[squidchief]

I'm an H-D guy, that's what I ride. With that said, not a big fan of Sportsters. I think they're great for a youngster getting his/her first taste of Harley ... then you trade it in on something better. Have to recommend against. A Softail model might be a better entry level bike into the H-D world.

 

[squidchief]

$3500 for a good bike though.... might be worth it for a bit, you could probably get close to that if it's not your cup of tea. Sportsters, especially those older models, are seldom a good representative of H-D. Sounds like it could be a fun bike cruising around through town though. Damnit, now you have me contradicting myself...

 

[squidchief]

The biggest concern I would have is the vibration those bikes put out, especially if it's been stroked like you said. Some folks with lower back damage get stove up quick when riding Sportsters. I don't know if the ergonomics change you'll get with the mini apes will alleviate any of that or not. It would be well worth your time to take it out for about a half a tank full to see how you physically feel when your ride is done.

 

[squidchief]

I was eyeballing a slightly used one at my H-D dealership. Not a bad looking bike. Be interested to hear your opinion if you get a chance to ride one.

 

[squidchief]

I have a Sportster 1200, and I spend a lot of time fixing it. It is fun to ride and has alot more power than my Phantom, but the Honda is way more reliable. I like the phantom better for city driving, the sportster does better on the highway than the Phantom. Sportster has more power at 70-75 mph. As far as being nimble, they are about the same in my opinion, and the weight is within 30 lbs of each other. I like having the option to ride both, each has different ride qualities. I don't do super long distance touring, so both the Phantom and the Sportster is fine.

Do you feel it's worthwhile having both? Which did you have first? Is there an emotional attachment to it? If you HAD to get rid of one of them, which one would go ... and why.

 

[squidchief]

Makes sense. I've never been able to keep more than one bike in my stable. Oftentimes I'm telling myself I'll keep the one I'm replacing but find I can't ride two bikes at once. I understand not giving a bike away though. One always wants to get market value, unfortunately for those trying to sell one, I haven't seen a real strong market for Shadows lately.

 

[squidchief]

I am seeing your Point about riding Two https://www.hondashadow.net/members/squidchief.29498/
I AM Riding two at present, Red the VTX is my latest...

I`m Swapping between the two soas to find all the things I need to know about Red...

I Like "Bike Swapping"
Dennis

Are those two bikes pretty similar? Maybe if I had a big bagger that I only used for long road trips I could see having a smaller bike for around town but .... After I started riding performance sport bikes I never wanted to go back to riding a modestly powered cruiser. Now I'm riding the big Softail with performance mods on it and I couldn't imagine keeping a second, less powerful bike in the stable. It would never get ridden.

 

[squidchief]

I am on a 2008 so it is rubber mounted EFI. Vibration is not too bad, I mostly notice it when I am stopped at a light.

Repairs, I had my derby cover stuck, and I have a stripped screw. The oil tank which is plastic split at one of the seams. I had to replace it, and you can't buy them any more because they don't make them. I got the last new stock in the US. The alternative was to find one on facebook marketplace or ebay. I had an oil leak in the rear rocker box (valve cover) and ended up taking it apart and putting new gasket in. Had a bad ground on the rear brake light, ended up replacing one. The fenders were super rusty and paint was peeling, so my current project is getting new fenders and having them powder coated. Nothing major, but that was my first 6 month of ownership. When I bought it earlier last summer, there were no oil leaks.

Phantom for city driving because it is better at lower speeds, I don't feel like it is geared well for the highway. It also does better in the middle of the summer with liquid cooling, so if i am in stop and go traffic then the Honda is better. I have never had the Harley over heat, but in the back of my mind, I wonder if summer temps and stop and go attributed to the rocker box gasket failure.

My original plan was sell the Phantom, and keep the Harley. I don't feel like I can sell the Phantom for a reasonable price, so I would rather just keep it and ride it, or give it to one of my kids.

