I rode a Harley today.

[iwannadie]

So, I've never been a big Harley fan at all, just never liked them(for my own reasons). I always said I would rather have an import cruiser instead(and have in the past) but I finally rode one today. My buddy bought a nice 03 Sportster 883 as his first bike and I got to ride it home for him. I ride a Suzuki Katana 600 and love it, it's not a crotch rocket but a Sport Tourer(with some added goodies).

The sportster has mini ape hangers which I wasn't too comfortable with, they are positioned way to far back(to close me) but the height was ok. The initial first block or so was not much fun, the clutch lever is sticking pretty bad. It doesn't feel like the cable sticking but instead the actual lever just needs some lube maybe. When letting out the clutch, the lever jumps so I wasn't able to be smooth with it at all. I want to help my buddy get that figured out before he(or I for that matter) would ride it again. The throttle seemed to have a pretty short twist to it also which I didn't expect.On my bike, I've added a yahmaha r6 throttle tube to shorten the throttle rotation(going from 1/4 90* twist to 1/6 67*ish). The harley seemed to have a smaller rotation but it could be that the grips are literally twice as thick as my grips. The turn signals are a little different having a left and right switch on either side.

The power is definitely there, I know most people scoff at the smaller engines and say you out grow them and all that. My bike is faster but the sportster certainly has some low end torque and over all ride felt ok. The brakes left me wanting a lot more stopping power though. It has single discs front/back and they really didn't feel up to the task.

The PO put a little bobber style seat on with what looks like a nice up-curve in the back. I took off a few times and felt myself sliding back off the seat which wasn't fun ha. The vibration is certainly there, more than I expected actually. My feet were vibrating off the pegs literally but not something I would be worried about, the hand controls vibrated less than my bike which was nice.

Over all I really liked the feel of the bike and am thinking of adding one to my stable. I can see why people want the bigger bikes though, the tank and over all feel of the bike seemed really narrow but it started to grow on me more. I had to remind myself I didn't need to press my knees into the tank many times. I am liking the old dirt track style sportsters a lot right now and would like to keep with that narrow style/look.

Anything I didn't like about this particular sportster could be changed out, the mini ape hangers, the seat, the foot controls were all add-ons and not my cup of tea.

It also has a really small oil drip, it's been in my garage all day and there is literally 2-3 drops of oil under it so nothing major. It looks like it is coming from the oil filter area, the filter itself is wet with oil. The PO said it's had that drip the entire time he has owned it but I would like to figure out where it's coming from and fix it.

Just thought I would share and start some Harley debating. Also, the worst part, it has some screaming eagle(loud but not straight) exhaust and I couldn't help but rev it and felt like the guys from the South Park episode about harley's...

 

[souske]

Not a fan here either, guess I got enough hugs as a kid.
Good for your buddy though, hope he enjoys it.

So what's the difference between a sport tourer and a standard? What year Kat?

 

[iwannadie]

Not a fan here either, guess I got enough hugs as a kid.
Good for your buddy though, hope he enjoys it.

So what's the difference between a sport tourer and a standard? What year Kat?

My Kat is an 03, it has basically a de-tuned GSXR engine in it with full fairings but it's not as aggressive as a GSXR. It is a heavy bike, with a rather big gas tank and a big comfy seat. I've added an Ohlins rear suspension(with remote reservoir and remote adjustments) which has made it a different bike.

When I think of a Standard I think more of the Suzuki SV models or a bike like the Night Hawk, something with more of an upright position without full fairings.

 

[goodburbon]

I don't dislike the Harleys, but I'm not a huge fan.

Right now I have a Buell, and I freaking love it.

 

[raze1287]

I don't dislike the Harleys, but I'm not a huge fan.

Right now I have a Buell, and I freaking love it.

same i loved my firebolt xb9r.

I have seen new harleys leak oil from the ride home from the dealership

 

[iwannadie]

I have seen new harleys leak oil from the ride home from the dealership

Ok, while not a Harley fan I tend to discount statements like that, I am not saying it's not true but seems unusual to me.

What were the circumstances that you happened to be around more than one Harley that was rode home from the dealer new and saw it leaking oil? Did you ever find out what the causes of the leaks were? Did you know the people who owned the bikes? Are you sure it was oil?

