a sport cruiser and bought a vfr800. Kept it a bit but still wasn't completely happy. Sold it and bought a vstar 650 custom with 350 miles. The guy put cobra pipes on and giant apes. I took the apes off and put a set of drag bars on and was happy until I checked out a sportster.
Started shopping and found a blue/gray 05 883c with 2k miles. I practically gave away the vstar and bought the harley that day. Wish I'd kept it but sold it when my wife got pregnant. After a big she knew it bugged me, so she told me to pick another bike out. There were no other contenders besides a harley, so now I've got my 07 883r. I wish I had forward controls on it, and I wish I had a few other things, but I'm happy with it.

 

I had a VTX1300. If you like that bike you might want to look at a Dyna rather than a Sportster. You will find that the Sportster compared to the VTX1300 is a bit smaller and rides much rougher.

I traded my VTX1300 in on a full-out touring bike - a Kawasaki Voyager 1700.

Then I bought a 2012 Sportster Custom for a "back to basics" bike after I got tired of wrangling an 850+ pound touring bike for short rides.

I ride the Sporster more than the Touring bike.. the touring bike is my backup in case I want a nice ride, listen to the radio, and take a lot of stuff with me.

If you can only have one bike, and you are going to give up the VTX1300, and expect to do 2-up riding, and some minor touring then you need to seriously consider if the Sportster is the right bike for you.

This issue is that the VTX1300 has set some expectations for you. Ride your VTX1300 to the Harley dealer and test ride a Sporty. Then you will see the difference for sure.

Be prepared for "sticker shock" at the Harley dealer. A new Dyna (Fat Bob, Wide Glide, etc ) with "nothing' cost almost as much as my full out Kawasaki Voyager

 

these were my worries exactly I love to head into the mountains with the wife on the back enjoy the scenery I was thinking Softtail of some variety I love the look of Dyna's but they seem to me to be more a solo ride type of bike I would love to get into a street or road glide but I think that may be a bit out of reach atm

 

you might want to look for a larger bike, even if it's a few years older, don't cheap out, spend the extra couple thousand and get the real deal. Harley will let you test drive any bike you want so take advantage of that. ofcourse they do that because as soon as you ride one they know your going to want it.