Hello all! I'm from NJ and about to start riding again. Got my eye on a sportster.
I'm retired, former marine.

Welcome and let me say thank you for your service.

Welcome to the forum. It will be great for you to be riding again, you'll love it!

Welcome to the forum!!
Hope you find the bike you like, there are plenty of them out there.

Welcome from the northern end of GA. Than you for your service to our country

Welcome from New England. The Sportster series is nice but.........ask yourself what type of riding you'll be doing. Staying local...Sportsters perfect. Venturing down the road you might want to lean towards some of the slimmer big twin models.

LOL. It's a good thing we're friends, BI63!

You can do anything on a Sportster that any other biker does. For decades bikers rode 500cc and 650cc English bikes. The best touring bike of 1969 was the 750cc CB Honda. Guys could finally make it across country--without tools.

In fact, during the first few years Harley offered the Sportster, it also came with a larger gas tank and saddlebags.

I drive my Sportster 48 on the slab all of the time. I wore out a tire while most Electra-Glide-ish bikes stayed parked. If you want to tour on a Sportster, just pick the correct accessories, a good seat and shocks, and have a nice trip.

Yes but why beat yourself to death when you can ride in varying degrees of style,lol. You get yourself a dresser and the only regret you'll have, in fact you'll kick yourself for being so stubborn and not getting one sooner.

For the same reason some guys drive a Lexus and some guys drive an old Willy's pick-up.

Why not go all the way and drive a GoldWing trike? Some come with airbags. You can get a Can-Am with a windshield that is adjustable for height to screen out that pesky air we have drive through.

At some point it's no longer a bike.

Okay if you want to get to the crux of the bisquit then get a rigid, a bed roll and hit the road. Yes you can ride cross country on a Sportster, I know someone who recently rode one to Alaska.

A dresser is a motorcycle but has a few more ammenities for those who are on the road for days and weeks. Why not? Cruise control like a car, CB for communications, a weather channel,CD player and more storage space. Being on the road on 2 wheels has to be a torture why? Proving what to who?

The Ultra is the greatest thing since slice bread. I regret all those years I wasted making fun of them like you do when the whole time the Ultra was truly the only way to roll for those who ride for days and weeks.

For those that have them to go to the grocery store and back...such a waste. That bike was made to be coast to coast. The reliability is so there. Make sure you have a tire repair kit and a way to refill your tire once patched.