Posted by Capt. Capsize on January 23, 2002 at 16:49:17:
In Reply to: Almost jumped ship! posted by Capt. Capsize on January 22, 2002 at 03:31:12:
I was so disappointed in how this 883 Sportster looked I stopped by the HD dealership to peruse his used Sportsters for comparison. Well, I stand corrected. I didn't see any of the 5 used and older ones that looked like my buddies. They all looked great, especially 2 of them that are so sweet (1200's) that I can't stop thinking about them. Unlike my buddies all the used ones had good chrome and plenty of it. John's bike engine was all sandblast finished, didn't like it. I agree, this scooter must have been ridden on Daytona Beach and put up wet. As far as the ride goes, all these Sportsters had pull back bars, John's has short straight bars that caused me to have to reach and lean forward.
Very uncomfortable for us short guys and somewhat scary 'cause my butt wouldn't reach the seat up sweep and when I goosed it I would slide back on seat and turn the wick up even more. The souped up fire breathing 1200 Sportster I rode a couple of weeks ago was a real rush but it also had a well padded custom seat that would suck me into it. I felt very secure on this bike.
So what is the lesson in all this? If all of Harley's bike were built like Johns' they wouldn't sell many of them. Obviously they aren't.