2007 1200R - Been looking for awhile and the wait was worth it. Just a few cosmetic changes on this bike as I intend to keep it a Roadster always.

Looks nice. What will you be changing?

Nice bike. I'd like to know what types of riding you're planning. I think this type of Harley is vastly underrated, and I'd like to hear more.

'08 was the last year for the Roadster, but H-D put a 4.5 gallon tank on it which just kills the lines of the bike. I plan on making minimal changes to this bike to preserve the value and keep the lines intact. Most of the changes are now in effect with new Venoms, brake pads, Mustang Solo seat, S&S air cleaner, laydown plate holder, a set of shocks I had been holding in reserve and the D&D Bobcat exhaust off my 883 (muffler not installed yet). Yet to be changed is a low profile tail light and color matched side covers.

So far I can report this is the best handling Sportster I have ever ridden...nothing negative I can find at this point. The only other thing that would really set this bike off is a set of wheels off a 2012 SuperLow, but that will be sometime in the future...if ever.

Looks great I can see some of the updates from your pics. Enjoy it and ride safe.

That's the nice thing about being "old school." That phrase is not only descriptive of your values, but you really did go to an old school--which has probably been torn down.

While I appreciate the lines and craftsmanship of how a bike looks (and I think the traditional Sportster profile is the prettiest in history), sooner or later you reach an age where you wear ugly warm clothes, you don't know the names of actors under the age of thirty, realize that kids think The Civil War and the Vietnam War happened a few months apart, and a 4.5 gallon gas tank has 'cute lines' of its own.

My age group uses bike parts as 'raw material.' I'll find an EFI 4.5 gallon tank, give it to Gary (the best custom painter in my area, and has access to real Harley paint and decals), and voila, I'll have a 4.5 gallon 48 tank that looks like Willie G built it.

If I win the lottery I'll buy a 1200 Custom and some decent shocks. But for right now, I think that 4.5 gllon tank on a 48 looks just beautiful.

The 4.5 tanks looks good on my 883...just not going there on the Roadster.

It looks great.

I don't go into a bike project with any preconceived ideas of how a bike should be built. Betty is a San Francisco custom, and except for a few trips to South Dakota, I've never been across the Mississippi. She looks the way she does not for style alone, but for function.

But we all know guys who tell you they're going to build a 'chopper' and you know how the project is going to look.

Your 883 is a well thought out, nicely executed, custom motorcycle. When you first posted pictures of it, I thought it was stunning. There is no doubt in my mind that you will apply those same techniques in building your roadster.

Just checked out your pix, very nice to say the least.
I must have missed something cause I think the lines are classic, but to each his own.
Still, the roadster looks great and even better when the owner really loves it.

HOF, what you did to your 883 is primarily what I want to do to my 48. And I can understand why you'd like to keep a bike with a more standard profile, adding only personal touches. I think I've customized most every bike, pistol and knife I've ever owned.

What do you think the end game will be? Do you think the Roadster will be able to take more/better highway day-trips, thereby earning its name, or do you think the overall design of your 883 will win out?

Perhaps you want one bike with "legs" and the other one for more 'in city' riding. I ask that because that's what I'm trying to do, and you seem to be a few steps farther along than I am.