Yikes, that cannot be more of a misleading statement.

I can assure you that the modern iteration of the Sportster ain't your daddy's bike. They are not the poor handling, magneto saddled, hard starting, knee disjointing dinosaur we keep assuming they are.

As for handling, I dare anyone to keep up with me in the curves. Many of the innovations started life in a Buell.

You might have to change a few things on the 1200 Custom to get it to tour, but then we change out things on a dresser and never give it a stray thought. Not everyone is a barrel chested saloon brawler. And our most highway savvy long distance tourer in the fourm, BadInfluence63, also benefits from a lower stance.

Of all the bikes I've owned--and that includes some metrics--my Sportster 48 is in the top three bikes I have ever owned over four decades. The issue is our foolish never-ending idea that bigger is always better. A full dress Electra-Glide-ish bike would be an albatross around my neck. Not counting the ridiculous sum of money I'd have to pay to obtain an ego bicycle, I'd have to feed it premium gasoline, suffer increased insurance rates, and store the thing when it wasn't running.

For what? My life is not yours. And let's not forget I know several guys whose mileage dropped when they traded in smaller bikes for dressers.

Evaluate your individual needs and experience, factor in feeding the motorcycle, and honestly settle your wants and ego. Buy that bike. Don't let guy on an unneeded parade float argue you into a bike that will sit under a dusty cover and rot.

Fat Boy low 700 lbs
https://www.harley-davidson.com/en_US/Mo ... ecial.html

Soft Tail Slim. 700lbs
https://www.harley-davidson.com/en_US/Mo ... -slim.html

Sportster Super Low 563 LBS and can be customized for touring. If you have never actually ridden a bike before. This one is easier to handle. I don't unless your a power lifter. You'll be more apt to ride this one allot rather than letting it sit because it tiers you out. For me I am looking for a bigger bike but I'm a big guy and I have my wife with me. Just makes sense for touring. But I will use my sporty custom allot more it's my every day bike. The bigger bike will be sitting and just looking purty most the time. You need to start with something you can handle, add something bigger later if you feel the need. But after talking to you the other night I just don't see you as some heavy weight so you might never feel the need.
PS. Just talked to a fried of mine she's been riding for years, she agreed, first time. get a sporty. And shes a tough biker chick, don't ride on the back of anyone's bike.
https://www.harley-davidson.com/en_US/Mo ... l#/c/specs

Eddie, I like you more and more. Not just because you did a little research, but because you had the cojones to recommend a smaller bike to Harley fans. Good call.

Well "the bike you buy is the bike your going to ride". In other words you stuck with it baby. Harley's are good size bikes no matter which one you buy. When you first start riding and you start with a smaller Harley and If you find after a while you would like to have a bigger Harley, well your still going to ride the one you have (allot) until you can afford a bigger one. If you buy a Harley thats just to big for you right now you may stop riding except when you go on rides with friends. You will be wobbly on the bike and maybe stop riding all together. Then the bike sits until you can unload it. That is a tragedy, You've wasted money, time and lost out on one of the greatest adventures anyone could ever have. I seen guys buy the biggest baddest bike they could find right off the bat and with in a year they aren't riding, and the bike sits on a corner with a for sale sign on it. Shame-full isn't it. I don't call it cojones I call it common sense.

Well, Eddie, be careful you heretic or they'll put you on the Group W Bench with me!

I think we gave Diva good advice about bikes in general, not just about Harleys. But two things come into play when we make that commitment.

We mentioned "ego." That's a biggee. What I have found is that some guys look at any deviation in "group think" as a cut to their ego whether the issue involves them or not.

For example, some people here are downright pissed that I openly ride, enjoy and recommend smaller bikes. Now, they don't have to ride them, they don't have to ride with me, they don't have to make my bike payments or buy my gas. In fact, I don't care if they festoon their road-boats with streamers or sparklers. But tell them that you have left the herd and they go bonzo.

I think the reason is simply status. It has been long accepted that "real men ride huge bikes." The fact that Harley now builds the smallest displacement big bikes in the industry is never discussed. So along comes a few guys who are having a blast on a Sportster and their universe collapses--they're not the cool kids anymore.

Second thing, believe it or not I got "hate mail" today--which I didn't even bother finishing--that was tantamount to this principle. The guy was upset that someone held a differing opinion, and like in all forums, demanded his 'real biker' status be worshipped and he be set back on the pedestal. The first sentence he typed was to honk about his vast years as a biker, that's where I deleted it.

I don't care if you were born with a Screaming Beagle stamp on your foreskin. A Sportster on the road is easily worth two unused garbage wagons in the garage. Diva needs to hear that, and have it stated that her choices and reasons and needs are just as valid as anyone's at HRF. I ride a "girlie bike" and the operative word there is "ride," not 'park.'

Since she said she's never been the "driver" before the advise of the MSF class is a first rate suggestion. After that she might even try a small metric to get her legs/wings for a while then go for a sporty. The smaller metrics can weight as little as half a sporty and gives a rider the confidence to continue learning on a larger more powerful bike.

I thought of that also that's why I had to ask my friend, get her take on it. She definitely said to go to the school one that provides a a smaller bike to train on but she said that a smaller bike than a sporty might be a waist of money unless that's the type of bike Divas planing to stick with. Since she has her heart set on a Harley my friend said tell her to start with a sporty she will happier with that. Just getting another female riders point of view. A veteran rider at that.

The issue then becomes financial. I've had two friends with Sportsters (one with both the big and little bike and one trading his in for an Electra-Glide) tell me that their decision was also influenced by the trade-in offer. In both cases they were good clients and well known by the dealership and were offered an insulting amount for the trade.

Obviously one of them kept the bike and the other sacrificed it. As much as I want both bikes, I'm sure lots of newbs buy a Sportster like we did when we were young. That is, we work our way up the food chain buying bigger bikes as our experience increases. This is where MoCO dropped the ball. For a year or two they offered clients full value for trading up. It appears that policy was rescinded.