Great machine, good writing. I would love to own a sportster, but I have delusions of doing highway trips, to the middle of nowhere. I think the Harley community vastly under-rates this machine as a girls bike, I own a street glide, I don’t have room for two machines, at some point I will replace the street glide with either a Sportster or another softail. A well maintained Sportster is a solid and reliable choice, tons of aftermarket support, they will still be running in a hundred years.
If you could find the space for it, these older sportsters are an incredible value IMO. I'm pretty sure I paid less for my whole turn key/low mile Sportster than guys will spend on an exhaust+tune for a new bagger.
I think your answer is Softail... get a Heritage if you want to lean more towards the touring bike end, get a Standard if you're leaning towards the Sporty end... I have a touring bike and a Dyna. I was going to be a "Dyna guy", but ended up with two more Softails... guess which bikes I'm riding practically all the time? My Softails...
Congrats on your Sportster! I've had since nearly-new a 1992 xl883, since updated to 1203cc with a Wiseco piston kit. After running buckhorns and mid controls for a decade, I put flatter bars and rear sets on it to eliminate the highway sail effect. My inseam is only 29, so at 70 MPH, the wind was actually blowing my legs off the pegs because I couldn't get any weight on my feet. Koni shocks on the rear did wonders for the tooth-chipping bang over railroad crossings and the forks are fine with heavier fork oil. I've had several exhausts on it over the years, stock shorty duals, cycle shack slip-ons, stock 883R two into one (required to fit the rear sets), and a Screamin' Eagle offroad (racing) slip-on for the 883R header. The stock exhausts reduced torque and power a lot. The cycle shack and 883R offroad are both terrific, albeit loud. It pulls as hard as my Speed Triple until it runs out of revs and I have to shift. I love the thing and in spite of having two other bikes, I'll never sell it. I've never met anyone who owned one not have fond memories.
I've got the SE slip ons on mine and I what I suspect is a SE jet kit (all part of a "stage 1" hop up thing sold by the dealer), there's a gassy smell to the idle that I guarantee the EPA would frown upon. I'm definitely considering better rear shock options. Also under consideration is going full "standard/brit bike" mode and ordering a cool bench seat from a boutique Japanese seat maker and flatter 883R style handlebars to turn it into a fully "standard" sportier type of bike. That's the cool thing about sportsters I suppose, you can turn it into anything you want, and if you don't like the end result, just swap everything back in a few hours and resell those parts at 50-60% of retail.
I miss my Sportster. (89 XLH) I tracked it down once and tried to buy it back, but the last owner had died and his daughter had it now and didn't want to sell it because it reminded her of him.
I did take off the 3 gallon tank and put on a 5 gallon. That little bit of extra range helped a lot.
I never had problems on the highway with speed to be honest. Had it up to a hundred a couple of times, and it was fine there, but like you said, it's not really made for that and not really the way it's meant to be ridden. 60 ~ 70 was my usual highway pace.
I took quite a few trips on mine (I was in a club, so most of them were group things) even did the 'Redwood Run' one year. It is definitely a lot of fun out on the country roads and you do spend a lot more time enjoying the scenery rather than just how fast you can go down the road.
It's all a matter of perspective. I'd rather ride this sportster than the old ratty XS500 I rode coast to coast and back in college, but compared to my XS1100 it feels like a farm implement out on the highway. Now, given the choice I'd always rather ride a motorcycle on more scenic back road than making time on the multi lane highway, so it's not such a big weakness if you have the luxury of time to get to your destination.
I think I have my answer with your last line... but having owned a Bandit 1200, I take it the Harley is more fun in specific settings, but a bike like the Bandit is a better all rounder.
My newly acquired one is a '98 "S" almost the exact same bike as my first Bandit back in 2014. Prices have finally started to climb up on them as attrition (and inflation) have taken their toll. I paid $2300 with some haggling on this one with 31k miles and a valve cover leak, roached tires, crappy pipe. Two of the three issue have already been resolved. All said and done I think I'll have $3500 into it with new Pirelli tires, Delkevic slip on (a nice polished 18" oval can, very period correct), new chain/sprockets, a bunch of OE gaskets/grommets for the valve adjustment, manual camchain tensioner, refurbished OE case guards, OE center stand. I paid $3800 for my last one, an 02 "naked" model with just 10k miles and a fastidious previous owner who had done all the right mods to it (case guards, heated grips, manual petcock, manual camchain tensioner... a man after my own heart no homo)
We're not supposed to talk about Bandits right now, because I'm aware of a remarkable deal out there for a 1200 bandit S and a 1250 bandit S at one low price and I'm really interested in not doing that.
