anybody own a Harley Sportster 883? Should I buy one?

G

Gary007

Joined
May 17, 2002
Messages
1,452
I got married 10 years ago, and when I did, I sold my BMW K75, for "safety" reasons. Well, the wife is softening up a bit. We stopped and looked at Harleys for the heck of it. The 883's are surprisingly inexpensive, about $5900, I think it even had the Screaming Eagle pipes on it. The price tag said, $1,000 down and $121 a month. Pretty do-able actually. I would even put down more cash.

Anybody have an 883? Any general advice? I'm 6'3,.... too tall? Anybody upgrade the engine? Any thoughts?

Here's a pic from my camera phone. Now I feel like going back and looking at it again.:)

56557999.jpg
 
Dude,

Did you read the announcement at the top of the Community Forum?

Me said:
Gadgets & Gear: Threads regarding any object that is not a knife, such as guns, gun related articles, shoes, flashlights, backpacks, spoons, cars, motorcycles, etc. belong in this forum. This includes discussion of same.
Click to expand...

Please be aware of the rules and post in the appropriate forum. I'll be moving this to G&G.

Thanks.

Nice bike, btw. I say go for it. ;)
 
At 6'3” you may be a bit cramped on the bike, as much as I like the 883 and I have owned one, it just may not be the bike for your due to your size, I would try to find a Harley Shop that rents bike and see if you can take one for a test spin. If its close you can change bars to lengthen the reach, but your stuck with foot position unless you want to look like those goofy bar hoppers with pegs way out front.

As far as mods the sky is the limit, its just hard to find a good shop, usually a Harley worst enemy is its owner, who while he wont work on his care because its to hard somehow feels he is capable of wrenching on his bike.



edited to add I left out this link, http://www.nrhsperformance.com/ theese guys seem to do some good work and have some good kits, I was really looking at the 1050 kit for my XB9R, since it is kind of pokey.
 
How about a Dyna Glide? I think that you will feel very cramped on that.
 
Funny. I had a '92 883 that I upgraded to 1200cc jugs, Screaming Eagle cams and pipes and windscreen. I'm 6'0" and I found it a bit cramp.

I sold it the next year for a '93 K75A, as my last bike before I got married. Wife is now also getting softer and she's OK with me getting the new Street Rod once I pay for the house upgrades this summer.
 
Not a Harley fan.

The 883 is too small for you IMO, though. By the time you pay for mods, you could have a bigger one paid for.
 
Although the msrp of an 883 Sportster is only around $6500, you may have trouble finding one at a dealership for that price. The reason, many (most?) H-D dealers are crooks. They'll add all kinds of overpriced accessories to their showroom bikes, on top of incredible dealer markups. At least around here anyway. In this region I know of exactly one H-D dealer that sells at m.s.r.p. - the catch, msrp is only available on last year's leftover bikes.

Being 6'3", I think you'll fit better on a dual-sport, sportbike, or fat cruiser. On a "fat" classic-styled cruiser, some of your excess leg length will be used up reaching around the wider tank. And sportbikes/dual sports/tourers have higher seat heights than cruisers.

But in a general answer to your question, yeah I think the 883 Sportster is a good motorcycle. One advantage of buying H-D, you can rent one for a day and try it out. Foreward control relocation kits (a bit different than foreward controls) are inexpensive and easy to install.

Best Wishes and good luck,
-Bob
 
Gary007 said:
I got married 10 years ago, and when I did, I sold my BMW K75, for "safety" reasons. Well, the wife is softening up a bit. We stopped and looked at Harleys for the heck of it. The 883's are surprisingly inexpensive, about $5900, I think it even had the Screaming Eagle pipes on it. The price tag said, $1,000 down and $121 a month. Pretty do-able actually. I would even put down more cash.

Anybody have an 883? Any general advice? I'm 6'3,.... too tall? Anybody upgrade the engine? Any thoughts?
Click to expand...

Ask over here...

http://forums.delphiforums.com/harleysportster

I'm sure they can answer all your questions.

I have a Honda Magna and I love it!

Ride safe,
Julian

P.S. Many good low mileage bikes are also available.
 
Im 6"1 and was thinking the same thing 7 years ago. the 883 was wayyyyy to small for me. I bought an awesome bike that i love a 99 honda magna, it fits great and is a rocket. I also now have a 2001 honda shadow 750 ace, 30,000 and still runs like new. I got over the whole harley thing. I think you need to go to a dealer and ride an 883 then the same day go ride a jap crusier. Take a magna out for a ride, you will see the diff for yourself. If i had to do it all over again, i think id buy a used v-max right from the start. Do some research, v-max are pretty hot. Hope i helped you out.:D
 
yep, you've helped me out, everybody here has.

HHmm.... Honda Magna eh? 6'1 and fits you well? I'm surfing the internet now looking at pictures.... looks good...and they are fairly inexpensive used.

