My Day With a 2004 Harley Sportster - A Review

[BigD]

+100

Very well put Mike but I can't agree that the site is moving away from it's foundation. In almost every thread you can see the passion.
Thanks for the unbiased review!

[nodaclu]

Originally Posted by BigD

+100

Very well put Mike but I can't agree that the site is moving away from it's foundation. In almost every thread you can see the passion.
Thanks for the unbiased review!

Thanks Dennis!

I agree about the passion for the ride not going anywhere. I'm mostly concerned about that second part - "regardless of bike choice". Just not used to seeing the brand bashing that's shown up here recently.

Being a bike-gnostic kind of guy, it was the lack of that "us vs. them" mentality that originally drew me to this site. Otherwise I would just be hiding in the V-Strom forum all the time.

[SklyWag]

Originally Posted by nodaclu

P.S. You know, one of the foundations of Pashnit, is a love for the ride - no matter what kind of bike you own. I've noticed lately that, as the site grows, we seem to be moving away from that. There have been some pretty harsh opinions shared here lately regarding bike choice.

I sure hope this place doesn't ultimately end up like many other bike forums on the net which seems to basically boil down to cruisers vs. sportbikes. We're better then that here aren't we?

Part of the reason I posted the review in the first place was for other new or new-ish riders, who might want to read a balanced review about a Harley Davidson product by a current non-rider. It's tough to find H-D reviews anywhere that aren't written by either Harley zealots or Harley haters.

P.P.S. If you have a Ural that I could ride for a day, I'd be more then happy to review it.

Hey Mike

Good comments.

As everyone knows I am committed to my HD's. I own a Rigid Mount 1200 Sportster Custom that is just turning 30k miles that you would have to pry out of my cold dead fingers to get it away from me & a new FLHTCUSE. I love them both. Now once having said that I have only ridden HD's since 2003, before that I think I owned and rode one of everthing over the past 40 + years.

There are good MC's and bad MC's made by every single manufacturer. It use to be that a good MC one year was bad the next & vice versa. Now the manufacturers have it pretty well dialed in, there is something for everyone.

So, one might ask why I hang around Pashnit since I'm a HD guy. Easy one to answer. There is an overall lack of 'attitude' here, most everyone is here for "The Love of the Ride". I enjoy very much riding with my HD Chapter, 10, 20, 30 HD's or more on occasion all going down the road together. I also enjoy riding with a group from Pashnit, all different MC's and riding styles. Getting together after the ride and talking about what a great day it was.

Maybe I should not say lack of 'attitude', we all have attitudes about riding & our MC. It is how we share that with others that make is fun for everyone or uncomfortable.

Anyway, great write up on the Sportster. I did a short version a while back when I took my friends FJR for a ride, not nearly as comprehensive as what you did but along the same line.

You should find a 1200 Sportster to ride for comparison, there is a significant difference. I use to switch between my 1200 & Trudys 883 and was always amazed with 2 things. How much faster the 1200 was & how much less vibration the 883 had.

Live to Ride, Ride to Live no matter what it is

[akfxdl]

Originally Posted by nodaclu

LOL....I told Mark when I posted this, "the bashers will bash, and I really don't care".

Why would I do such a crazy thing? For me it's simple. Riding is about much, much more then carving canyons and seeing triple digit speeds. Some people love that - more power to them. Others don't, so why the need to try and "force" other people to see things from your point of view?

I don't buy a bike for everyone else, I buy it for me. I buy it because I want to enjoy ALL aspects of it - everything from riding it, to how I feel about it, to what my ultimate goals are for it - everything else the entire experience encompasses.

I'm truly sorry that the riding experience doesn't seem to bring out any emotion for you. It certainly does for me, so I wrote about it, just in case it does for others too.

~Mike

Part of the reason I posted the review in the first place was for other new or new-ish riders, who might want to read a balanced review about a Harley Davidson product by a current non-rider. It's tough to find H-D reviews anywhere that aren't written by either Harley zealots or Harley haters.

Mike...
Thanks for making me remember more reasons why I love to ride motorcycles.
I am thinking of selling my 1981 BMW and buying a 1930's or 40's something Indian or Harley. I have always wanted to ride a foot clutch hand shift motorcycle and I am afraid I have lost the art of kick starting. It won't be high tech, it won't stop on a dime and leave 9 cents change, it won't be able to keep up with the sport bike or even the cruiser crowd, but it will have that something that is unexplainable, it will bring a to my face when I ride it.

Thanks....