Minor correction, the blue/white '06 you're calling the 1250S is also a 1200S, call it a "gen 1.5." Still the OG air/oil cooled GSXR motor, with a throttle position sensor on the carbs for improved ignition timing, slightly updated frame/brakes/cosmetics. First few years of the 01-06 bikes had some oil burning issues, 03+ is solid in that regard. Even more confusing is the few Canadian market(?) 2007 Bandits that slipped into the US that are a 'gen 2" bandit with the 1250 frame/cosmetics/etc but have the older 1200 GSXR carb motor in them.
I need to ride a 1250 sometime, the even bigger wallop of torque down low sounds great, my fear is that the liquid cooling and counterbalancing and fuel injection civilized the bike too much. A pipe and power commander has them in the 95ft-lb range to the rear wheel.
Which BANDITS? The ones you’re gonna write some lame-ass article for Jalopnik about passing up? Or the ones you’ll compare and contrast for the love of Harambe?
Here's the problem. My spouse determined that the 9 street bikes in the barn represent the maximum acceptable number. But I have a VFR800 being shipped to me about which she knows nothing. So in order to get the BANDITS I need to get rid of THREE existing bikes.
I remember looking at those while I was trying to get my PA50 fixed when they were brand new. They seemed midway between motorcycles and motorhomes at the time, and then the GL1500s showed up.
The Sportster is more fun in that you can safely/legally use more of its performance potential on the street, and there's something satisfying in that. With the Bandit, it always felt like it was half asleep and I was barely scratching the surface of what it could do, on the street without a death wish. If I could only have one bike, it would definitely be the Bandit though.
It really seems to be a lost concept. Many Harley guys who own one now have it as a second bike, a local runabout. No, this is a serious honest to God motorcycle! Mine actually came to me with full touring gear (windshield, sissy bar, saddle bags) which I immediately removed along with the forward controls. But I've now got a decent little tour coming up out to hang out/crash at Jack's place for an upcoming moto thing at MidOhio and my XS11 has been giving me nonstop fits with the rear brake. I may very well put the saddlebags back on and take the Sportster!
Vintage motorcycle days at Mid Ohio? I've been meaning to go for years but have never made it. Been daydreaming lately about getting my motorcycle endorsement again and disappearing on a bike for 4-5 days. Your story doesn't help knock it out of my head.
GT's right ~ just don't pull a Nate and buy a used Motocycle that 'needs a little work' .
The 1971 BMW I bought in.... ?Feb.? ?Mar.? is still sitting in my driveway awaiting parts, I've only taken two long rides on it since purchase, three including the two hour ride home the day I bought it .
Nate this is forever my disease haha. Well here in the midwest if you time it right you get yourself a "needs work" bike that keeps you busy in the garage during the 4-5 non-riding months of winter.
I thought (foolish me) this would be my last full size Moto .
As they say "The Bones are good" , one of those disphit flippers got it, slapped on a bump seat and sold it to a hapless kid as a "! CAFE RACER!" . everything he touched (the flipper) he bungled and/or damaged .
Yes, it goes easily and smoothly in a straight line and corners like a sport bike (hard to find on a 40 year old Moto) but _everything_ else was kaput .
I hope the new main jets and gaskets will get it going again, we're having a heat wave and the mountains beckon me......
I finally managed to exorcise my 1984 Honda CB125S (e) Tiddler, I plan to use it when I can't ride a full size Moto anymore, likely sooner than I wish .
I have a bunch of old Honda 90's, mostly CT90's plus three Russian Ural solos. all for sale dirt cheap if you take all .
Bear in mind the Sportster can fit the Road King air adjustable shocks and you can usually buy takeoffs on eBay for peanuts after someone slams their or fits some lame cheapo chicom shocks. Then you have a set of touring shocks for full bags and expansion joints on the superslab at about the price of an XL pizza and a beer.
I have a buddy in nearby Greenville SC who commuted on his 1200 and then did cross country trips on it. He had something like 120k miles on it before he had to freshen it due to a base gasket leak. He's the guy who showed me the RK shock trick.
