| Author | Message | ||
     Hughlysses |
Nice article and old advertisement: http://thekneeslider.com/archives/2007/07/16/when- the-hd-sportster-was-the-fastest-motorcycle/ | ||
| Mikej |
Sportsters all to often are marketed by dealership salespeople as girl's bikes, as baby baggers, and as beginner's bikes, none of which they really are. The good old days are better as a memory. | ||
| Chainsaw |
No one has ever called mine a girls bike, at least not to my face. I spent a week riding in and around Yellowstone last year with 25+ Harleys, and the only thing they ever saw was my tail lights on Beartooth Pass. Shoulda seen the jaws drop when they asked what I had in it, and I replied "Stock 883". When you buy a 'real' bike, you get 2 extra HP, 200 pounds more weight, and hard bags for the extra $10,000. In the case of the Dyna, the extra $5k gets you 6 less HP and 141 pounds more weight. FXDF (Fat Bob) 54.14 HP, 703 pounds Sportster XL 1200 60.16 HP, 562 pounds Road King 61.7 HP, 777 pounds I am digging the new Dyna Fat Bob, all 54 HP of it! | ||
| Djkaplan |
Up until the advent of the V-Rod, the Sportster was the quickest and fastest Harley you could buy off the showroom floor. It's probably still quicker and faster than the any of the new 6-speed Big Twins... if it isn't, it could be made to be very easily. | ||
| Terribletim |
You ever sat on one? Here's the part I never understood - Most the girls I know are under 5'-6" tall. Sit on a Sporty and try to put both feet flat on the ground. The Sporty has one of the tallest seat heights of the entire line. How is that a girls bike?  That's why my girl rides a Dyna Low-Rider!  | ||
| Thespive |
I started on a Sporty, which I Cafe'd. People used to tell me it was a girls bike, but in truth, the Dyna is the real girls bike. Sportsters, especially pre-rubber, were NOT a good beginners bike as "girl's bike" would suggest. Sportsters also have a very high center of gravity, which makes them difficult to handle for a new rider. I had 100hp on mine, the last Dyna CVO guy to say I was on a girls bike got smoked from the stoplight.  --Sean | ||
| Natexlh1000 |
No one ever told me to my face that my '79 XLH was a girls bike ... but they have told me to my face that it's a good bike to have until I was ready for a big twin. Sorry not enough cams. | ||
| Cityxslicker |
Sure call it a Girls Bike, It wont make you feel any better after staring at the tail lights all day. The Sportster is the only bike in the line up to have 50 years of continuous production. No other bike has that heritage, history or branding in the H-D line up. BTW wasnt Elvis on one? Isnt that one of the most famous shots out there? Don't try to lay no namby pampy line on the King of Rock -n- Roll. | ||
| Ceejay |
Only bike to get a weekend at Vintage days... | ||
| Wardan123 |
Nate - I just got a 1975 Sportster from my dad. 1st year of the left hand shift. May I trouble you for some info about yours and mods and maint.? I'd like to do something unique with it and I've got some ideas but I'd appreciate a knowledgable person to bounce ideas off. | ||
| Buellinachinashop |
When you ride a Buell up to a HD Dealer, 99.9% of the employees look at that as being a girl's bike. I think Sporty's were made for people who don't want to spend 30k on a bike, alot like we want sports/performance out of our Buells. To each their own I guess. | ||
| Hughlysses |
Just in case there's any doubt about the title of this thread, I wasn't referring to a Sportster as a "girl's bike"; I'm just referring to the common mis-characterization of the Sportster. I can well remember when a Sportster was the fastest production motorcycle you could buy. | ||
| Aldaytona |
When you ride up to a HD dealer, 99.9% of the employees DON'T RIDE!  | ||
| Djkaplan |
"No one ever told me to my face that my '79 XLH was a girls bike ..." I'm pretty sure no one has ever called an iron Sporty a girls bike. A good friend of mine has a really nice 78 model, the last year for the old style frame and swingarm. It looks wicked and dangerous and it makes a hellacious racket. It's not a bike for most men really. | ||
| Wile_ecoyote |
Aldaytona hit it right on the head! Have yet to see on employee at the local ride. They even sponsor a few rides a year. When asked why they dont participate its, Well, we have to keep the shop open. I think its the price tag keeping them off they're own stock. And No, they dont sell Buells. | ||
| Jayvee |
I thought it was called a "girl's bike" because they vibrated so much... | ||
| Fez |
