Sportster 883 - too small?

[progrmr]

I'm not buying for awhile yet - but am doing research because it's fun and I have the itch to buy again but want to go cash only when I buy...so researching, selling stuff on CL and saving

My first bike ('91) was a v-twin and I'm pretty sure I'm going the cruiser route this time around. I'm 5' 11" ~230lbs w/o gear. Would love to have a true harley, but in looking at them online it looks like a Sportster is probably too small.

Just wondering what the consensus is here...really don't want to go sit on anything in the dealership because I'll want to ride out lol! Any fairly big guys rocking an 883?

[MidgetTodd]

883 is a good beginner bike for a 16yo girl. No power No handling and Loud enough to drown out their annoying bitching and giddy giggling. IMHO

[Casper]

Honestly, you won't be happy with an 883. Maybe a 1200.

Looked at the Yamaha VStar? Not a Harley, but cheaper and compared to the Sportster, I think a better bang for the buck.

[Likwid]

I wouldn't get an 883 unless you had it bored out, but at that point you should just get a 1200 from the start

[Hoblick]

yeah 883 is to small..

get a 1200

or look into a Yamaha, Honda, Kawasaki you can get something 1000cc or bigger for the same price as an 883

[Artmageddon]

You don't want the 883. I looked at an Iron, and I'm smaller than you and the bike felt tiny unless you just plan on zipping around town. If you really want an HD, Check out some of the 1200 Customs with the larger tanks. It will fit you better, or look at a used Big Twin.

You can also find some new Honda VTX 1300's cheap. My dad has one, it is a great ride, very similliar to my Fat Boy. He bought a prior year model for around 7K I think.

[progrmr]

Yea - I've had my eyes on the VTX1300, V-Star 1100, or the Vulcan Custom 900. I just don't want to pay through the nose for insurance on a high CC bike.

Certainly not new to riding - wrecked a ZX7 back in 2007 and was never really comfortable again after that so I've been out of the riding scene for a couple years now. Feel like I want to ride again and can be comfortable. Gonna take awhile to save up the $$$ so when I do buy I want it to be the right bike - doesn't have to be big necessarily, just fun to ride.

Lots of options in the $5.5 - $6.5K range on CL and that's what I'm shooting for.

[C-bus]

Yea - I've had my eyes on the VTX1300, V-Star 1100, or the Vulcan Custom 900. I just don't want to pay through the nose for insurance on a high CC bike.

Certainly not new to riding - wrecked a ZX7 back in 2007 and was never really comfortable again after that so I've been out of the riding scene for a couple years now. Feel like I want to ride again and can be comfortable. Gonna take awhile to save up the $$$ so when I do buy I want it to be the right bike - doesn't have to be big necessarily, just fun to ride.

Lots of options in the $5.5 - $6.5K range on CL and that's what I'm shooting for.

It's considered a beginner bike because no one who has experience would be satisfied. Don't tell anyone in here (those guys are ruthless and may make fun of me) but I used to own one. I'm 5'10 200+ and I felt like grape-ape on it.

[progrmr]

It's considered a beginner bike because no one who has experience would be satisfied. Don't tell anyone in here (those guys are ruthless and may make fun of me) but I used to own one. I'm 5'10 200+ and I felt like grape-ape on it.

:lol: Freakin' hilarious!

I have to be honest - as much as I don't think I want a sportbike, I've had a hankerin' for a Z1000 for ever...ugly as sin but bad as hell. Not a cruiser at all but could work for sport-touring

[C-bus]

Get on our sponsor Schiets Motorsports website. They have a leftover 2010 for a decent price.

[Sporty105]

You can buy an 883 and do a NRHS 1250 kit to get the extra power. Bike would still be registered as an 883 for insurance too. Cheaper than buying a new 1200.

[SirAlienJ]

I'm not buying for awhile yet - but am doing research because it's fun and I have the itch to buy again but want to go cash only when I buy...so researching, selling stuff on CL and saving

My first bike ('91) was a v-twin and I'm pretty sure I'm going the cruiser route this time around. I'm 5' 11" ~230lbs w/o gear. Would love to have a true harley, but in looking at them online it looks like a Sportster is probably too small.

Just wondering what the consensus is here...really don't want to go sit on anything in the dealership because I'll want to ride out lol! Any fairly big guys rocking an 883?

Just get a Dyna unless you really can't afford the price difference between a 1200 and the Dynas. The Dyna are a little bigger and the power is a lot smoother. Sportys are the best handling cruiser in the world but that 1200 is a little torque machine. They also have the worst stock seat in history.

[Steve Butters]

insurance wont be much higher on a big cc bike compared to a small cc bike if both are cruisers....cruiser rates tend to be piss cheap anyways....a 01 gsxr 600 was more per month than my 97 1200cc vmax was for an entire year....cruisers are cheap to insure - in fact, a lot of people i know get free insurance on their bikes because they get multipolicy discount on their car for having the bike and the 15% they save is actually more than the bike insurance costs

[John]

No power No handling and Loud enough to drown out their annoying bitching and giddy giggling. IMHO

thats EVERY harley

[crb]

thats EVERY harley

My 1200 has plenty of power for the type of riding I do. I like my exhaust its true people to look. As for handling I can't comment I've never ridden anything else and have little experience. My 1200 and the wife's 883 seem to corner fine for the way we ride of course we don't ride at ridiculous speeds either. I gurantee you will never see me doing a wheeling on purpose especially on the road.