You can totally road trip the sporty. It's a do-all bike if there ever was one. I was dead set on buying one until my wife insisted I buy new, so the Guzzi V85 was as close as I could get to simple/reliable/easy to work on with a new machine. But I do chafe at the idea of not having a cool hot rod bike with a big parts bin instead of the pasta-airhead. I love my Guzzi, but it's no Sportster.
There was a guy on advrider that took his lady along with him on a solid mount evo sportster (I think it was a late 80s four speed to boot) all over the country. Sissy bar and some bungee cords. I actually ran out to the WalMart in Logan OH on the trip in this writeup to buy a "pudgie pie maker" (like two hot dog sticks hinged around a cast iron sandwich cooker thing) at my wife's request, that I had to strap across my handlebars sitting overtop the headlight "brow." Worked out just fine. Beat taking the van on all those nice roads to run an errand.
Plus everywhere you go on one you have people talking to you or giving you a heads up. It's the closest I've been to the vintage car experience on two wheels.
Everyone loves 'em. They do it all, even errands. Dead reliable and occasionally chew something up that's easy to find. Can't beat it.
the somewhat nutty thing is that a sportster has FOUR cams driving the four pushrods, down in the "cam chest". The bottom end of the evo sportster motor goes way back to the flathead days. Guys jerking off to modern Indian engineered Royal Enfields should take note: you could just go and buy a Sportster, a bike with honest to god mechanical heritage going back 80+ years!
Hey, I have one of those. Bought it new in ‘95, my first bike. It is fun and certainly a more relaxed ride than my Ducatis and XR1200. I have learned to keep the pace lower on it over the years after dragging the side stand and exhaust on the ground multiple times. It’s funny, when it was all I knew I thought it was pretty fast— now I get on it and think it feels like a stone. And goodness gracious; don’t forget to use the rear brake every time. Don’t have to do that on the others. Doesn’t mean I don’t love it, all part of the charm. Same with the crap suspension and solid mounted engine. I’m more than used to all of it— none of my old friends are perfect. Neither am I.
That tank is a one year only 1200 item– 3.25 gallons. And yep, every 100 miles you have to stop. Fine by me, as an old guy I have to pee by then anyway.
Agreed, highway riding is not its strong suit— but I have had it over 100. It was not comfortable there (and by extension, neither was I). The Ducs are effortless at that speed.
I have never done trips on a motorcycle; but I have taken this one to Mid-Ohio (from Pittsburgh) a few times for the AMA races in the late ‘90s. Stopped doing that after I got sick of sitting in traffic on the way out— roasting my ass off.
We’ve had 46,000 miles together, so far. I ride a couple of the others more at this point; but I can’t help but smile when I take it out.
Thanks GT for the write up and Jack for posting this. Every time I scroll through craigslist and see a Sportster at a bargain price I am sorely tempted. I don't know if this goes in the "do it" or not bucket but it is a data point. As an experienced, heretofore non-HD-kool-aid drinking rider, I would be curious to know what your take is on this vs. like a Shadow or other Japanese cruiser.
IMO none of the metric cruisers come close. I've wrenched on a Virago 1100 and a Suzuki Savage 650 and while objectively the big Virago is a quicker, smoother, maybe better handling machine, the way the japanese shoehorn two carbs in the V, have a secondary hidden fuel tank that requires a fuel pump to feed the carbs, the amount of crappy chromed plastic on the thing.... no thanks. This is a case where going for the real deal makes sense. The Evo Sportster is truly a better built machine than most of the Japanese competition IMO. Now, a well kept Honda Shadow might be a very competent reliable machine, but it would be missing the authentic feel/soul of the HD v twin. To give the little Suzuki Savage credit, that DR650 derived 650 air/oil cooled single is stone age simple, and it's got a minimal maintenance belt drive just like a harley. But it feels like an unserious beginners bike to ride.
That is about what I thought. You can't out-Gold-Wing a Gold Wing, you can't out Gixxer a Gixxer. If you want to potato-potato 'round for however far three gallons gets you then you have to get the real deal.
If you find one anywhere near this price, definitely do it. Worst case, you sell it in 6 months or a year for just about the same.
