anybody own a harley?

1. There is no such thing as a "girls bike." Real Riders don't care about what you ride, just that you do ride. They will tell you to "Ride Your Own Ride" -- meaning you ride the bike you want, they ride the bike they want. I have recently got a new bike and Sport Bikers and Cruisers still wave -- with me on my Vespa 150.

2. U.S., Japanese, Europe -- all are good machines, all are reliable. You can look at specific models but generally 3-5K miles between servicings. Belts are good for over 100K miles.

3. 9bad hates cruisers -- his mother ran off with a Harley Rider. Truth: the 838 is a *standard*, not a cruiser. On a Sportster you have your feet under you, not feet foreward like on a V-Star 650. A "small" cruiser is a better first bike than a 100mph Ninja250 with you wanting to play "racer" on the streets.

If you know what you want -- get it. The newbie at work started on a Dyna and swapped it for a Softtail within four months. Catch-22: You cannot know what you want until you have tried a couple different bikes. You don't even know if you will be a rider putting 5K-20K miles a year or less than 500 miles. It is easier and cheaper to start with a used Metric Cruiser. Take the MSF Basic Ridercourse Class, get your license, haunt the dealers for a month to sit on various bikes you might like, then and only then find your first bike on Craig's List.

while not for everyone the harley is a good bike if its what you are looking for the 1200 would be a better choice than the 883 it didnt carry me down the road very well at all, its under powered for the most part, that being said it was ALLRIGHT, just not fast enough for me, the harley feels top heavy incomparison to most bikes and can give you a work out riding, it is based on OLD technology as with most bikes, it does have electronic ignition and most have fuel injection now, along with abs brakes, for the most part an 883 just needs oil changes on a regular basis the belts last forever, and the brake pads last a fair amount of time, , my sportster was very dependable , i have owned a bmw r75, r 90, a norton, a goldwing and a few hondas and currently have a softail custom, they were all different bikes, the bmws were hard to beat overall but look a little geekie,they go forever, the goldwing was a ridable couch that would get you there in comfort, i have not been a sportbike fan i rode a gsx1100 and it was fast but not comfortable, i could pull wheelies with it and all that but it wasnt a bike that i wanted to ride all the time, a cruiser is just that comfortable and will get you there, so many people want to say there bike is best, they are ALL good for the purpose that you like to ride, you would probably like the vstar 650 better first as it is more forgiving riding, or the honda , but the 883 is a good bike as well, i rode a vstar 650 and it didnt have much power to me either course when you are riding a 100 ci revtech custom motor with 100 hp its kind of hard to be impressed,

My advice would be to get the Harley, but a 1200 weighs the same and has about 20 more HP, they are NOT girl's bikes, only gay people say that.

Pick up a copy or AIM or The Horse Backstreet choppers, there are Sportsters in every issue and some of them are awesome.

I rode the hell out of my XL1200 and enjoyed every minute of it. Maintenance on my bike was extremely minumum, oil changes, a battery and tires. I had no mechanical issues with it, none whatsoever.

It will last longer and hold it's value better than the other bikes you are looking at. Your fuel mileage will be better than the Vstar or the Honda aslo.

Repairs are NOT more expensive, shop time is the same per hour no matter what they are working on, parts are more readily available for the Harley and there will always be parts available, parts for a 10 year old Jap bike are sometimes hard to find, they will never be in stock and will have to be ordered. , they are made obsolete by new models coming out every other year.

Also there is a huge aftermarket for accessories for any Harley, look at Dennis Kirk, or J & P Cycles, you can buy virtually anything you can imane for that Sportster.

Never listen to anything that ninebadthings says about Harleys. He's a Harley hater and cannot give an unbiased answer.

883s are nice bikes, but the 1200s are much better and you wouldn't outgrow it. With the new engine style the Harleys of new are not like the Harleys of old, meaning wrench on them all week so you can ride them on the weekends. I change my oil on my Wide Glide every two to three thousand miles depending on the time it take to get there. I always change it every 6 mos. As far as the belt goes, you change it when it starts showing wear and small cracks. There is not a definitive timeline.

That being said. A Harley for your first bike is a mistake in my opinion. I would suggest a less expensive bike like a used Shadow because most inexperienced riders will drop or lay down a bike. Repairs are less expensive on a used Japanese bike versus a Harley regardless of the age. Learn to ride, get your experience and then move to a newer, more expensive bike.

I am into antique Harley. I love the look, the sound, the scent, and the looks I get. I ride an historic IronHead Sportster more often than not. I am engaged on getting the components collectively to construct an ancient PanHead avenue King. Sport bikes are satisfactory if all you are interested in is pace. They're uncomfortable, i'd certainly not take an OTR run on one. When I wanna go fast, that is what Mustang is for. Keep the rubber side down. Don't lose your head, wear a helmet.

You shouldn't buy the 883. Go for the 1200 Sportster, keep it for a couple of years, and trade up to a Dyna. You can go online and look at the maintenance schedule at the bike you want to buy. Today's bike are better than they ever have and quite reliable.

It depends on the crowd you're with, but an 883 is a Harley, and Harleys hold their value, you can use SAE tools on them, the parts are available for many years after you purchase the bike, and HD is a stable company with a long history of motorcycle development and giving customers what they want. An 883 is a great bike, but it doesn't mean that it's not for men. It simply means that it's a great choice for the ladies with its size and maneuverability.

Purchase the bike you want. Maintenance...get to your dealer and sit on one and ask them. Good luck with your purchase.

Every new rider thinks they want a harley or a sport bike. These are two opposite ends of a wide spectrum. Harleys and harely clones are antique reproductions. They are to motorcycles what a reproduction of a model t ford with disk brakes would be to cars. Heavy, awful performance, poor handling loud, vibrate like paint mixers, retarded riding position. Of course those who sell them want you to think they are totally bitching and a status symbol but that is just big money marketing trying to polish a turd. Anyone who buys a harley is a fool or a cornball. The whole dress up like a costume shop biker thing is beyond retarded.

Real motorcycles fall in the middle of the crusier-sportbike spectrum. The best bikes ever made are being manufactured today, they are light, they are fast, they are agile, they save gas they are super dependable. A 250 ninja has sport bike styling, but it is a solid commuter bike and will destroy an 883 harley, and a good rider will outride an average rider vs a full on 600 sportbike Get one of those or some other real motorcycle, or be a silly poser.

Dimo is right, my mom did run off with a harley rider, my dad. Had an old police bike with suicide shift and a reverse gear. But that was back in the day when they still had at least average performance. I've owned 14 street bikes and more dirt bikes over the last 40 years and have ridden more. A Harley 1200 superglide was once my dream bike, then I actually took one for a ride. The biggest POS I have ever thrown a leg over. If it had been a well cared for 1930 knucklehead it would have had expected ride and performance, but for a new bike....give me a break. I don't hate harleys or crusiers, I just think they are not mechanically competent given this is 2013 and not 1930.

If you were an experienced rider I would say take one for a ride before you get stupid and actually buy one. But since you are a noob you can join the other silly people who have only ridden harleys or crusiers and havn't a clue what a real motorcycle can do.

Never owned an 883 but I have ridden one once, once was enough. What a POS, 883 cc and feels more like a Yamaha TTR225. Handling is okay until you find a corner you need to go through.

Think you'd better off with a V-Star.

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