Road my first Harley

[Tim H]

I helped a lady move out of a damaged relationship and they were discussing how they could load the Harley Sportster on the moving truck.  I volunteered to drive it over to the storage garage that was a few miles down the road.  They thought that was a wonderful idea, but I added, "That is, if I can get it to start."  I did get it to start after cranking on it for for a minute.  Left the choke out to warm it up and by the time I moved it to the front of the garage it had bled out a pool of oil.  I just laughed and shook my head.  It's no Valk, but it was a fun ride.  It just felt small.  It wanted to jump into 2nd, the clutch was a bit touchy, well compared to the Valk anyway.  Cool sound and a fairly smooth ride.  The tires (dry rot) with low air probably made it a bit more tough to handle than it should have been.  I just couldn't get them to take any air.  I would have bought it from her to patch up and sell, but she could do better with someone else that wanted one.  I told her 5-6k for decent ones on Craigslist, but she should be able to get around 4k for it with the way it is now.  I would have only given her 1k.   It was a fun test ride.

[Smokinjoe-VRCCDS#0005]

  It just felt small. 

 

Below is Big Al's " Fatboy " parked beside the " Fatgirl " .....Apparently they are small 

[Fritz The Cat]

All Harleys mark their territory.

[YoungPUP]

Wow Joe. I always though a fatboy was a decent size compared to a valk, but apparently not.

[The Anvil]

Wow Joe. I always though a fatboy was a decent size compared to a valk, but apparently not.

Well it's an IS but I'll tell you this, I owned a Fatboy before the Valk (with a Buell X1 in between). Back when I still had the Fatboy and my buddy Matt still had what is now my Valk we swapped bikes in the middle of a ride. I just remember thinking that the Valk DWARFED the FLSTF and I never thought of the Harley as a small bike by any measure.

That Sporty would make a great cafe-racer or bobber. Just needs a little TLC.

[fon1961]

That Sporty would make a great cafe-racer or bobber. Just needs a little TLC.

i was kind of thinking that too. 

[WamegoRob]

It must be that time of the month
I (we) had a first yesterday.. never rode a Harley for more than a few blocks until a 45-miler yesterday behind the grips of a Road King with a sidecar when some good friends wanted to get in the wind.

Here's my lady all bundled up just before the ride.  Luckily our friends not only had the extra set of wheels, but also extra liners and leathers; it was a bit chilly out but we didn't want to pass on the offer.

[Tropic traveler]

Ridden a few in my time as well!
Me on a 1992 FLSTXYZ or something. It felt very cramped, handled like a dump truck & had horrible brakes. Owner spent several thousand $$ upgrading the engine so it had a bit more go than most.


Had this little beauty of a Sportster {2006 Low} in my garage for a few weeks selling it for a friend. A very nice lady from Tampa was the happy buyer. LOADED with HD accessories. Sweet little ride.

 
Had this nice 2000 Sportster for a while, had to take off one of those Kury "Hypercharger" air cleaners off & return it back to stock to make it run good. Cleaned it & put in a new battery then rode it to work for a few weeks. Sold it to one of my co-workers for $3K. Had 29K miles.


Did a bunch of work to this '79 Shovelhead "chopper" just to get it running. P.O. had some strange ideas on how to put together a bike! Zip ties everywhere, oil lines laying on the pipes, fiber washers on the calipers  , & not one bolt matched the one on the other side! YIKES! Rode it down the street just to make sure it was somewhat safe. Scary.


All of them belonged to the same friend. His diabetes keeps him from being able to work on them {eyes} but he is a horse trader of the highest order. Finally he has settled on one bike & I got it all set up for him just the way he likes. He rides it on his "good" days when his diabetes leaves his eyes alone. 2005 VTX1300.


He says the VTX is the best running, best handling, smoothest cruiser he has ever ridden & regrets how much money he wasted on all the Harleys he had over the years. I tried to tell him.  He said if he ever buys another small bike for his GF, it will be a 750 Shadow.

These are the most recent Harleys I have ridden, put quite a few miles on the Sportsters back & forth to work. Wouldn't trade all of them for 1 Valkyrie. I guess I'm one of those guys that "has to ask". 
   

[RP#62]

One year at Vintage Motorcycle Days in Ohio, I had the opportunity to do a 20 mile loop on each of the then current Harley models.  Now 20 miles is hardly enough to get to know a bike but a few things stick out in my mind.  The Road King was one of the most comfortable bikes I have been on and the Sporty was the worst.  It felt like my knees were going to hit my chin.  I came to the conclusion that Harley guys buy their wives Sporties to discourage them from riding.  The other thing, I've always loved the look of Springer Softails.  I rode a Heritage Springer and its was a good looking machine, but man did it tear up my back.
-RP

[bigfish_Oh]

All Harleys mark their territory.

how talking about recent decades?(or show your garage)

[DirtyDan]

you mean people realy RIDE those things ?

i thought it was a trailer company



 

dan

[MCRIDER]

I helped a lady move out of a damaged relationship and they were discussing how they could load the Harley Sportster on the moving truck.  I volunteered to drive it over to the storage garage that was a few miles down the road.  They thought that was a wonderful idea, but I added, "That is, if I can get it to start."  I did get it to start after cranking on it for for a minute.  Left the choke out to warm it up and by the time I moved it to the front of the garage it had bled out a pool of oil.  I just laughed and shook my head.  It's no Valk, but it was a fun ride.  It just felt small.  It wanted to jump into 2nd, the clutch was a bit touchy, well compared to the Valk anyway.  Cool sound and a fairly smooth ride.  The tires (dry rot) with low air probably made it a bit more tough to handle than it should have been.  I just couldn't get them to take any air.  I would have bought it from her to patch up and sell, but she could do better with someone else that wanted one.  I told her 5-6k for decent ones on Craigslist, but she should be able to get around 4k for it with the way it is now.  I would have only given her 1k.   It was a fun test ride.