I've not ridden a Shadow but I've always like the RS and Phantoms. Those can sound very nice with exhausts. I have tried a Suzuki C50. Sportster would be a lot more fun. At one point, my brother was choosing between a Harley 48 and a Bonneville Bobber. He bought the Triumph against my recommendation. I wish he'd gone the other way. Ended up trading that Bobber for Monkey. I can't imagine a Sportster owner doing anything similar.
I see gt replied to you, too. A Savage looks cool but it absolutely is a step down from any of these. I'd strongly consider a Bolt if you just can't do a Harley. A few years ago, there were new versions of those around for $6k ish. No idea what used costs now.
Great read “gt” thanks for taking the time to write it up. Glad to see there are still people which just don’t want to travel flat out all the time. You seem to remember it’s not the destination it the journey….
I have some very talented riding buddies whose idea of a fun day trip is to find and ride every bit of twisty road as fast as conditions allow. Don't get me wrong, I like to work on my skills and to challenge myself on back roads sometimes, but the risk/reward equation is just different these days compared to my riding days in college. It's a more holistic experience of appreciating the scenery, and when touring, for me riding and tent camping is closely intertwined, versus just shacking up in hotels on a trip.
The sportster has a vacuum petcock, but with a setting to manually shut it off which I really like. I've had enough problems with vacuum units to be very leery of them (you never know when you might end up riding around with an extra quart of fuel in your crankcase) but bikes that are regularly used don't seem to have too many problems with them. Same story with carbs gumming up. The best thing you can do with an old bike is to ride it!
That stepped seat is just a Sportster signature look since the late 60s. There's a Japanese company that makes a flat bench type seat for Evo Sportsters, about $500 and $100 in shipping, and I'm kind of tempted. My current "double seat pad" setup is actually reasonably cushy and roomy "enough" for my 32" inseam. The XS1100 is much more "American man" sized, as it was designed by the Japanese specifically for the American touring market.
I'd love one of those seats but even my old hand made American gel pad Moto seats co$ted lass than $200 delivered .
I too have a 32" inseam and used to sort of, kind of want a Sportster, an older one, were I rich I'd buy a 195? K - Model 45" just to see .
I had two Harleys in my youth, a '65 PanHead and a '37 KnuckleHead, I had to rebuild both from the ground up due to broken frames but both were (IMO) great reliable bikes and *much* faster than most stock Harley at that time .
Great post! Hey gt, what's your take on newer Sportsters (fuel injection + rubber mounts) vs. older Sportsters? I like the idea of owning one of the last Evos and buying a bike whose rubber parts are all 3-5 years old rather than 25-30 years old, but it's hard to bring myself to pay 2x-3x more for what's basically the same bike.
Imagine if the 'motoring press' wrote car reviews like this. I don't think I'll ever buy a Sportster but if I did, I now know what it feels like to ride and what to look out for.
Great machine, good writing. I would love to own a sportster, but I have delusions of doing highway trips, to the middle of nowhere. I think the Harley community vastly under-rates this machine as a girls bike, I own a street glide, I don’t have room for two machines, at some point I will replace the street glide with either a Sportster or another softail. A well maintained Sportster is a solid and reliable choice, tons of aftermarket support, they will still be running in a hundred years.
If you could find the space for it, these older sportsters are an incredible value IMO. I'm pretty sure I paid less for my whole turn key/low mile Sportster than guys will spend on an exhaust+tune for a new bagger.
I don’t doubt that in the least!
I think your answer is Softail... get a Heritage if you want to lean more towards the touring bike end, get a Standard if you're leaning towards the Sporty end... I have a touring bike and a Dyna. I was going to be a "Dyna guy", but ended up with two more Softails... guess which bikes I'm riding practically all the time? My Softails...
Congrats on your Sportster! I've had since nearly-new a 1992 xl883, since updated to 1203cc with a Wiseco piston kit. After running buckhorns and mid controls for a decade, I put flatter bars and rear sets on it to eliminate the highway sail effect. My inseam is only 29, so at 70 MPH, the wind was actually blowing my legs off the pegs because I couldn't get any weight on my feet. Koni shocks on the rear did wonders for the tooth-chipping bang over railroad crossings and the forks are fine with heavier fork oil. I've had several exhausts on it over the years, stock shorty duals, cycle shack slip-ons, stock 883R two into one (required to fit the rear sets), and a Screamin' Eagle offroad (racing) slip-on for the 883R header. The stock exhausts reduced torque and power a lot. The cycle shack and 883R offroad are both terrific, albeit loud. It pulls as hard as my Speed Triple until it runs out of revs and I have to shift. I love the thing and in spite of having two other bikes, I'll never sell it. I've never met anyone who owned one not have fond memories.
