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New Sportster Question

  • The Scotsman
    The Scotsman
    5 years ago
    Hi All
    I ride a 48 atm, I'm 55yrs young and a wee 5'7. 
    OK I have a couple of things bugging me and hoped to get some advice.

    My 48 is a nice bike, some say they are top heavy , but I dont find that.
     
    1. I test rode a Slim last weekend and it was good except when stopped at the lights I found it more top heavy than my 48. Also it might be me but everytime I stopped I kind felt the bike wasn't balanced, like swaying or wobbling a bit from side to side.....kinda hard to explain.

    2. Haven't ridden the Low but it felt a bit cramped for my wee frame.

    Last thing, all these bikes are over 300kg wet, so am a bit concerned about backing them up like on a small incline. The 48 is hard enough.

    So yeah, any advice or opinions would be great.

    Cheers
    Lads and lassies.
  • tussuck
    tussuck
    5 years ago

    1.  Are you happy with the 48?  If so then do you really need to move to a larger bike? Is it for longer tour trips or bar hopping?

    2.  The larger bikes would be a bitch to try to back up an incline and the risk of dropping at some point would be high.  Can you ride up the incline and then back down as that would solve the problem.

    3.  All the big twins feel top heavy as they weigh a truckload more than a sporty (I have one of each so can attest to this).  they may 'feel' more solid on the road due to weight, but I find they are slower to throw around and cannot stop anywhere near as well as a Sporty.

    Have you considered a 1200 kit?  they will turn a mild Sporty into a scalded cat! 

  • steelo
    steelo
    5 years ago
    Hi there TS. Welcome to the forum. I always found the bikes seemed unsteady at stand still so I don't think that's a problem. For me it's both feet down.
    Don't just look for the best spot outside the cafe or hotel. You need to look around and be careful where you park. Because of the weight I never reverse the bikes up a hill. Always drive in to a park with the front wheel and jiffy stand on the high side. So whatever the environment you can either drive out under power and or easily reverse out of the park. Don't park parallel to the kerb with the stand in the gutter for the same reason.
    I think I'm still missing a little bit of my colon from trying to straighten up my Ultra leaned too far into the kerb..
  • The Scotsman
    The Scotsman
    5 years ago
    Thanks lads for the info.
    The 48 is the best bike I've owned by far. Not saying its better than the sportster just saying off all the cruisers i've had. The small tank is nice but not practical.

    I have found the 48 a bit dodgy on the highway when its breezy. I love the 1200 its a nice motor.

    Might see about the Low Rider but that skinny front wheel worries me a bit.....stationary wobbly wise. Glad to hear I'm not totally radge.
  • tussuck
    tussuck
    5 years ago
    My FXR has a narrow 19" front wheel and its perfectly stable.
  • Daffy
    Daffy
    5 years ago
    Quoting The Scotsman on 22 Jan 2019 03:18 AM

    Thanks lads for the info.

    The 48 is the best bike I've owned by far. Not saying its better than the sportster just saying off all the cruisers i've had. The small tank is nice but not practical.

    I have found the 48 a bit dodgy on the highway when its breezy. I love the 1200 its a nice motor.

    Might see about the Low Rider but that skinny front wheel worries me a bit.....stationary wobbly wise. Glad to hear I'm not totally radge.

    I nearly bought a low rider without riding it but have ridden one the other day. I'm very short legs and all and I found it terribly cramped.I bought a 2011 Softail deluxe 15 months ago and I find it very easy to back up and manoeuvre around.Ive had 2 Thunderbirds and they were great bikes but very top heavy.The deluxe has about a 350 km range.Also very stable in the wind and very comfortable seat.Great for long trips and short hops. Cheers 
  • The Scotsman
    The Scotsman
    5 years ago
    Quoting tussuck on 22 Jan 2019 03:00 AM

    1.  Are you happy with the 48?  If so then do you really need to move to a larger bike? Is it for longer tour trips or bar hopping?

