I'm thinking of picking up an 883Custom.

-onehot

 

Go for the 1200, if you get the 883, you will kick your self in about 3 months for not getting the 1200. when i got mine in 2007, i had the 1000k mile service done and it was around 220 for everthing. now i take it to a local guy and he charges me under 100 for all the same things.

 

I know a couple of HD riders. They don't complain about maintenance prices but they do complain about their dealer's service depts. They appear to be alternately swamped with business and clueless. Or both at the same time.

 

LOL...great.


[QUOTE=Black05S2k,Mar 21 2009, 06:32 PM]Go for the 1200, if you get the 883, you will kick your self in about 3 months for not getting the 1200.

 

Honestly, I'd get a Japanese bike - instead of continuously tightening and repairing things, they just seem to run.

 

harley= hardly runs

also i hear people say they leak oil alot
are the new ones still carb? hear they need tuning from time to time

 

i agree with the suggestion to go for the 1200- and agree that with an 883 you would just be thinking about the upgrade all the time.

although my bike has had work done, some by me- i have a mechanic who works only on harleys and he is not a harley dealer. he did some of my customization (especially the new chip/tuner on the injection system).
no issues on my bike- the mechanic is just there in case and for my mods!!
my bike is under warranty, but i prefer to pay him than to take it in (he is closer and i trust him more).
i say get a recent used bike... even with all of my customization i have less than the cost of a new bike in mine- and the other guy even paid for its first service (yes, he took it to the dealer for that one!)

the sportys are injected from '07 on, and man it makes a diff-
and especially if you change out the pipes, air sucker and fuel controller.
no more choke, no hesitation- just good clean fun riding !!

and btw, no oil leaks either... that is an older harley model thing

 

Harleys got a bad rep during the years they were owned by AMF, quality sucked and they leaked, or marked their territory whenever you stopped. They have great quality now, this shit

"harley= hardly runs

also i hear people say they leak oil alot
are the new ones still carb? hear they need tuning from time to time"

is from someone who clearly has never owned one and is just inputting an opinion most likely picked up from import owners or idiots.

Look for a sporty forum, like xlforum.com and do some research there. If price in an issue get an 883 and over time you can make it a 1200 if you want more power. It you can afford it, I would go with a 1200 initially. What do you want the bike for? Long commutes, maybe not the best choice but it could be really comfy with a little suspension work. Around town bar hopper with occasional long trip, sporty will work well.

I own a sporty and a softail and they are both awsome for their individual characteristics. The sporty is just that, a sporty harley. I drag the pegs and ride the piss out of it all the while rocking 18in apes and more flava than any sportbike. The softail is comfy and like a caddy just absorbs bumps and keeps going.

I like carbs...poster above likes getting on and going, I like being able to tune the bike myself, i know a new jet for the carb is 5 dollars, To "pay taxes" and get exhaust and high flow filter for a FI bike will also require some more electronics such as power commanders...a little more cash.

The aftermarket is huge for harley, so the opportunity is there to make it 100% indiviual and yours, that is a plus. People on both side, harley owners and sportbike owers love to talk shit on the other....but its comparing 2 different things. Rant over, good luck and if you want more opinions from harley owner PM me or ask. Oh yeah your question, are they expensive to maintain, i dont use the dealers, i have an excellent indy that is cheaper for major stuff, and I do all my own oil and other general maintence. So for me, its really cheap.

 

Thanks for all the great info!

 

and more info:

http://xlforum.net/vbportal/forums/f...play.php?f=263

http://hdforums.com/forum/sportster-models-10/

http://www.harley-davidsonforums.com/forum...display.php?f=6

dont get stuck in analysis paralysis!
get a bike...
got both of mine off of craigslist- took a few months; kinda like fishing- gotta wait for the right one-
after driving off of the lot they lose a lot of value- their loss is your gain (buy used)!