I've got the SE slip ons on mine and I what I suspect is a SE jet kit (all part of a "stage 1" hop up thing sold by the dealer), there's a gassy smell to the idle that I guarantee the EPA would frown upon. I'm definitely considering better rear shock options. Also under consideration is going full "standard/brit bike" mode and ordering a cool bench seat from a boutique Japanese seat maker and flatter 883R style handlebars to turn it into a fully "standard" sportier type of bike. That's the cool thing about sportsters I suppose, you can turn it into anything you want, and if you don't like the end result, just swap everything back in a few hours and resell those parts at 50-60% of retail.
Always been curious about Sportsters. I ended up as a Ducati Monster guy.
So, air cooled, L-Twin, Italian meatball vs your BBQ sausage.
Enjoy the ride and thanks for a great review.
Oh for the love of God! Now you know Mr. McCoy doesn't consider southern Ohio Appalachia. I hope the rest of this road test isn't so inaccurate.
We are probably safe here since this is a motorcycle only post.
A $2000 bike? Not worth his time to look!
$2k equates to a cheeseburger and cigar lunch for him.
with the bulk of that spent on the stogie...
unless his thoughts on people cosplaying with Harleys are as strong as his thoughts on people cosplaying with pickup trucks...
(Sherman, if you see this, I'm teasing....)
Those people are not riding fully depreciated Sportsters. No idea if he would appreciate the difference.
Nice review! I love Sportsters. Allan Girdler wrote an excellent book on the subject that is worth reading.
I own a copy, it’s excellent!
I miss my Sportster. (89 XLH) I tracked it down once and tried to buy it back, but the last owner had died and his daughter had it now and didn't want to sell it because it reminded her of him.
I did take off the 3 gallon tank and put on a 5 gallon. That little bit of extra range helped a lot.
I never had problems on the highway with speed to be honest. Had it up to a hundred a couple of times, and it was fine there, but like you said, it's not really made for that and not really the way it's meant to be ridden. 60 ~ 70 was my usual highway pace.
I took quite a few trips on mine (I was in a club, so most of them were group things) even did the 'Redwood Run' one year. It is definitely a lot of fun out on the country roads and you do spend a lot more time enjoying the scenery rather than just how fast you can go down the road.
It's all a matter of perspective. I'd rather ride this sportster than the old ratty XS500 I rode coast to coast and back in college, but compared to my XS1100 it feels like a farm implement out on the highway. Now, given the choice I'd always rather ride a motorcycle on more scenic back road than making time on the multi lane highway, so it's not such a big weakness if you have the luxury of time to get to your destination.
I think I have my answer with your last line... but having owned a Bandit 1200, I take it the Harley is more fun in specific settings, but a bike like the Bandit is a better all rounder.
Also what year is your Bandit? Mine (was) a '97.
My newly acquired one is a '98 "S" almost the exact same bike as my first Bandit back in 2014. Prices have finally started to climb up on them as attrition (and inflation) have taken their toll. I paid $2300 with some haggling on this one with 31k miles and a valve cover leak, roached tires, crappy pipe. Two of the three issue have already been resolved. All said and done I think I'll have $3500 into it with new Pirelli tires, Delkevic slip on (a nice polished 18" oval can, very period correct), new chain/sprockets, a bunch of OE gaskets/grommets for the valve adjustment, manual camchain tensioner, refurbished OE case guards, OE center stand. I paid $3800 for my last one, an 02 "naked" model with just 10k miles and a fastidious previous owner who had done all the right mods to it (case guards, heated grips, manual petcock, manual camchain tensioner... a man after my own heart no homo)
We're not supposed to talk about Bandits right now, because I'm aware of a remarkable deal out there for a 1200 bandit S and a 1250 bandit S at one low price and I'm really interested in not doing that.
Minor correction, the blue/white '06 you're calling the 1250S is also a 1200S, call it a "gen 1.5." Still the OG air/oil cooled GSXR motor, with a throttle position sensor on the carbs for improved ignition timing, slightly updated frame/brakes/cosmetics. First few years of the 01-06 bikes had some oil burning issues, 03+ is solid in that regard. Even more confusing is the few Canadian market(?) 2007 Bandits that slipped into the US that are a 'gen 2" bandit with the 1250 frame/cosmetics/etc but have the older 1200 GSXR carb motor in them.