That's odd about the rusty rear fender. Aftermarket paint or damage repair I wonder? Friggin derby covers. I always replace my derby cover fasteners with ARP bolts. Life is much better.

Best I can define the "vibration" that many of us talk about... I used to have a '68 Mustang with a completely built 351 under the hood. Built for neck snapping performance. Imagine its idle at a stoplight as compared to a newer Honda Accord. No comparison. If you want a calm, civilized bike don't get a Sportster. That's not what they were designed to be.

 

[squidchief]

Know that feeling: Back in the day I had a 71 Firebird with a 428 with 455 heads, cam, and a spread bore, Moroso narrowed rear sub-frame with stringers and 15" wide 50's for rear tires. Fun toy. My brother had a 67 GTO that had a nasty habit of tearing the rear end out of the springs from the torque.

So, what you're saying is that what I'm looking at is a 69 Camaro with a 302 that someone has played with, right?

definitely NOT a 302. Stroked 383 ... thumper cam, Trick Flow 200cc heads .....

 

[squidchief]

I think the factory paint job was bad, and water got in under. back fender is bad. Front fender is all bubbled and paint is puckered on the bottom side. Got some new fenders from Drag Specialties for $150, so that route seemed better than trying to blast these. The rear fender is actually split where the seat bolt is. I found a local powder coating place that is really good to work with. I am excited to see it all put back together. My goal is not not make it perfect, I want something that is mechanically sound and doesn't have fenders rusting off to be a daily driver.

View attachment 316067

Wow, never seen anything like that before ... from any manufacturer. What a hunk of junk. Hopefully some employee in Milwaukee was shown the door soon after. Look forward to seeing how it all looks once you get the bike back together.
I think Sportsters make great daily drivers. I don't think I'm up to taking one on a long trip unless its been modified a bit, but like any other bike, they're not that hard to get them just how you want them. That huge after market is great for the H-D line.
@bweighmaster , you might want to re-examine who you let in to your garage! lol. As long as folks are happy with what they're riding it doesn't matter the make or model. I've known lots of folks who have had Sportsters of both sizes and years. Most loved them and the bikes got them hooked on riding two wheels and the H-D brand. I don't know of anyone who kept a Sportster longer than 3 or 4 years. Almost across the board they ended up trading in their Sportsters for a Softail or one of the *Glides. They can be a heck of a lot of fun to ride though, especially a 1200cc.

 

[squidchief]

Purpose of this thread, to take the car analogy further: Here I am, with my 67 428 Bonneville, loving everything about it. Out of the blue, @squidchief offers to sell me his 68 Mustang. What do I know about Mustangs, especially something with his work done?

Also not my style ..
New Chevy Equinox , and 98 K1500 , That's me ....

Perfect analogies ... or similes ... didn't make it far enough in school to learn the difference.... @bweighmaster sez, his style is a new Chevy Equinox or a half ton pickup. A raw performance vehicle won't fall into that category or probably make him happy.
A 68 Bonneville, no matter the engine in it, is a long dang boat on 4 wheels. They are loved by many and are super comfortable. You can take it down the road sipping a nice dry gin martini, dirty... without spilling a drop. You stomp on the accelerator and it'll probably think about it for a second then get up and start going. The Mustang I would be offering to sell is pure performance. Roadster Shop Epic series chassis w/ coil over suspension, 9" rear end. Ford performance 351 putting out just shy or 400 hp connected to a 6 speed Tremec Transmission. Its got a Thumper cam in it so it has a lope at idle. Hooker headers and dual exhaust with cross over so you hear it going down the road. Outside of final paint and interior, all the work was done in my shop by non-professionals. No warranties, just a guarantee that it'll pull a twin strip burnout for at least 100' when you take off.
Would that give you a chub? Maybe, maybe not. The quality of work is unknown to you. Did I take my time and do it right of shortcut it?
There's a whole lot of people that would roll their eyes at such a car and go looking for that nice comfortable Bonneville.
There's a few though that would jump at the chance to take it for a spin down the road.
You know you'll always have to tinker with it now and then. You'll probably want to hop in your Equinox to drive to the city that is 80 miles away ... but come Saturday you find yourself making excuses to run into town just so you can hop in the Mustang and ride. You might even find yourself making it your daily driver and commuter just so you have (in your opinion), the coolest car in the parking lot.
Comparative difference. Myself, I'll always opt for the Mustang. That's descriptive of the last Mustang I sold and similar to what I'm in the process of building right now.
As an aside, the dude who bought my Mustang still loves it, but he's putting it up for sale as his wife hates riding in it.