[Likwid]

thats EVERY harley

How much power does your bike put out?

[RFM]

I learned to ride on a Skirtster. I put a lot of work trying to make it faster and smoother at speeds. I ride an Italian Twin now... Don't have to fuss with a thing to get it to perform anymore.

[motociclista]

I've probably put more miles on an 883 than anyone here. (I'll stand corrected if someone has me beat.) I bought a used one with 5,000 miles on it and sold it several years later with 40,000 miles on it. It's slow, and I'm a little smaller: 5-11, 180. But it's not a bad bike. It depends on what you want to do with it.

In my case, I owned the bike when I lived in Puerto Rico, an island that's just 100 miles by 35 miles and no road with more than a 55 mph speed limit, and lots of tight country roads and crowded urban streets where lane-splitting was a necessity. In that environment, it worked well. It's surprisingly maneuverable in city traffic. As for the person who said it doesn't handle well, I'd ask, compared to what? I know of no cruiser that handles significantly better.

Would I be happy with an 883 here in Ohio? No. Totally different riding environment. Doesn't mean you couldn't be happy with an 883, but a 1200 is a significant step up in power.

A friend of mine had an 883 and got tired of how breathless it was on I-270 going to work, so he traded it in on a used XR1200 with 91 miles (yes, 91). He's a lot happier.

It's too bad so many Harley people look down on Sportsters. A Sportster (including the XR in that class) is the only Harley I'd consider owning.

[progrmr]

I think a 1200 custom is a defnite possibility. The seat heights are very low (by the spec sheet anyway) and that kind of bugs me. The Honda Shadow RS, which is basically Honda ripping the Sportster look, has a full 3" higher seat height. Even though it's only a 750, the ergos are supposed to be quite comfortable. Still, the Honda engine just doesn't have the soul of a HD.

I think I'll put the 1200 on my list and sit on one to see how it feels.

[SecondLiar]

If you want a bigger bike you could get the Dual Sportster version:

[Ziggy]

I'm 5'11", 230, and ride a Sportster. My bike is a 2002 883 Hugger (most basic bike you could buy from HD in 2002) and I love it. To be fair though, my bike is sporting a 1200 kit with some other goodies, but that is what I was looking for. I set out to find an 883/1200 conversion for a couple of reasons. 1 they are typically cheaper to buy than a 1200. 2) The 883 has different gearing than the 1200, so they get moving a little quicker. 3) I've been told that in general an 883 conversion will make morepower than a stock 1200, and will rev higher and faster while doing it. My Sporty suits my riding style well. I've had a couple of 150-200 mile days, and it does get a bit tiresome, but I've got to be honest with myself on what kind of riding I generally do.

One day I'll buy a big twin bagged for eating up the highway, but for now, I'm enjoying the relatively sporty handling (came off of a vstar 650) that this bike has to offer.

[alienpi]

A lot of Harley shops will have demo rides. I'd go and ride one for free before buying. I test rode an XR1200, 883, and VRod. After owning a few sport bikes I was disappointed with the power of all but the VRod. Still, the power of the VRod is lacking relative to something like a BMW S1000RR and even the 1125R, IMO.

[progrmr]

I'm 5'11", 230, and ride a Sportster. My bike is a 2002 883 Hugger (most basic bike you could buy from HD in 2002) and I love it. To be fair though, my bike is sporting a 1200 kit with some other goodies, but that is what I was looking for. I set out to find an 883/1200 conversion for a couple of reasons. 1 they are typically cheaper to buy than a 1200. 2) The 883 has different gearing than the 1200, so they get moving a little quicker. 3) I've been told that in general an 883 conversion will make morepower than a stock 1200, and will rev higher and faster while doing it. My Sporty suits my riding style well. I've had a couple of 150-200 mile days, and it does get a bit tiresome, but I've got to be honest with myself on what kind of riding I generally do.

One day I'll buy a big twin bagged for eating up the highway, but for now, I'm enjoying the relatively sporty handling (came off of a vstar 650) that this bike has to offer.

Cool! Thanks for the insight.

I know that in 2004 HD started rubber mounting the engines on the sportsters, and went to fuel injection in 2007. So I'd be looking for a 2007 or higher model - I should have the money together by the fall so I can catch some deals on prices at the end of the season. I'll probably hit a HD dealer this weekend just to sit on a few and see how they feel.

[Ziggy]

This is my first Harley, and like I said, I came from a VStar 650. I've never found my Harley short on power. Sure, it makes half the horsepower of a late model liter bike, but how often are you able to take full advantage of all the power a liter bike has to offer? In my mind, it's all about torque, and how early in the revs you get into the meat of the torque curve. Most if not all of my riding is done between 35 and 75 mph commuting to and from work and playing in the twisties nearby. My sportster is perfectly suited for the majority of the riding I do.

Come find me at the Anniversary Event this weekend, I'll let you check mine out.

[crb]

I'm 5'10 280lbs and ride a 1200 roadster. My wife has an 883 low. I don't care for the mid controls on her low and its sits a little low for me. She doesn't like my bike because its not fuel injected. You can find pre 07 bikes cheaper and once you get going the they run the same pretty much. I find the choke a non issue. I originally wanted fuel injected but so did everybody else so I saved my money because I knew I would want to upgrade in a year or so.