I need to ride a 1250 sometime, the even bigger wallop of torque down low sounds great, my fear is that the liquid cooling and counterbalancing and fuel injection civilized the bike too much. A pipe and power commander has them in the 95ft-lb range to the rear wheel.
STOP MAKING ME THINK ABOUT THE BANDITS
BANDITS BANDITS BANDITS
RESISTANCE IS FUTILE FOOLISH AUTOJOURNO .
-Nate
Which BANDITS? The ones you’re gonna write some lame-ass article for Jalopnik about passing up? Or the ones you’ll compare and contrast for the love of Harambe?
Here's the problem. My spouse determined that the 9 street bikes in the barn represent the maximum acceptable number. But I have a VFR800 being shipped to me about which she knows nothing. So in order to get the BANDITS I need to get rid of THREE existing bikes.
Would you like a free GL1200 Aspencade?
No but I’ll give you 2 grand for a clean Sportster.
I must be insane. But yes, I would.
Anyone know if Randakk is still selling carb kits???
I remember looking at those while I was trying to get my PA50 fixed when they were brand new. They seemed midway between motorcycles and motorhomes at the time, and then the GL1500s showed up.
Unironically interested in the Aspencade but with no means to acquire it
What is the point of living in flyover country if you can't have one more bike?
ahem... there's something on your list ahead of a Bandit...
:P
Its mentioned up the thread!
The Sportster is more fun in that you can safely/legally use more of its performance potential on the street, and there's something satisfying in that. With the Bandit, it always felt like it was half asleep and I was barely scratching the surface of what it could do, on the street without a death wish. If I could only have one bike, it would definitely be the Bandit though.
Well done. Sportys are one of the greatest bikes out there and it's always nice to see one go to a rider not a polisher or bar hopper.
It really seems to be a lost concept. Many Harley guys who own one now have it as a second bike, a local runabout. No, this is a serious honest to God motorcycle! Mine actually came to me with full touring gear (windshield, sissy bar, saddle bags) which I immediately removed along with the forward controls. But I've now got a decent little tour coming up out to hang out/crash at Jack's place for an upcoming moto thing at MidOhio and my XS11 has been giving me nonstop fits with the rear brake. I may very well put the saddlebags back on and take the Sportster!
Vintage motorcycle days at Mid Ohio? I've been meaning to go for years but have never made it. Been daydreaming lately about getting my motorcycle endorsement again and disappearing on a bike for 4-5 days. Your story doesn't help knock it out of my head.
Ya gotta do it man! Relatively speaking, here in the US used motorcycles are just so stinking cheap it's hard to go wrong in the smiles/$ metric.
I've been meaning to go to vintage days for years now, finally gonna make it happen.
GT's right ~ just don't pull a Nate and buy a used Motocycle that 'needs a little work' .
The 1971 BMW I bought in.... ?Feb.? ?Mar.? is still sitting in my driveway awaiting parts, I've only taken two long rides on it since purchase, three including the two hour ride home the day I bought it .
-Nate
Nate this is forever my disease haha. Well here in the midwest if you time it right you get yourself a "needs work" bike that keeps you busy in the garage during the 4-5 non-riding months of winter.
So true ! .
I thought (foolish me) this would be my last full size Moto .
As they say "The Bones are good" , one of those disphit flippers got it, slapped on a bump seat and sold it to a hapless kid as a "! CAFE RACER!" . everything he touched (the flipper) he bungled and/or damaged .
Yes, it goes easily and smoothly in a straight line and corners like a sport bike (hard to find on a 40 year old Moto) but _everything_ else was kaput .
I hope the new main jets and gaskets will get it going again, we're having a heat wave and the mountains beckon me......
I finally managed to exorcise my 1984 Honda CB125S (e) Tiddler, I plan to use it when I can't ride a full size Moto anymore, likely sooner than I wish .
I have a bunch of old Honda 90's, mostly CT90's plus three Russian Ural solos. all for sale dirt cheap if you take all .