 

[squidchief]

@squidchief : You're correct. I've got the Bonneville. Once the 1100 gets up to speed, I can cruise all day down the highway without worry. Unfortunately, like the Bonne, the Aero isn't wonderful in city traffic. My quest for a city driver has different requirements than a highway cruiser. I need to be able to navigate narrow streets with a lot of tight traffic. I need to be able to quickly make a left turn across traffic and be reasonably sure that nobody's going to clip me. I need to back it into a parking space quickly. Like a lot of people have pointed out, there are a lot of smaller bikes out there. This Mustang Sportster presented itself. I know the work done on it is solid. I just don't know what inherent factory problems there might be with that particular model. Someone posted in another thread that a manufacturer used an inexpensive plastic piece in a critical location, that if it breaks or wears out, can cause catastrophic engine failure. I've seen it happen. Cost the owner several thousands of dollars to repair because a thirty dollar part failed.
Quick update: Haven't had a chance to ride the Sportster. Son's been busier than a one armed paperhanger, since they're down a couple of drivers. Besides being the only person qualified to drive the 40 and 50 ton trucks, he has to go out on a lot of the smaller tows at all hours, all while running the business and raising a house of children with 2 teenagers and a 4 year old. As soon as I get chance to ride, I'll update again.

the plastic cam tensioner was on a completely different bike if I remember correctly. The twin cam 88's (1440cc) engines from '99-'06. It won't be in your Sportster.
As a commuter/around town bike, you'd be hard pressed to find a better candidate than the one you described, especially for the price and your situation.
Most peoples discontent with Sportsters come after having one for a couple of years and finding it lacking compared to other bikes on the open road. They can also be hard on folks with bad lower backs. If you experience pain riding in a 4x4 with stiff suspension or riding on rough dirt roads, you might have discomfort riding a Sportster for more than about 50 miles or so. Everyone's backs are different.
I don't know what it is with riders of the H-D brand, but they tend to introduce themselves to each other and ride together. Being around the other models in the brand lets you compare the various bikes side by side and a lot of folks find themselves wanting to "move up". You can typically find a variety of Sportsters of both (all 3?) sizes at any H-D dealership. Most were bought new by someone who just got their license, rode around for a year or two then traded in for a Softail. Two or three years later that Softail will get traded in for a Road Glide, Street Glide, or Ultra. It's just the nature of the beast.

 

[squidchief]

JFYI .. Equinox is pure business , taxi for the old lady's doctor visits .. Old pickup has been around for 218,000 mi. And counting ... We have IMCA Modifieds for fun on the local dirt tracks . Better than any Mustang .., Had one of those , 81 4 cyl. With full roll cage and right at 180 hp. As far as a street rod , My 67 Nove SS did high 11s and was daily driver..., Motorcycles , ? Scooters for groceries / parts running , dirt bikes for MX , trrails , flattrackers , 3 Honda Shadows .., Plenty of fun in my stables ...
LOL.. HE who dies with the most toys , WINS .....

I got you. Wasn't trying to sound dismissive at all. Race cars to daily drivers is comparing apples to watermelons. We've raced various classes of dirt as well. I was simply trying to create a picture for an individual looking for something to compare.

 

[squidchief]

View attachment 316333
I got my fenders back at the end of last week. They were powder coated and they even put metal flecks in there to match the factory paint. It turned out nice.

Sweet. Happy with the way it blends with the tank?