So I went to the Harley Dealers yesterday and ..........

[man5]

Here's what I have to say.

I tried most of the bikes there and I must say, the Sportsters were by far the most comfortable bikes. Although the seats are wider and little more comfortable on bigger bikes like softails, but they were also a lot heavier than sportsters. From what I've heard that Sportsters are very small and even by the looks of them from the photos, they did not look interesting to me. But seeing is believing. I actually liked their size. Not too big and not too small. And even though it weighs around 500 lbs, it felt lighter and I had much better control of it. I could handle it pretty well. Then again, I'm 6' and 180-200 pounds. And I also love the fact that it's easy to steer, compared to some of the other bikes that take a lot of muscle to steer the front end. Too bad they didn't have a Fatboy there. Would love to try that.

All in all, I love the feel of Sportsters. It's one thing to see it on the internet, but another to see it in person and sit on it. And they are selling like hot cakes here. Everybody wants one. I think I'm gonna start off with 833 Low, which is the cheepest one they got. Since I'm new and still young, that's the best one to go with. I can upgrade to 1200 later on if I want to. But 833 L for $8200 is MSRP here, for brand new. You think that's a good deal? Can the price be lowered a little?

[RhadamYgg]

Why would you start on a 883 low? I thought the low meant low seat - and with your height I couldn't see needing a lower than normal seat on just about any cruiser. Did you test ride them or just sit on them? I can tell you from personal experience that sitting on a bike tells you something, but not enough to know if the bike is a long-term keeper or not. I do know that some of the Harley Davidson dealerships rent out bikes - which would be better than sitting to determine if it is the bike for you or not.
I may rent one myself sometime in October - just to see what it is like.

[HYPERR]

Why would you start on a 883 low? I thought the low meant low seat - and with your height I couldn't see needing a lower than normal seat on just about any cruiser

I think because 883L is significantly cheaper than the next 883. All the 883s have diminutive seat height regardless....only about 26".

[Flesher]

From time to time I like going to the demo days held at Harley dealerships and just ride all the bikes. For me, I found the Sportster fine to sit on, but even on a 15 minute ride I couldn't wait to get off, I found it way too cramped, and I'm shorter than you by a couple inches. The bikes I found the most comfortable at HD are the Street Bob, and the Fat Bob, and also the Street & Ultra Glides, oh and the XR1200 was a blast to ride, but it too felt cramped. So if you can, you might want to take a ride on one before committing.

[koji52]

yo dude...there's many many many used low mile XLs out there. You'd be able to pick up a nice rubber mount 1200 for less than $6K. I'd check out Craigslist before going back to the dealer for a bike. What do you ride now? If you ride anything with a significant level of power, you're going to feel like the 883 is slow. Go with the 1200 used (my opinion: XL1200C...my preference).

[RockBottom]

yo dude...there's many many many used low mile XLs out there. You'd be able to pick up a nice rubber mount 1200 for less than $6K. I'd check out Craigslist before going back to the dealer for a bike. What do you ride now? If you ride anything with a significant level of power, you're going to feel like the 883 is slow. Go with the 1200 used (my opinion: XL1200C...my preference).

His post said he was "new" so a heavy 1200 would not be a good choice.

[koji52]

yo dude...there's many many many used low mile XLs out there. You'd be able to pick up a nice rubber mount 1200 for less than $6K. I'd check out Craigslist before going back to the dealer for a bike. What do you ride now? If you ride anything with a significant level of power, you're going to feel like the 883 is slow. Go with the 1200 used (my opinion: XL1200C...my preference).

His post said he was "new" so a heavy 1200 would not be a good choice.

Right on...missed that part (likely because he rode other big twin models). I still maintain my opinion buy used!

[man5]

Well it's either 833 Low or Iron 833, which is 3 inches higher for the seat and the price difference is around a grand. Any other differences between 833 Low and 833? I don't want to jump right into big bikes yet. If I jump into 1200 XL series, it's couple more grands on top and even the dealer told me to stay under 1000 as a beginner. The thing is, I'm not going to be making really long trips. The farthest I may travel is around 200 km one way. I'm still a young guy and I can't afford to buy Fat boy/bob or any other big expensive bikes that cost twice as much as Sportsters.

[csspostal]

You can always buy a kit to make your 883 a 1200 down the road

[ceemes]

Well it's either 833 Low or Iron 833, which is 3 inches higher for the seat and the price difference is around a grand. Any other differences between 833 Low and 833? I don't want to jump right into big bikes yet. If I jump into 1200 XL series, it's couple more grands on top and even the dealer told me to stay under 1000 as a beginner. The thing is, I'm not going to be making really long trips. The farthest I may travel is around 200 km one way. I'm still a young guy and I can't afford to buy Fat boy/bob or any other big expensive bikes that cost twice as much as Sportsters.

A Harley Dealer, scratch that, A DEALER ACTUALLY said to start off small????? Someone call the Pope and let him know JC Waterwalker is a coming, and someone better send an HVAC repairman down to fix old Nick's furnace.

Have you considered getting something like a Honda Shadow 750 as your first bike, you can usually find them in good repair and for a good price used. It might be a good idea to get a used Japanese cruiser as your first bike, that way you can concentrate on gaining road skills without having to worry about maintenance issues (for the most part) and reliability issues. If you get used, you can save a few pennies and save up for your dream machine while you ride your learner beater for a couple of years.