-Nate
Bear in mind the Sportster can fit the Road King air adjustable shocks and you can usually buy takeoffs on eBay for peanuts after someone slams their or fits some lame cheapo chicom shocks. Then you have a set of touring shocks for full bags and expansion joints on the superslab at about the price of an XL pizza and a beer.
I have a buddy in nearby Greenville SC who commuted on his 1200 and then did cross country trips on it. He had something like 120k miles on it before he had to freshen it due to a base gasket leak. He's the guy who showed me the RK shock trick.
You can totally road trip the sporty. It's a do-all bike if there ever was one. I was dead set on buying one until my wife insisted I buy new, so the Guzzi V85 was as close as I could get to simple/reliable/easy to work on with a new machine. But I do chafe at the idea of not having a cool hot rod bike with a big parts bin instead of the pasta-airhead. I love my Guzzi, but it's no Sportster.
There was a guy on advrider that took his lady along with him on a solid mount evo sportster (I think it was a late 80s four speed to boot) all over the country. Sissy bar and some bungee cords. I actually ran out to the WalMart in Logan OH on the trip in this writeup to buy a "pudgie pie maker" (like two hot dog sticks hinged around a cast iron sandwich cooker thing) at my wife's request, that I had to strap across my handlebars sitting overtop the headlight "brow." Worked out just fine. Beat taking the van on all those nice roads to run an errand.
Plus everywhere you go on one you have people talking to you or giving you a heads up. It's the closest I've been to the vintage car experience on two wheels.
Everyone loves 'em. They do it all, even errands. Dead reliable and occasionally chew something up that's easy to find. Can't beat it.
what a nice bike that seems totally usable everywehre
ruin it by putting a hawg ass cam in it and straight pipes
the somewhat nutty thing is that a sportster has FOUR cams driving the four pushrods, down in the "cam chest". The bottom end of the evo sportster motor goes way back to the flathead days. Guys jerking off to modern Indian engineered Royal Enfields should take note: you could just go and buy a Sportster, a bike with honest to god mechanical heritage going back 80+ years!
i like how each cam has just one lobe on it
must be a joy to modify because you can just mix and match whichever you like
Hey, I have one of those. Bought it new in ‘95, my first bike. It is fun and certainly a more relaxed ride than my Ducatis and XR1200. I have learned to keep the pace lower on it over the years after dragging the side stand and exhaust on the ground multiple times. It’s funny, when it was all I knew I thought it was pretty fast— now I get on it and think it feels like a stone. And goodness gracious; don’t forget to use the rear brake every time. Don’t have to do that on the others. Doesn’t mean I don’t love it, all part of the charm. Same with the crap suspension and solid mounted engine. I’m more than used to all of it— none of my old friends are perfect. Neither am I.
That tank is a one year only 1200 item– 3.25 gallons. And yep, every 100 miles you have to stop. Fine by me, as an old guy I have to pee by then anyway.
Agreed, highway riding is not its strong suit— but I have had it over 100. It was not comfortable there (and by extension, neither was I). The Ducs are effortless at that speed.
I have never done trips on a motorcycle; but I have taken this one to Mid-Ohio (from Pittsburgh) a few times for the AMA races in the late ‘90s. Stopped doing that after I got sick of sitting in traffic on the way out— roasting my ass off.
We’ve had 46,000 miles together, so far. I ride a couple of the others more at this point; but I can’t help but smile when I take it out.
Thanks GT for the write up and Jack for posting this. Every time I scroll through craigslist and see a Sportster at a bargain price I am sorely tempted. I don't know if this goes in the "do it" or not bucket but it is a data point. As an experienced, heretofore non-HD-kool-aid drinking rider, I would be curious to know what your take is on this vs. like a Shadow or other Japanese cruiser.
IMO none of the metric cruisers come close. I've wrenched on a Virago 1100 and a Suzuki Savage 650 and while objectively the big Virago is a quicker, smoother, maybe better handling machine, the way the japanese shoehorn two carbs in the V, have a secondary hidden fuel tank that requires a fuel pump to feed the carbs, the amount of crappy chromed plastic on the thing.... no thanks. This is a case where going for the real deal makes sense. The Evo Sportster is truly a better built machine than most of the Japanese competition IMO. Now, a well kept Honda Shadow might be a very competent reliable machine, but it would be missing the authentic feel/soul of the HD v twin. To give the little Suzuki Savage credit, that DR650 derived 650 air/oil cooled single is stone age simple, and it's got a minimal maintenance belt drive just like a harley. But it feels like an unserious beginners bike to ride.
