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Came across this 1200 with a buy now of 5995. Dang. Heckuva deal on a used HD.

and me broke. What am i missing here? Do 1200's actually go this cheap? I think i've just caught myself stereotyping...i always think HD=$$$

*edit* Duh forgot to link it.

1200

Assuming the guy is on the up-and-up, that's a helluva steal for someone who likes Sportsters. I have seen fully-loaded cherry-condition bikes go cheap, though, because the owners either got spooked or had a close friend die on a motorcycle and they lost their nerve to ride. A couple months back a fully-loaded '03 Nomad with custom flame paint and just 6,000 miles went for $7500.00 on the VROC forum for that very reason.

I like anything that I can ride. *gives his katana the hairy eyeball*, stupid forks..... stupid work.....stupid weekend with no time. grrrrrr.

Pre-2003 Sportsters lack rubber engine mounts and counter balancers. The engine is mounted directly to the frame. This causes a lot of vibrations that can lead to other things. Pre 2003 Sportsters resale value is much lower than the 2003-Current because of this.

Ah, another bit if info i didn't know about. Thanks bach. Wonder if you could order the rubber mounts and stick em in there.
hrmmm

You can certainly add the rubber mounts if you're handy. It may offset the drive train a bit, but I don't know how much impact that would cause on overall fit/function.

The frame is very different between a pre-2003 and 2003-current. I'd go to a Harley dealer and talk bits and pieces with a sales person. I've found that their technical knowledge really varies from one sales person to another. Get a close look at the frames while you're there.

I learned this while I was out shopping for my first bike. The vibration difference is amazing. With the rubber mounted engine, your stamina really lasts for long rides.

Solid-mounted engines are more often than not a stressed member, so retro-fitting a rubber mount system would not be a good idea. The frames are different after '03 because they had to be strengthened substantially to bear the weight alone. Folks were pretty critical at the time because Harley started offering fuel injection but also added 60-70 pounds to the bike, defeating the power increase.

Incidentally, my buddy's '98 Sportster 883 lacks the rubber engine mounts but doesn't seem to transfer the vibration to the rider all that much. What it does do is rattle all the chrome dress-up parts off on a regular basis (I got hit with a piece last summer!).

I'm not sure what going prices are for sportsters. One thing I do know is motorcycles & laptops are at the top of the ebay scam list.
Unless you can inspect the bike in person and meet with the seller I wouldn't buy a motorcycle on ebay.

roscowgo wrote:Ah, another bit if info i didn't know about. Thanks bach. Wonder if you could order the rubber mounts and stick em in there.
hrmmm

I think the new rubber mounted engines began in 2004, and it made a WORLD of difference. I don't think it is possible to buy the rubber mounts for the older bikes, but I certainly could be wrong about that...

But some Harleys are competitively priced with other bikes. A standard 883 goes for 6500 plus the usual stuff. That is not substantially different from other 750s/800s. A big twin starts at around 12K, which is a bit more expensive than the other 1300+ machines, but not substantially so.

Besides, if one can easily afford to pay more, they usually don't concern themselves with cost versus value, a measurement that is solely in the eyes of the beholder.

Oh i was just curious. I dont have enough moolah to be Really bike shopping. i just like to look and drool. Since i like nearly All kinds of bikes.... the drool is very free-flowing.


Thanks for the info though.