V-Max? I will check those out also... they are nice looking.

edited picture in:

oh yes, V-Max.

large.jpg


thanks!


Dr sharp said:
Im 6"1 and was thinking the same thing 7 years ago. the 883 was wayyyyy to small for me. I bought an awesome bike that i love a 99 honda magna, it fits great and is a rocket. I also now have a 2001 honda shadow 750 ace, 30,000 and still runs like new. I got over the whole harley thing. I think you need to go to a dealer and ride an 883 then the same day go ride a jap crusier. Take a magna out for a ride, you will see the diff for yourself. If i had to do it all over again, i think id buy a used v-max right from the start. Do some research, v-max are pretty hot. Hope i helped you out.:D
Click to expand...
 
Sportsters aren't bad at all, but go with the new models that have the motors rubber mounted instead of neing mounted directly to the frame. They are much smoother to ride long distances and you wont have to "nut and bolt" check the entire bike nearly as much. I would also recommend the 1200cc motor since the 883's are commonly known as "girls bikes" (no offense please).
Something as simple as a new set of handlebars can help with the size issues. Drag bars look the best. Good luck with your purchase and look out for all the retards on the road who never seem to notice motorcycles. I sold mine after a few too many close calls with woman drivers on cell phones.

Also one last note, check into buying (I cant remember what its called) a $20 device that helps trafic lights detect that you are sitting there so you actually get a green light instead of sitting through several reds in succession. Its almost always advertised in the back off most all motorcycle magazines and it is great.
 
If you've been a beemer rider you are not going to like the H-D. I rode beemers for many years, a R65,R80, and my last was a 92 K75. I got bored with the K bike and sold it in 95 and bought a 883 sportster. after a year I had the 1200 conversion done. It helped a little.

My main beef with the bike was the lack of quality I had gotten used to in the Beemers. The sporty still had some electical problems, some leaking gaskets (base engine, transmission seals) and had the maddening problem of going someplace, then not starting to get home. Then we would wait for the local Harley dealer to come pick the bike up under the roadside assistance plan. Finally got rid of it.

Having ridden Japanese and German and Italian bikes that gave automobile like reliability, (Honda, BMW, Moto Guzzi) there is no exuse for the under engineering of Harley Davidson. My wife had a 98 FXD superglide that was also less than steller. We sold them both after five years of ownership, disappointed in the bikes. Today the wife rides a Honda Shadow that she loves and is reliable as her car, and I still have my old R60 that I never got rid of no matter what else I had come and go.
 
Thats my point, reliability is so cool. I had a ducati that broke a crank after only 5,000 miles . then i bought a honda cbr900rr and rode it very hard every day, after 34,000 it still was tight as new. I hate to be this way but there is something to be said about jap bikes. say what you will but they are ultra reliable.
 
That V-Max is cool!

Yamaha is my favorite brand (even though I ride a Suzuki) V-Star, Warrior, Road Star, the new Roadliner and Stratoliner, and the FJR touring bikes. All very cool.

-Bob
 
I rode a 94(?) V-Max for a 2 weeks a few years ago. Having grown up on motorcycles and having a few "big and bad" bikes I can honestly say the V-Max is an absolute riot. Light to light I don't think another bike can compete. Awesome doesn't even begin to describe the torque this monster puts to the ground and no worries of dangling the front tire every time you crack the wick. I am 6'4" and was very comfortable.
 
If you want a VMax get it now. With it's longevity (almost 20 years) Yamaha has a replacement planned soon.

One reason I moved to the K75A was because the bike I had right before the 883 was a Honda CB700SC Nighthawk S. The performance drop was pretty considerable. Even the HD cache didn't sway me to keep it.
 
a bud had a Vmax in the late '80s i had no idea they still made them, they were fast bikes for sure, not the best handling ones though.
 
ok, you guys pretty much made me forget about the Harley Sportster, too small anyway.

Now I'm looking at Hondas. Saw this real sweet Shadow VT750 on the show room floor just a few minutes ago. Has a tag that says, "$6377.00 out the door. I assume that means after tax and the other fees. What do you think about this bad boy?

56734532.jpg


56734583.jpg
 
Go back and get it now before some other joker beats ya to it. You'll love the Honda. Smooth, comfortable, and best of all it will get you back home that night. Thats more than I could say about my experiance with the bike from Milwalkee!

And there are Honda dealers coast to coast EVERYWHERE! So if your on a cross country and it time for a oil change or service you're close to one. Make the effort to join the Honda Riders Association and check out all the benifits. Roadside assistance, rallies, ect...

PS- Is that one got the shaft drive?
 
dude, believe me, I would buy it today, but I've got to somehow talk the wife into this.

jackknife said:
Go back and get it now before some other joker beats ya to it.
Click to expand...
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top