    2.  The larger bikes would be a bitch to try to back up an incline and the risk of dropping at some point would be high.  Can you ride up the incline and then back down as that would solve the problem.

    3.  All the big twins feel top heavy as they weigh a truckload more than a sporty (I have one of each so can attest to this).  they may 'feel' more solid on the road due to weight, but I find they are slower to throw around and cannot stop anywhere near as well as a Sporty.

    Have you considered a 1200 kit?  they will turn a mild Sporty into a scalded cat! 

    All the big twins feel top heavy as they weigh a truckload more than a sporty

    Yeah is funny because a sportster weighs about 50kg more than the sport. But feels like weight is at the top  but ives read they have weight down lower.

    I would love to upgrade by bike to something with more beef but will be worried about parking it and not dropping it at the lights. On my test ride of the slim I felt like it could easy go over when I was stopped, not so much with 2 feet down but with left leg down.

    Do you guys feel that or is this a wee chappy thing  ?
  • steelo
    steelo
    5 years ago
    TS. You're faced with 2 unchangeables.
    1. Your height
    2. The bikes (HD) tendency to be a little top heavy
    You can't be the only person out there facing the same issues. It is what it is.

    Having said that.
    Thicker soled / healed boots, low height seats, adjusted suspension, careful parking choices, car park practice can all help
    I wondered "what the hell was I thinking" when I got my Tourer which was a quantum leap in size, weight and cumbersomeness from my little soft tail.
    Good luck with whatever you decide to do. Don't over analyse it
  • The Scotsman
    The Scotsman
    5 years ago
    Quoting steelo on 22 Jan 2019 09:50 PM

    TS. You're faced with 2 unchangeables.
    1. Your height
    2. The bikes (HD) tendency to be a little top heavy
    You can't be the only person out there facing the same issues. It is what it is.

    Having said that.
    Thicker soled / healed boots, low height seats, adjusted suspension, careful parking choices, car park practice can all help
    I wondered "what the hell was I thinking" when I got my Tourer which was a quantum leap in size, weight and cumbersomeness from my little soft tail.
    Good luck with whatever you decide to do. Don't over analyse it

    Well thats  I can tell you that seat height dont mean shyte. I found the sportster a bit harder to flat foot because of the thick primary but my sportster is 2 inches higer in seat height and can flat foot that easy.
    Funny when in 2016 I bought my sportster, I tried the custom and that was really top heavy but the 48 was smashing. 

    Reach seat can help and I'm sure there are other wee lads and lassies on heavy bikes, might have a peek at technique not strength.
  • tussuck
    tussuck
    5 years ago

    Interesting thread... I have an 09 883 Low and I'm 6'2" so cannot comment on the height thing but find it a very comfortable bike to ride.  Be careful with slimmer seats as they tend to strip out the foam and it then becomes a bloody sore ride (use gel inserts would be my idea).


    Pop onto the Harley site as they list all the seat heights for the various models so you could then target a bike to suit.  plus you can normally drop the rear an inch or two with lower springs etc

  • Neale
    Neale
    5 years ago
    I think a 1200 custom tank would bolt straight onto your 48 if you were wanting more fuel range.
    It'd be cheaper than another bike.
  • The Scotsman
    The Scotsman
    5 years ago
    Quoting Neale on 23 Jan 2019 06:34 AM

    I think a 1200 custom tank would bolt straight onto your 48 if you were wanting more fuel range.

    It'd be cheaper than another bike.

    Way to go laddy you got your thinking cap on, thats a smashing idea. I will need to check that out.
    Been thinking about all of this and cheers lads of your replies. I got a bike I love so be a real bampot to replace that with something I'm not real sure of. So for now I think I might save the dosh and ride my sportster. Heck most of the time I'm not on the motorway.

    Thanks again
  • tussuck
    tussuck
    5 years ago
    One thing.  Are you running a stock or aftermarket ECU?  I swapped over from the EOM one to a Thundermax (with autotune) and the bike is TOTALLY different to ride; way faster and smoother yet no diff in fuel ecomomy.  Well worth checking out ECU swap outs.
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