Any company can put out a quality vehicle only then to have some low level mechanic at the dealer not tighten the oil filter. Or, it could have been some oil spilled that collected and got vibrated out while being rode. Just saying, seeing oil drip from a new bike could have been any number of things.

 

[raze1287]

The rocker boxes tend to leak the most from what i have seen. The one i saw really leaking was out of the rocker box and what i think happened is he did not allow proper warm up on it then hopped on it full throttle 100 miles home from the dealer. So was it a harley issue with an inferior gasket or the improper break in for a new motor i do not know. The rocker boxes have been known to warp. This was on a friends bike

I am not saying they all do it and i have seen a lot of harleys that do not leak. But harleys leaking oil is a pretty common thing

Not knocking your friend i rode a buell for a while with the 984 which was a harley motor and it leaked but i loved the bike none the less until a dump truck pulled out in front of me

 

[souske]

my 80 Suzuki with 23k leaks less oil than my dads 90's fat boy with almost 6k on it.
American vehicles in general have poor fit and finish when it comes to certain areas, it all comes down to if you think the trade-off is worthwhile.
Even though their vehicles sometimes have no soul, the japanese to know how to build a reliable machine.

When it comes to vehicles, there are three schools of thought;

Japanese: someday, someone will have to get in here to replace a part, let's make it easy for them

American: someday, someone will have to replace this, well that's on them

German: someday, someone will try to get in here to replace this part, screw him!

 

[hawkeye 1]

But harleys leaking oil is a pretty common thing

They are just marking their territory. Nothing wrong with that.:moon:

 

[iwannadie]

Japanese: someday, someone will have to get in here to replace a part, let's make it easy for them

American: someday, someone will have to replace this, well that's on them

German: someday, someone will try to get in here to replace this part, screw him!

I will totally disagree with the Japanese making it easy to replace stuff ha. I can barely reach the oil filter on my Lexus sc300. To get to the spark plugs on my Toyota Supra I have to remove pretty much the entire intake and throttle body. Those are meant to be maintenance items, I won't even tell you about the more difficult items.

I thought the old conspiracy back in the day was something about in order for the US to allow import cars, the imports needed to be difficult to work on to create US jobs fixing them.

Also, I was shocked when I was working on a friends VW Gulf and found it had wheel bolts, not studs. What sense does that it to use bolts? Holding a tire and trying to thread that first bolt, gezz.

 

[souske]

Plugs aren't the maintenance item they used to be. To do the plugs on my Trans am took me the better part of a weekend. You have to remove the strut tower brace, loosen the abs pump from its cradle, and get one plug from the wheelwell, and another from underneath. Did I mention it sits about a hands with from the ground? Good part is, they last 100k.

As for the wheel bolts, the toolkit comes with a knurled stud, thread that in, slide the wheel over,then add bolts, remove the stud, and insert the final bolt.

 

[iwannadie]

Plugs aren't the maintenance item they used to be. To do the plugs on my Trans am took me the better part of a weekend. You have to remove the strut tower brace, loosen the abs pump from its cradle, and get one plug from the wheelwell, and another from underneath. Did I mention it sits about a hands with from the ground? Good part is, they last 100k.

As for the wheel bolts, the toolkit comes with a knurled stud, thread that in, slide the wheel over,then add bolts, remove the stud, and insert the final bolt.

Wow, that is pretty bad. Someone told me about some american muscle type car that the rear most plug sat so close to the firewall that you were better off just pulling the engine or something. I wish I could remember the details or at least the car.

Good to know about the toolkit, he didn't have that that knurled stud though, just seemed like an odd choice to step away from studs which are so common. I am not sure what is gained by using bolts but I am sure they have their reason.

 

[Darky]

My Jeep and 73 Ford are two of the easiest vehicles I've worked on (unless you're getting at the accessories on the front of the 4.0 or the water pump on the Ford). Mind you, the only Japanese vehicles I've worked on were my uncle's Geo Storm, my Geo Tracker, Isuzu Trooper, and my Suzuki Samurai...

My uncle (the one who used to have the Storm) owns an 03 Indian and loves to rag on my other uncle and his Harley. He took it to a big event in downtown Tucson where they had a dyno setup and his Indian was putting down more power stock than a lot of the guys with built Harleys...

