RayW
Well-known member
Hey Folks,
Here's the set up....
My friend Chris bought himself a Harley Sportster 883L. He figured that the $100 payments and 60 mpg would be cheaper than the $400 per month that he was spending on gas to get to and from work in his Ranger pick-up. Unfortunately, even though he grew up riding dirt bikes in TX, he never got his motorcycle license for the street. So I was tagged to ride the bike the 30 miles to his house from the dealer.
I was nice and brought an extra helmet so he could take the first ride around the dealership parking lot. ( figured he wouldn't want to wear my stinky, sweaty helmet) So, even though I rode it home for him, he got the first ride.
Now comes the fun part...my review of the 30 mile ride to his house on his new Harley. **
First of all, here's a pic of my friend sitting on the bike when we stopped for some BBQ. (THANKS! for buying, Chris!!)
The bike seems to fit him a lot better than it fit me.
My first thought upon getting on the bike at the dealer was that old tongue twister. Say it three times fast....toy bike, toy bike, toy bike. Second thought was that I felt really awkward on it at first. I figured out why later. It's a lot further from the pegs to the ground on the FJR than on that Harley. I kept stamping my feet on the ground like I was mad, whenever I came to a stop. It just felt wrong to not have to stretch a bit to reach the ground.
Now....I've got a bone to pick with the so-called bike reviews that complain about vibration on the FJR. They obviously NEVER sat on one of these Harleys! Sitting at an idle I learned to have a greater sympathy for the paint cans at Home Depot. Next time I need paint I'll just borrow Chris' Harley to keep the pigments mixed up on the way home. This thing shook so bad at idle that even the tail-lights on the cars in front of me were blurry, let alone things in the mirrors! I had to clench my teeth to keep them from chattering....and it was about 90 degrees outside!
As for other comfort issues, I accused Chris of buying the optional billet aluminum seat. If you think the FJR seat needs more padding, take a ride on one of these things! I also think he had them weld the shocks into solid pieces so he could have the "Hard Tail" experience. Any bump in the road seemed like it was trying to drive my tailbone up into my skull! By the time I got the bike to his house I felt like I had ridden an hour on a jackhammer!
The Sportster is obviously much lighter than the FJR so it felt easier to lean over. The low ground clearance kept any ideas that this is some kind of canyon carver firmly in the realm of fantasy, however. The peg feelers on this thing are almost 2 inches long!! I'm no Rossi wannabe, and have never scraped pegs on the FJR, but I was scraping the pegs on this thing on the first test lap of the dealership parking lot!!!
My last complaint about this bike is the brakes. I can almost do a stoppie on the FJR using just two fingers. This thing needed a whole handful just to get it slowed down. I will admit it only has one disc brake rotor in front compared to the two on the FJR, but then this is a lot lighter bike too. Every stop reminded me of my dad's old 68 Chrysler 300 but I think with the power brakes it required less effort than the Harley.
oh...one more thing to add. Maybe it was just because it was new but neutral on that transmission was harder to find than a woman's "G" spot!!
It WAS fun getting waves from all the other Harley riders for a change, though. Don't get to see that very often riding the FJR.
All in all, I wasn't impressed much. This is definitely NOT the bike for me. Chris might do great with it though. My one comment to him.....mines bigger!
** Disclaimer: I'm 5'9" tall and 280 pounds, so I'm a bit large for this little bitty 883L Sportster. Plus I'm used to riding a 2003 FJR every day to work, so I'm a bit spoiled. And to top it off, I'm enjoying the heck out of giving my friend a BUNCH of s*** about his new Harley. :yahoo:
I even wore my Yamaha t-shirt to the dealership when we picked up the bike!! :assassin:
Ray
Here's the set up....
My friend Chris bought himself a Harley Sportster 883L. He figured that the $100 payments and 60 mpg would be cheaper than the $400 per month that he was spending on gas to get to and from work in his Ranger pick-up. Unfortunately, even though he grew up riding dirt bikes in TX, he never got his motorcycle license for the street. So I was tagged to ride the bike the 30 miles to his house from the dealer.
I was nice and brought an extra helmet so he could take the first ride around the dealership parking lot. ( figured he wouldn't want to wear my stinky, sweaty helmet) So, even though I rode it home for him, he got the first ride.
Now comes the fun part...my review of the 30 mile ride to his house on his new Harley. **
First of all, here's a pic of my friend sitting on the bike when we stopped for some BBQ. (THANKS! for buying, Chris!!)
The bike seems to fit him a lot better than it fit me.
My first thought upon getting on the bike at the dealer was that old tongue twister. Say it three times fast....toy bike, toy bike, toy bike. Second thought was that I felt really awkward on it at first. I figured out why later. It's a lot further from the pegs to the ground on the FJR than on that Harley. I kept stamping my feet on the ground like I was mad, whenever I came to a stop. It just felt wrong to not have to stretch a bit to reach the ground.
Now....I've got a bone to pick with the so-called bike reviews that complain about vibration on the FJR. They obviously NEVER sat on one of these Harleys! Sitting at an idle I learned to have a greater sympathy for the paint cans at Home Depot. Next time I need paint I'll just borrow Chris' Harley to keep the pigments mixed up on the way home. This thing shook so bad at idle that even the tail-lights on the cars in front of me were blurry, let alone things in the mirrors! I had to clench my teeth to keep them from chattering....and it was about 90 degrees outside!
As for other comfort issues, I accused Chris of buying the optional billet aluminum seat. If you think the FJR seat needs more padding, take a ride on one of these things! I also think he had them weld the shocks into solid pieces so he could have the "Hard Tail" experience. Any bump in the road seemed like it was trying to drive my tailbone up into my skull! By the time I got the bike to his house I felt like I had ridden an hour on a jackhammer!
The Sportster is obviously much lighter than the FJR so it felt easier to lean over. The low ground clearance kept any ideas that this is some kind of canyon carver firmly in the realm of fantasy, however. The peg feelers on this thing are almost 2 inches long!! I'm no Rossi wannabe, and have never scraped pegs on the FJR, but I was scraping the pegs on this thing on the first test lap of the dealership parking lot!!!
My last complaint about this bike is the brakes. I can almost do a stoppie on the FJR using just two fingers. This thing needed a whole handful just to get it slowed down. I will admit it only has one disc brake rotor in front compared to the two on the FJR, but then this is a lot lighter bike too. Every stop reminded me of my dad's old 68 Chrysler 300 but I think with the power brakes it required less effort than the Harley.
oh...one more thing to add. Maybe it was just because it was new but neutral on that transmission was harder to find than a woman's "G" spot!!
It WAS fun getting waves from all the other Harley riders for a change, though. Don't get to see that very often riding the FJR.
All in all, I wasn't impressed much. This is definitely NOT the bike for me. Chris might do great with it though. My one comment to him.....mines bigger!
** Disclaimer: I'm 5'9" tall and 280 pounds, so I'm a bit large for this little bitty 883L Sportster. Plus I'm used to riding a 2003 FJR every day to work, so I'm a bit spoiled. And to top it off, I'm enjoying the heck out of giving my friend a BUNCH of s*** about his new Harley. :yahoo:
I even wore my Yamaha t-shirt to the dealership when we picked up the bike!! :assassin:
Ray
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