That is about what I thought. You can't out-Gold-Wing a Gold Wing, you can't out Gixxer a Gixxer. If you want to potato-potato 'round for however far three gallons gets you then you have to get the real deal.
If you find one anywhere near this price, definitely do it. Worst case, you sell it in 6 months or a year for just about the same.
I've not ridden a Shadow but I've always like the RS and Phantoms. Those can sound very nice with exhausts. I have tried a Suzuki C50. Sportster would be a lot more fun. At one point, my brother was choosing between a Harley 48 and a Bonneville Bobber. He bought the Triumph against my recommendation. I wish he'd gone the other way. Ended up trading that Bobber for Monkey. I can't imagine a Sportster owner doing anything similar.
I see gt replied to you, too. A Savage looks cool but it absolutely is a step down from any of these. I'd strongly consider a Bolt if you just can't do a Harley. A few years ago, there were new versions of those around for $6k ish. No idea what used costs now.
Bobbers are for poseurs, not for riders .
If you want to look cool on a Motocycle get whatever you want, put some thought towards where you're planning to ride otherwise .
-Nate
Great read “gt” thanks for taking the time to write it up. Glad to see there are still people which just don’t want to travel flat out all the time. You seem to remember it’s not the destination it the journey….
I have some very talented riding buddies whose idea of a fun day trip is to find and ride every bit of twisty road as fast as conditions allow. Don't get me wrong, I like to work on my skills and to challenge myself on back roads sometimes, but the risk/reward equation is just different these days compared to my riding days in college. It's a more holistic experience of appreciating the scenery, and when touring, for me riding and tent camping is closely intertwined, versus just shacking up in hotels on a trip.
Technically a ShovelHead _is_ and AMF design but I get your meaning .
It's nice to hear it's a decent every day bike, not everyone needs/wants to race everywhere .
I wonder if there isn't a slightly less depressed seat available ? that one looks like it'd cause serious pain in short order .
100 mile range is really short if you live in Los Angeles , I have to fill up at 200 ~ 250 miles every two days .
Manual petcocks are part and parcel of Motocycling . those who rely on the vacuum 'automated' petcocks almost always have serious problems from them .
-Nate
The sportster has a vacuum petcock, but with a setting to manually shut it off which I really like. I've had enough problems with vacuum units to be very leery of them (you never know when you might end up riding around with an extra quart of fuel in your crankcase) but bikes that are regularly used don't seem to have too many problems with them. Same story with carbs gumming up. The best thing you can do with an old bike is to ride it!
That stepped seat is just a Sportster signature look since the late 60s. There's a Japanese company that makes a flat bench type seat for Evo Sportsters, about $500 and $100 in shipping, and I'm kind of tempted. My current "double seat pad" setup is actually reasonably cushy and roomy "enough" for my 32" inseam. The XS1100 is much more "American man" sized, as it was designed by the Japanese specifically for the American touring market.
I'd love one of those seats but even my old hand made American gel pad Moto seats co$ted lass than $200 delivered .
I too have a 32" inseam and used to sort of, kind of want a Sportster, an older one, were I rich I'd buy a 195? K - Model 45" just to see .
I had two Harleys in my youth, a '65 PanHead and a '37 KnuckleHead, I had to rebuild both from the ground up due to broken frames but both were (IMO) great reliable bikes and *much* faster than most stock Harley at that time .
-Nate
$2,000! I take back everything I said the other week about Harleys - at that price I'd have one like a shot!
Great post! Hey gt, what's your take on newer Sportsters (fuel injection + rubber mounts) vs. older Sportsters? I like the idea of owning one of the last Evos and buying a bike whose rubber parts are all 3-5 years old rather than 25-30 years old, but it's hard to bring myself to pay 2x-3x more for what's basically the same bike.
Imagine if the 'motoring press' wrote car reviews like this. I don't think I'll ever buy a Sportster but if I did, I now know what it feels like to ride and what to look out for.
Cheers!
Few "journalists" have gt's background in engineering, riding, and DIY repair.
I certainly don't, although *knocks wood* my V-Strom has 500 trouble-free miles since my last disassembly.
Just what is a "cheap Japanese bike"?
a first-generation Kawasaki KLR comes to mind. they're about as complicated and durable as a sledgehammer.