No one has ever called mine a girls bike, at least not to my face. I spent a week riding in and around Yellowstone last year with 25+ Harleys, and the only thing they ever saw was my tail lights on Beartooth Pass. Shoulda seen the jaws drop when they asked what I had in it, and I replied "Stock 883". going to red lodge this weekend for the beartooth rally. my boss has a 1200 sportster he is very proud of and has been telling me he can beat me and my 2006 XB12s up beartooth pass. he has a nice bike and has put some work into it so he probably has me on horsepower, but he has been claiming his sportster can corner just as well as a buell. for a guy with an electrical engineering degree, he has a very poor grasp of physics | ||
| Mr1spd |
I thought I would add my p's and q's. The Harley/ Buell dealership in Omaha( Dillion Brothers). I think 99.9% of the people who work there ride. It should be a requirement. People shouldn't be allowed to sell something they have no experience with. | ||
| Daves |
Most of the people at the 2 dealerships I have worked at ride. | ||
| Swampy |
I have tassels on my Sportster Only because I haven't figured how to take them off!) | ||
| Chasespeed |
Not at my local dealership... Hell, I had one guy(eithe rthe sales manager, or assit mgr) Telling ME that the XB12X had 120+ hp, blah blah... When I told him politely 103, he told me I better get my shit straight, etc etc etc... It was dealt with.... BUT I have on of those "typical" dealerships... The parts guys are good to me though... BUT, regardless, yes they push the sporty as a chic bike, etc... also tried to tell me the v-rod was built for women too.... guess they dont make much off them... Chase (Message edited by chasespeed on July 17, 2007) | ||
| Dfishman |
My sporty.No "girls bike" 1200cc @ 420lbs.And I know every nut & bolt.It is very satisfying to ride & so is my Uly.I have had BTs & like them,but for all out fun,I stick to the Quad cams!  Pic was taken 600miles away from home. Yeah I ride my bikes. | ||
| Hdbobwithabuell |
My wife's sportster is a girls bike. At 4'10" a lowered 883 was all we could get her to tip toe. | ||
| Sportymark |
Yeah i get the "Girls Bike" thing all the time (being I am 6'1" and 250lbs) but i would have no other harley short of a flathead (excluding Buells but that is a different story). Ride the hell out of my sporty, have bene known to leave sportbikers if I knwo the Rd well enough, once had a guy on a 636 try to stock with me and slide off the Rd, and last time I dynoed my little 74 incher (883 conversion stock heads, stock cams) it beat out the brand new 95 inch softtailby 4 hp and 2 ftlbs....made me happy | ||
| Tommy_black_shark |
When I came home from my year of living dangerously I bought a new XLCH in San Francisco and rode it back to Ft. Campbell Kentucky. Its a good thing that at the time I didn;t know A) You can't tour on a Sportster, and B)A Sportster is a "girls" bike.  At the time I was under the impression that the Sporty was a bike ideally suited for recently discharged paratroopers or recently released felons. The bike is still in the family after all these years.  | ||
| Tommy_black_shark |
Isnt that one of the most famous shots out there? Don't try to lay no namby pampy line on the King of Rock -n- Roll. I'm pretty sure that was a '56 K model on the enthusiast cover. By the time the Sportster came along ('57) the King had the cash for a Panhead. Why does anyone care what the kids at the malt shop, much less the dealers employee's think of a Sportster or a Buell? You can tell the ones that have been around bikes for a while because they don't have bias' that were formed by reading a magazine or from what some other poser says. I recently visited an Atlanta dealership (Not Stone Mtn. or Earl's) and was amazed at the lack of knowledge on people representing Harley. Buells are what the Sportster should have become if Harley was still selling motorcycles instead of fashion accessories. | ||
| Chainsaw |
... but he has been claiming his sportster can corner just as well as a buell. You beat him in power to weight ratio and cornering clearance. You should beat him handily. A) You can't tour on a Sportster... I've heard that before. I've now ridden mine in 45 states including Alaska, Canada, and Mexico. I put 5366 miles on it the first week of July! | ||
| Dave |
Yeah there were a few times I heard my XR1000 called a modified "girl's bike". ANother reason why I grew weary of that crowd. DAve | ||
| Jlnance |
I wonder what people who would call a sportster a girls bike would think of my Blast?  | ||
| Wolfridgerider |
Did anybody notice the riding gear they had on in the advertisement. I like the white socks.... |
