A Girls Bike? NOT

[Road Rash]

I like all kinds of bikes. I am a big boy at 265 lbs. and I ride 2 up with wife most often. For this reason we ride a Road King. I like the bags too as they hold a picnic lunch and adult beverages. If it were just me riding, I'd like to own and ride a Sportster. Hey I look like a big gorilla no matter what I am on. I think Sporsters are too cool. Aside from the Road King and the Sportster there isn't another HD I even like. Just sayin...

[rubyeb]

To all of us who believe an 883 is enough, it is a waste of time convincing the crowds of such a belief. To all of you reading this and deciding what to buy, get what you like.

I wouldn't recommend an 883 for 2 up touring, but you could. Might need a seat change and a smaller sized companion.

If I could only afford a Buell Blast, it would be plenty for me. You big boys might pass me on the road, but I'll catch up. Just don't eat all of the food till I get there and leave a girl for me.

[stldrgnrdr]

My 883 just dynoed 100 hp

[MegaGlide]

Originally Posted by stldrgnrdr

My 883 just dynoed 100 hp

Sweet.
Please post the chart.

[ROGER4314]

I've always been a Maverick and never cared a flip about what people thought of me. I like my XL1200C and it doesn't matter to me who disagrees. I've owned a lot of bikes and that Sportster is my favorite!

Please don't buy a Sportster! When the demand goes up, so does the price and they'll be $4-5k over MSRP again.

Flash

[azbigpoppa1]

Originally Posted by Misguided

Something I'll never understand is why some Harley riders discriminate against other riders especially in light of the way society has stereotyped the Harley community and discriminated against it over the years.

You've heard the disparaging comments like "Half a Harley" or "Girl's Bike" along with many others levied against the Sportster bysome in the Big Twin crowd. If so. How come it's faster than the BigTwin is? How come it's been the Factory racer in differing events for forty years now? What about the Buell, Harley's answer to Japanese super bikes, being based on the Sportster It has always had superior technology and Been more nimble than its brother, the Big Twin.

Back in the Sixties, The Sporty led the charge when an Englishike-dominated sport converted first to the "Milwaukee Limey." Speaking of the old days, when watching early biker movies, you see the "real deal" riding their beloved "CH's" that today have become living legends? Nobody I know laughs at or puts down these guys. Yes, the "CH" is short for the brutal, knee-busting, kick start Sportster. Don't look like no half-Harley to me even though that's what some call it. Please take this last statement from where it's coming from…not me. But it's a comment I hear time and again from those in Harleydom who wish to pick on their own instead of fighting those who attack from the outside. Yeah, so they call it a Girl's bike in a derisive manner. This connotes frailty that inhibits them from handling "a man's bike."

Well if you think about it, a smaller, physically weaker person would be better suited to a Softail with a lower seat height, a lower center of gravity and a set of front forks that pivot more easily on a smaller contact patch, skinny 21" wheel. That's if you think. Sportsters feel as if they have a higher center of gravity, making them seemingly more awkward to the uninitiated and you need long legs to touch the ground They'll pop a wheelie without even thinking about it. And light to light, try to beat one, with a "bigger" Harley, like a Softail for instance. A customer of mine is a seemingly mild mannered pharmacist. He wins about $500 bucks a month racing Big Twins on his 883 converted to a 1200. He hasn't even reached for the big gun yet….the 1200S with a hundred ponies at the rear wheel. I guess everybody's mad at me by now, but it needs to be said.

So why on earth does Harley make this bike, its entry-level model? It's harder to learn on and it's the prototype for its factory racers-in order to prove it has a superior product in terms of speed. I don't understand it. As what should be isn't, and what isn't should be. I know, I know.

The real reason the Sportster is the entry-level bike is that it's cheaper than the Big Twin models. Just wait until feminism gets a firmer grip in the last bastion of chauvinism, Harleydom and deals with "the Girl's Bike syndrome" and its connotations of weakness. It'll be fun to watch for those who love a good winnable fight. Now how about the men who ride and must put up with this reverse discrimination? Maybe feminism will wipe the slate clean. Or maybe, those who are free thinkers and strong of mind already know that the Girl's Bike has dominated Flat Track racing…you know, where you go full speed around corners with no brakes….and hill climbing…a brutal sport for the brave where Sportsters go up hills not suited for motorcycles.

Now, how about the wheelie kings. You know, in a man's world, anyone who can do the block long wheelie, shifting gears as they pose dangerously on one wheel, scraping the rear fender on the asphalt, shooting up sparks as they roar by, are more Often than not on the Sportster. Motor builders have long recognized the superior technology used by Harley in the Sportster, some examples of which are:
a. Pushrods that go straight up and down instead of wild angles like in the Big Twin; or
b. Did you ever wonder where the three-hole crankpin you buy aftermarket to replace the single oiling hole factory one in your Big Twin came from? You got it, standard factory issue since the beginning in the Sportster; or
c. The trochoid (rotor) oil pump, standard issue since 1977 on the Sportster, produces both high pressure and high volume while the lowly Big Twin still has a gear-driven pump that only produces moderate pressure and volume. Straighter pushrods along with the 3 hole oiling crankpin and the trochoid oil pump have all been adapted into the new Fathead Twin Cam 88's.