 

[GSequoia]

For Harley's either a vintage road bike, a chopper built by me (preferably on my step dad's old bike), or one of these...

I'd rock the shit out of that bike.




And just for the hell've it this is the only real Harley I ever rode. Was my step-dads, I grabbed it when he died but it was taken away from me by his sisters, bit of a messed up situation there.

Hard tail, open primary, dry suicide clutch, vice grip jockey shift, and at the time no rear brake.

 

[Shorty]

Sporties get a bad rap from a lot of folks, but they can be built to do almost anything you want them to. A larger tank and some highway bars and controls will get you a decent cruiser for a couple hundred mile trips, or a 1200cc conversion and bigger brakes will get you a relatively (compared to other uprights) nimble stoplight to stoplight scooter.

The '03 you rode was setup with the rubber mounted engine (IIRC) and definitely doesn't have the vibes of the older solid mount engines-- it wasn't nearly as much fun on a long ride with them (numb hands and arse...)

I've got a '92 Sportie Deluxe that does pretty well at anything you ask of it (including keeping it's oil inside the case) but isn't on par with the best in class at anything. All in all, just a great commuter with some zip!

 

[iwannadie]

Sporties get a bad rap from a lot of folks, but they can be built to do almost anything you want them to. A larger tank and some highway bars and controls will get you a decent cruiser for a couple hundred mile trips, or a 1200cc conversion and bigger brakes will get you a relatively (compared to other uprights) nimble stoplight to stoplight scooter.

The '03 you rode was setup with the rubber mounted engine (IIRC) and definitely doesn't have the vibes of the older solid mount engines-- it wasn't nearly as much fun on a long ride with them (numb hands and arse...)

I've got a '92 Sportie Deluxe that does pretty well at anything you ask of it (including keeping it's oil inside the case) but isn't on par with the best in class at anything. All in all, just a great commuter with some zip!

I am pretty sure the rubber engine mount setup came in 04. Unless there is a cross over period but the Vibes are there for sure. I think the mini ape hangers helped with the numb hands but then again I rode it for maybe 20 minutes tops.

My buddy rode it today with no issues, we cruised around my housing community for a good hour getting him used to it then he rode it home(me following). He likes the sporster and riding so that is what matters.

It has been frustrating trying to explain counter steering however ha.

 

[Fornstar]

It has been frustrating trying to explain counter steering however ha.

That's a hard one for people to grasp if they have never felt it.

Matt

 

[iwannadie]

I went for a ride with my buddy today and it was kind of a let down for me gez. I feel like a snob complaining but he first took me through some neighborhoods. The speed limit being 25-30 in sections to which he ignored and cruised 40-50. I go the speed limit especially so on a holiday weekend when cops are all over. So he was just leaving out sight around turns. Worse than that the roads were all sandy and I was starting to slid around, not my idea of a fun ride.

We finally get out on what I like to call, actual roads. He of course finds the road that goes down to 35 through a little town area and he go on to cruise 50mph. I again don't keep up with him and pretty much loose sight.

I managed to keep tailing him and he got us on a 2 lane freeway with a speed limit of 65mph. I figure finally maybe we can go the same speed, nope. I look back and he is no where in sight because he is going 45-50mph. I slow down and let him catch up and then sit behind him doing 45-50 for a good 30 minutes before we turned around and did it again ha.

On the way home he proceeded to leave me behind when the speed limited slowed and he didn't.

So much for having a riding buddy.

 

[goodburbon]

Your buddy is a reverse speeder. I hate reverse speeders.

Save speed for highways and open road, obey the speed limits in towns and residential areas. A-holes like him always rush past me in town only to have me pass them once we get out of town. Sometimes driving through Texas they'll jump in front of me a few towns in a row because they go 20+ over in a 35 and I only go 5 over on the open road.

 

[xjtrailrider]

I work with a bunch of Harley guys, they are good mechanics(they have to be because their bikes are always giving them some sort of trouble) much like us XJ guys.

I think Harleys are a lot like Jeeps. They never really let you down all the way but they are always begging for a little attention. The legend/heritage that goes with both brands is very similar. The type of "rugged" people that really ride/wheel the two brands are very similar.

I'm not a biker but if i were i would get a dual sport. We have so many fire roads around here that you could ride for days and never see the same road twice.