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I'm not so sure about the Sporty having a high COG, even though that appears to be the case after doing some Googling on the matter. I had an '87 Sportster 1100 for 7 years and I found it to be well balanced and easy to fling around in the twisties It had the solid mount motor, 4-speed transmission and chain final drive but I took that bike across Canada 4 times, had a Velorex sidecar on it for a couple years, dipped the rear wheel in the ocean at Nanaimo and used it as a daily commuter for over 120,000km with very few problems.

You want to know what bike does have a high COG? Try riding any year of Triumph Thunderbird. I traded the Sporty for a '95 T-Bird and the first thing I noticed was that it was one tippy s.o.b. It had way more snort than the Sporty and handled better in the corners but it never felt as solid and confidence inspiring. Had a very wide turning radius, too, because of the big radiator and it was awkward to move about at parking lot speeds.

Anyway. Jen if you want a Harley - buy a Harley. One of the ladies where I work has an 883 Hugger (her first bike) and she LOVES it. Do what feels right, girl.

We had a 1997 1200 Sporty Custom & it never seemed to have a high centre of gravity to me....after you jerked it off the stand....& the 'stand' sucked!
Seemed the bike was leaning way too far over when you parked it & my wife battled to get it upright....But that has changed with the Brand New Sporty's....Thank God!

I loved riding that 1200!

It was soooo much fun & so worth it, it's only Money!!

Anyway, the Hugger is relatively Low & should be A-O.K. for your height, which is the same as my wife.

There is 'Something' about Harley's alright, I fell in love with them even when they were REALLY dodgy (AMF) machines, So What! Love is Blind eh?

If the bike fits you well after sitting on it & 'rocking' it from side to side & Hey, try rolling it forward & backward....Just buy it & BE HAPPY!

Gummiente wrote:I'm not so sure about the Sporty having a high COG, even though that appears to be the case after doing some Googling on the matter. I had an '87 Sportster 1100 for 7 years and I found it to be well balanced and easy to fling around in the twisties It had the solid mount motor, 4-speed transmission and chain final drive but I took that bike across Canada 4 times, had a Velorex sidecar on it for a couple years, dipped the rear wheel in the ocean at Nanaimo and used it as a daily commuter for over 120,000km with very few problems.

You want to know what bike does have a high COG? Try riding any year of Triumph Thunderbird. I traded the Sporty for a '95 T-Bird and the first thing I noticed was that it was one tippy s.o.b. It had way more snort than the Sporty and handled better in the corners but it never felt as solid and confidence inspiring. Had a very wide turning radius, too, because of the big radiator and it was awkward to move about at parking lot speeds.

Anyway. Jen if you want a Harley - buy a Harley. One of the ladies where I work has an 883 Hugger (her first bike) and she LOVES it. Do what feels right, girl.

I hope this doesn't degrade into a brand issue or a "them against us" thread.

The fact is, the Sportster does have a higher C of G, or center of mass if you will, than many other cruisers out there, including larger displacement Harleys. Its an older design and it carries that fact forward to today. A lower seat isn't going to change that fact, either.

That was Jen's main concern, so it should be addressed.

A petite lady that I often ride with and who has over 20 years riding experience was recently shopping for a new bike. She checked out the Sportster and wasn't comfortable with the higher C of G. She ended up purchasing a modern larger displacement bike with a lower C of G.

Maybe Jen would be comfortable with the bike, only she will know in the end. But, that was her concern.

CentralOzzy wrote:We had a 1997 1200 Sporty Custom & it never seemed to have a high centre of gravity to me....

CentralOzzy wrote: Seemed the bike was leaning way too far over when you parked it & my wife battled to get it upright....

Not a high CoG yet the wife "battled to get it upright"?

No one here is trying to talk Jen out of buying a Sporty. Gotta go with your heart, in my opinion. We're just trying to help her make an informed decision, and going into the purchase thinking the Sporty is easier to balance than her current bike would be unfortunate if that's one of her main motivating factors.

i have an 883 sportster, and find it easy enough to handle. my dad is only about 5'4-6" 110-120lbs and still can ride it easily too.

its the only bike ive ridden though, so i dont know how it compares with other bikes.

paul246 wrote:I hope this doesn't degrade into a brand issue or a "them against us" thread.

Me, too. I hate having to set people straight with the facts.

Seriously, though, I wasn't trying to start anything. I'm just relaying my own personal experiences and opinions on the Sportster is all. I was surprised when I did a Google search and found all kinds of references to a high COG, because I sure didn't have that recollection. If my response came off as a challenge to anyone else's opinion that wasn't what I was trying to do. My intent was not to sidestep Jen's main concern, but rather to let her know that there are some good points about the bike. But thanks for policing my response anyway.

ZooTech wrote:

CentralOzzy wrote: Seemed the bike was leaning way too far over when you parked it & my wife battled to get it upright....

Not a high CoG yet the wife "battled to get it upright"?

Yes it was hard to get it upright off the Stand as the Stand itself seemed to be too short for the bike. H-D say they have (Finally) addressed this issue.

I don't have a "Hugger" however I do have a sportster with the 883 motor. As it happens, the vintage is 1994. Here are my observations.

I have heard the comments that the Sporty has a higher center of gravity however I believe that relates to a comparison with the other models of M/C's made by Harley. I also have a yamaha 650 which is a standard and let me tell you there is no comparison as far as COG goes, The Sportster feels much lower and much more comfortable to ride. The seat height is also lower by 2".

As far as the 883 is concerned, it has plenty of jam. Where it may fall behind the 1200 is overall speed as the 883 is geared lower so will reach top revs at a lower speed. Unless you are inclined to travel at 80 – 90 mph all the time then this is no problem. I doubt that I will ever spend the dollars to boost displacement to 1200. I simply don’t see any need for it.

I know many lady riders driving a sporty and they all like theirs. It is true that the more pricey models (Harley) handle differently because they have a lower COG but don’t let anyone tell you the sportster is hard to handle. I’ll take mine any day over the Yamaha that I have.

As for vibrations, no problem, I have rubber mounted handlebars and same for the foot pegs. I don’t notice any vibration and couldn’t really understand what people kept on about. However my wife pointed out that she felt the vibes and sure enough when I checked it out, I discovered that the passenger foot pegs were solid mounted and she was absolutely correct, there was more vibration on the sportster then the old Yamaha. What I am saying is that you don’t have to live with the vibrations if you choose not to, the fix is only a few dollars away.

Did I mention that the sportster with the larger displacement engine (883 as compared with 650 for the Yamaha) gets 60 miles per gallon where as the Yamaha gets 50 - 55. Interesting huh?