Here's another one. What other Harley, or motorcycle for that matter, has crippled more people than the legendary Sportster kickstart? If rebounding compression isn't dislocating the knee or throwing the rider over the handlebars then the slip-through kick start gears extend the leg past where its supposed to go….snapping the kneecap. "Sportster knee", the tell tale limp, familiar with riders of the era is a badge of honor. The electric start has saved a whole generation from this mind numbing pain. Even the mass media glorified the Sportster a long time before it recognized the "old man's" bike, the Big Twin.

Oops, I have to watch the reverse discrimination. Then Came Bronson" was the first and only TV Harley hero who traversed America, meeting every challenge society could throw at him
on his Sportster XLCH. In the late seventies and early eighties, some bank robber gangs even used the Sportster as a get away vehicle…faster than the Big Twin police bikes and more nimble through traffic.

Last but not least…..Evil Knieval. I never saw him riding a Big Twin. He is a Sportster man….all the way to the hospital and right back on them again The much maligned Sportster doesn't look like a bike for the frail or weak of mind to me.

Author Donnie Peterson

I know what you're saying. The other day when I got on my 1200L pretty hard and made a quick shift to 2nd and the front tire came off the ground, I said HOLY S#@T! Lol

[nortster]

Met a kid a few years back.
He was jumping cars in his yard.
The kid asked us for advice.
I told him:
"Any idiot can jump and crash like evel.
"You land on your wheels instead."

We there, in that kid's yard, blathered on about down ramp angles/length and getting a physicist to calculate speed and angles, etc. (boring stuff)

Gary Wells still lands on his wheels; far more skilled than the crashmeister evel ever thought of being.

Only thing evel ever did right was to use an XR750 for some of his crashes.
A better rider would not have crashed.
Gary Wells for example.
>>one hundred and ten World Record jumps and only one accident<<
dubyas dot garywells dot com

[grumpa]

I have been riding since 1972, Some one made me ride a Sportster back in the early 80's, I was hooked, but I did get a FXRP-SP then another Cop bike (FXDP) After my heart attack in 04 I made the disasion to trike it, because i couldn't keep it up. (the bike). But last year I wanted to go back to a two wheeler, I sold the trike and got a 09 Nightster, i liked the way it looked, and i love the way it handles, i just make short trips any more, no more cross country rides, great for going to the store and a stop over at a local bar, I'm 70 now and I will always have Iron under me until the OL puts me in a Mason jar. As for a chick bike i made so many mods to my bike that my wife won't ride it any more.

[J Bronson]

Hey Norster.... Gary Davis is another great jumper... with a better record than Gary Wells..312 jumps with no crashes..!!!
Check this out.. I took it at the AMA Museum in 2009..

You Tube

You Tube

[19harley74]

I love this !! Some of the guys I hang with dog my 1974 XLH 1000 . But I tell them mine is paid for and I don't have to take it to a mechanic to have it worked on ! I do all my own work.

[alexlivetoride]

Seriously? Stock 883? I'd like to see your setup no kiddn'

Originally Posted by stldrgnrdr

My 883 just dynoed 100 hp

[gaspasser]

yes...its a girls bike....i have one on the back with me most of the time......and even two up i beat those living room glides every time.......every time

[gaspasser]

ok...so i have never really had much said to me regarding my gurly sportster until this weekend.....this guy rides a fat boy.....looks at my sporty like its the plague......i just ignored most of his rhetoric all weekend......finally he said something else....i said lets run for pink slips...then i can own a sporty and a fat boy......he really didnt have much to say after that

[Playback1]

Originally Posted by JimmyK

Oh For Fucs Sake!


"Hello, My Name is Misguided and I own a Sportster."


HI MISGUIDED!


Tell us now. How did it happen?


BLA HAHA Don'tMindMeItsFridayFreezingOutsideAndIAmDrunk

AsFuc Dot HA!

Jerks come in all sizes, you must be one of the smaller ones. Glad you enjoy riding your sofa.

[maryinjax]

Originally Posted by gaspasser

ok...so i have never really had much said to me regarding my gurly sportster until this weekend.....this guy rides a fat boy.....looks at my sporty like its the plague......i just ignored most of his rhetoric all weekend......finally he said something else....i said lets run for pink slips...then i can own a sporty and a fat boy......he really didnt have much to say after that

I always just ask if they want to race a quarter mile... ususally shuts them up REAL quick.