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Advice on bike for my girl. Newer Sporters or Older Softail?

  • Camilleri425
    Camilleri425
    4 months
    My girl has been ridding with me for a while, mostly off road stuff. I currently have an old beatup tracker of a KLR650 She's looking to get a Harley, I grew up on my dad's old panhead so I love the idea but not much experience with the newer models. 

    She wants an Evo cause she's a bit of a wrench jockey, she's thinking a newish Sportster or going for an older Softail (when they were evo's so 90's)

    For context she used to ride road bikes years ago, but has been mostly on the dirt scene for the last decade or so, She's about 5.5, around 90kg and almost as strong as me hahaha

    Cheers
  • OlChesnut
    OlChesnut
    4 months
    I'd look for a late model 1200 Sportster.  2014 models and up are good, you have better brakes, ABS and CANBUS electricals.  You still have the Evo motor and they are still great bikes for wrenching.  Also suitable for a 5.5 rider.
  • tussuck
    tussuck
    4 months
    Hi,
    I may be 6'2" but went through the same process when looking for a good Harley.  I can wrench really well, but actually wanted a bike to ride and enjoy as well as tweak a little bit here and there.  My criterial were:
    - Belt drive (I'm over chain adjustment every month)
    - EFI (reliability and ability to add a new ECU - I added a Thundermax and it rocks!) This also means its a 2007 up bike.
    - Rubber mount
    - Preferred stock so not flogged too much
    - Mileage below 30,000 (currently at 140,000km with no issues)
    - 883 or 1200 Sporty - lightweight and easy to maneuver in traffic as I commute about 90km per day
    - EXTRA after purchase was a Healtech Quick Shifter which means no more clutch needed after you take off from the lights.  best investment I have made next to the TMax.
    I ended up with a 2009 883Low that had 23,000 on the clock.  Bloody awesome bike and great fun to ride.
  • Hilly
    Hilly
    4 months
    My missus is 5' 5", she can put both feet on the ground on my 2016 slim, I'd imagine a 90's softy would be around the same saddle height, my sporty was tall in the saddle, short shocks and a thin seat would of brought it down but then it's maybe not going to be very nice on the posterior.
  • obisteve
    obisteve
    4 months
    Has she sat on or riden either? My daughter is 5'6", and can handle my 90 Sportster well, but has to stretch to the forward controls, evo softails are a bit lower, but a bit wider. 
    Something to think about, what's her tolerance for vibration? All evo Softails shake, but a rubber mount Sporty won't.
    Is she thinking of an FL style softy like a Heritage? Much as I love the Sporty I've kept for 34 years, nothing says classic Harley like a Heritage softail. A bit sluggish, but stone axe reliability and long engine life because of this. And what's her riding style, rip and tear, or more laid back?
  • tussuck
    tussuck
    4 months
    Stay away from an evo softail....  they are bloody slow and handle like pigs - they may look nice but its a hell of a price to pay. 
  • Hilly
    Hilly
    4 months
    They no sports bike the old Evo softy but I've seen blokes ride the wobbletail hard, I'd ride one across the country no qualms at all, rode a sporty from Kalgoorlie to Mackay once, was glad to get off it but I'd do it again given the opportunity, it's all about riding in the end, the rest is just noise.
  • Camilleri425
    Camilleri425
    4 months
    Quoting obisteve on 24 Jul 2024 11:24 AM

    Has she sat on or riden either? My daughter is 5'6", and can handle my 90 Sportster well, but has to stretch to the forward controls, evo softails are a bit lower, but a bit wider. 

    Something to think about, what's her tolerance for vibration? All evo Softails shake, but a rubber mount Sporty won't.
    Is she thinking of an FL style softy like a Heritage? Much as I love the Sporty I've kept for 34 years, nothing says classic Harley like a Heritage softail. A bit sluggish, but stone axe reliability and long engine life because of this. And what's her riding style, rip and tear, or more laid back?

    Cheers for the input mate and the questions.