I think if it really leaked a pool of oil you would have taken a picture of it.

[Tim H]

I think if it really leaked a pool of oil you would have taken a picture of it.

I didn't want to damage the garage floor more than it already had.  That's why the rag was under the bike until it was time to leave.

[scoot]

you mean people realy RIDE those things ?

i thought it was a trailer company



 

dan

Sometimes a picture is worth a thousand words.

[DirtyDan]

thanks bro

EVERYBODY coments on this pic

the look from the trick or treaters {black and orange crowd} is priceless

[moreira72]

I owned a 2001 Sportster XL1200C Custom before buying my 99 Interstate.

I converted the front end to complete Wide Glide front end.

It had 52,600 miles on the clock when i sold it in August, and it did not leak any oil.

Not all Harley's leak. Just not very comfortable on longer trips, so I got me an I/S

Here's a couple of pics

[R J]

My 1944 Harley Servi-Car doesn't leak any oil.

[RainMaker]

All Harleys mark their territory.

how talking about recent decades?(or show your garage)

THAT is a sweet looking bike!  Wow!!

[WamegoRob]

It had 52,600 miles on the clock when i sold it in August, and it did not leak any oil.

Not all Harley's leak. Just not very comfortable on longer trips, so I got me an I/S

I'm honestly being curious not spiteful here; what's all that on the driveway under the bike?

[moreira72]

It had 52,600 miles on the clock when i sold it in August, and it did not leak any oil.

Not all Harley's leak. Just not very comfortable on longer trips, so I got me an I/S

I'm honestly being curious not spiteful here; what's all that on the driveway under the bike?

I had washed the bike a couple hours before those pics, so maybe water dripping from frame? The new owner works with me, and has put like 4,000 miles on it since August. Believe me, it doesnt leak.

[moreira72]

Here is a Video

2001 Harley Sportster XL1200C Screamin Eagle mufflers w/ Big City Thunder Baffles	powered by Aeva

[BF]

moreira72.......

You did a good job with that Sporty, really nice.....but I've got a question......

I've seen alot of other Sporty's that have had the Wide Glide front-end put on before, but I've never known why folks do that.  Does it do something for the handling....or is it purely for looks? 

[moreira72]

moreira72.......

You did a good job with that Sporty, really nice.....but I've got a question......

I've seen alot of other Sporty's that have had the Wide Glide front-end put on before, but I've never known why folks do that.  Does it do something for the handling....or is it purely for looks?  

Just for looks.  The one thing i dislike about the Sporty and Dyna models is the narrow front end.
The wide glide front is about 3" wider than the Sporty

Sporty Front

Wide Glide Front

[The Anvil]

Front wheel and tire width absolutely affect handling.

[fudgie]

My HD bud has about 10 HD's. Mostly Evo's. He says Harleys are a POS.  Not sure what that means but he wont buy a Honda. His primary bike, the 'work truck' is a doosey. Starts it by jumping the starter with 2 screw drivers and we did a poker run, 200 miler, and his tranny leaked. Every stop he placed a cup under it. It poured out. After every beer he'd pour it back into the tranny and off we go. His fuel gauge broke so he welded clear hosing as a 'sight gauge'.  Also has a hammer in a braket he welded for cars that move into his lane.

[BIG--T]

I owned a 2001 Sportster XL1200C Custom before buying my 99 Interstate.

I converted the front end to complete Wide Glide front end.

It had 52,600 miles on the clock when i sold it in August, and it did not leak any oil.

Not all Harley's leak. Just not very comfortable on longer trips, so I got me an I/S

Here's a couple of pics

I love your Valk! Did you buy it in Florida? Reason I asked is bc I was going to buy one identical to it- paint job and all and missed it! 

[moreira72]

Front wheel and tire width absolutely affect handling.

Of course it does, but putting a wide glide front didn't affect the handling, because the 1200 Custom already comes with the 21" narrow front wheel. All i did was change the trees and forks.

[moreira72]

I love your Valk! Did you buy it in Florida? Reason I asked is bc I was going to buy one identical to it- paint job and all and missed it!  

[/quote]

I bought it locally here in New Jersey. When i got it, it was missing the tourpack, because the PO had it as a Supervalk. I bought the tourpack on ebay off Mike Terry in Michigan. Don't know where he got it from.

[BIG--T]

I love your Valk! Did you buy it in Florida? Reason I asked is bc I was going to buy one identical to it- paint job and all and missed it!  

I bought it locally here in New Jersey. When i got it, it was missing the tourpack, because the PO had it as a Supervalk. I bought the tourpack on ebay off Mike Terry in Michigan. Don't know where he got it from.
[/quote]

OK, You have a clone running around somewhere. Lol!  Again, sharp bike !! 

[moreira72]

Thanks

[Tropic traveler]

Since oil leaks are a topic here, personal experience is 3 out of the 4 Harleys that have most recently graced my garage leaked oil. Only the 2006 Sportster did not.
Paper towels are there for a reason.  The Shovel did not leak oil, it poured oil.


'Nother pic of the sweet little non-leaking Sporty.