    She's good with vibrations. She's ridden a 2016 softail so M8 but not gotta a chance to ride and evo, and she's rode a sporty not sure what year but would be 2010's somewhere I assume.

    She's doesn't care too much about speed, like all of us she can enjoy the twisties but when push comes to shove she likes a laid back ride, which is pushing her more towards the Softail. My concern is it would mostly be a city bike, so the smaller profile and the menoverabilty of the sporty may come in handy.

    She had a good chat with an old wrencher friend and she recons she could still have a lot of fun wrenching an M8 so now she is wondering if she doesn't go for a newer Softail, maybe a standard and do some modding from there.

    However she loves that classic Harley sound and shake, I mean we both do.

    There's been a lot of good points for a sporty here.
  • Far Canal
    Far Canal
    4 months
    Does it HAVE to be a Harley?.
    If not, how about a Triumph Bobber?.
    They have a low seat height (ideal for shorter folk), go like the clappers, handle well, stop well and are very fun to ride.
    My X had one (still does) and I must admit I always enjoyed taking it out for a spin.
  • obisteve
    obisteve
    4 months
    Quoting Far Canal on 25 Jul 2024 09:24 AM

    Does it HAVE to be a Harley?.

    If not, how about a Triumph Bobber?.
    They have a low seat height (ideal for shorter folk), go like the clappers, handle well, stop well and are very fun to ride.
    My X had one (still does) and I must admit I always enjoyed taking it out for a spin.

    Yes, it has to be a Harley. 🙂
    Nobody ever said it was a logical choice.
  • obisteve
    obisteve
    4 months
    Quoting obisteve on 24 Jul 2024 11:24 AM

    Has she sat on or riden either? My daughter is 5'6", and can handle my 90 Sportster well, but has to stretch to the forward controls, evo softails are a bit lower, but a bit wider. 

    Something to think about, what's her tolerance for vibration? All evo Softails shake, but a rubber mount Sporty won't.
    Is she thinking of an FL style softy like a Heritage? Much as I love the Sporty I've kept for 34 years, nothing says classic Harley like a Heritage softail. A bit sluggish, but stone axe reliability and long engine life because of this. And what's her riding style, rip and tear, or more laid back?

    Quoting Camilleri425 on 25 Jul 2024 12:39 AMedited: 25 Jul 2024 12:39 AM

    Cheers for the input mate and the questions.


    She's good with vibrations. She's ridden a 2016 softail so M8 but not gotta a chance to ride and evo, and she's rode a sporty not sure what year but would be 2010's somewhere I assume.

    She's doesn't care too much about speed, like all of us she can enjoy the twisties but when push comes to shove she likes a laid back ride, which is pushing her more towards the Softail. My concern is it would mostly be a city bike, so the smaller profile and the menoverabilty of the sporty may come in handy.

    She had a good chat with an old wrencher friend and she recons she could still have a lot of fun wrenching an M8 so now she is wondering if she doesn't go for a newer Softail, maybe a standard and do some modding from there.

    However she loves that classic Harley sound and shake, I mean we both do.

    There's been a lot of good points for a sporty here.

    Well it's a good time to buy, and there's a lot of cheap evos out there, I went looking in the usual spots and was surprised at how cheap some of them are. Any M8 is gonna be a lot more expensive, while being more powerful and better handling.
    It's easy and pretty cheap to get a bit more power out of an evo, it's been done a million times before. You're probably not going to find a completely stock one fore sale anyway. Most people pulled the restriction out of the manifold on the real early ones, or machined it out of the slightly later ones, and rejected the carb to suit.
    The sort of power they produce is ideal for city traffic, lots of grunt down low and nothing else has that sort of presence they do. That's a big part of being safe in city traffic.
    Sure, a Sporty is an ideal push it hard and play games in traffic bike, but a softail is a safer one. Besides, an evo softail has HDs version of antilock brakes.🙂
    Besides, if she buys an evo softail, you can buy a Sporty and do a street tracker number on it.
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