First bike I'm getting, I am decided to buy the Harley-Davidson Sporster Custom XXL but....?

Question

I'm undecided among the 883 cc or the 1200 cc. Which do you reccomend? It will be a daily commuter for me to school.

Answer 1

get the 1200. it's slightly bigger than the 883, will insure for about the same, will get close to the same mileage...i said close, not exact. the 1200 will also have slightly more weight, and this will absorb road bumps alot easier than ur kidney's will.

there is basically no difference from the custom to the roadster with the exception of: more chrome on the custom, and forward controls. other than that, the bikes are identical on the 1200's.
in years past, they did have a modification kit to turn a 883 into a 1200 with little cost. that changed with the evo's and the rubber mounts. u can still do it, but will be costly. if u dont belive me on this, ask peeps on harley chat group forum....http://www.harleychatgroup.com

as the owner of an 2005 XL1200R roadster sportster, i can tell u firsthand that: out of the box, this bike has respectable torque on take off, has roughly 50 hp to the rear wheel...stock, i'm getting about 54-55 mph in stock engine config, and i can easily cruise 400 miles in a day if i want. i can get those 400 miles easy with 2 add-on's: sundowner seat and detachable windshield. 2 very important items if u expect to do all-day rides. the 1200 will also give u more power than the 883 when both bikes have the stage 1 on it.

Answer 2

My first bike was the 883 custom I loved it it is the the best bang for a buck. It got great mileage I put 27,000 miles on it it was a great bike. It didn't have alll the the chrome the 1200 did but chrome is for people with out a imagination anyway. I purchased mine new in 99 for 7300.00 including screaming eagle slip-ons rode it 3 years and sold it for 6500.00 that is cheap riding , why anybody buys metrics is beond me. An 883 will do anything a 1200 will but if you must have the extra stuff and the added performance may be the 1200 is for you. For a commuter the 883 I think would be great. If performance is you game I would recomend a buell to dust of the jap bike on the way to school.

Answer 3

My first bike was 2002 Harley Davidson Sportster 883 Hugger and I've had it now for 1 year.
I wished I would of bought a 1200 because all I can think about is getting something bigger but I want a Softail.
But deep in my heart I know after only riding for a year that I'm not ready for a bigger bike YET!! I'll stick with my Hugger for another year until I know I'm ready to graduate to something.
Just buy what you feel comfortable with and ride safe.

Answer 4

'unatural' and 'bubba' have no clue to what they're talking about. i've ridden both the 883 and 1200's, and out of both, the 1200 is the better bike. and the crack that all sportsters have rough rides, they obviously didnt put a good saddle on it.

the 883's cannot be cost-effectively converted to the 1200's anymore. those days are over; u'll wind up sinking about 2 grand in the conversion easy when it's all said and done. get the 1200, and u'll have alot more bike to work with. the 1200's can be built up to be a quite vicious speedster if that is ur thing.

Answer 5

If you are under 25 get the 883 the insurance will be cheaper and it can be converted to a 1203 at a later time when you riding skills improve.

Added benefit is the drive ratio on an 883 is lower so when you do convert the motor to a 1200 your bike will come off the line faster the a stock 1200.

Edit: Aperantly im wrong even though i have done this before but anyway if you want performance listen to me if not listen to others i did the reaserch and still have my bike and it does ride fine and has more power then allot of big twins.

Answer 6

dude, get the 1200 and dont look back. the xl1200r roadster is the same as the custom without the forward controls and the added chrome.....and it's cheaper. chrome wont get u home.

i suggest getting the roadster. if u read this month's issue of 'rider' magazine, u will see that the spec sheet for it to be extremely good, and from what i saw in the article, the reviewer didnt want to give the bike up at the end. the best seat u could put on any sportster is a sundowner. it's hd's best seat.

Answer 7

I agree with "a little chin music", I wouldn't be getting into a 883cc bike for your first bike, this is just nuts. Unless you have some experience you didn't mention like MX or something. Yo should start out with something smaller CC and less displacement. I mean everyone here knows I'm anti-HD anyways, but even if you were buying some other brand, I'd still say it's nuts to go straight up to a bike well over 750cc. Get like a dirt-cheap 400-500cc old jap trash bike to learn on first for a season.

Answer 8

The 883 will be cheaper on insurance, but it rides alot rougher then the 1200. But then again, all sportsters ride rough. The 883 is a good "starter " bike that's cheap on gas. It's also alot shorter to use if you are going to take your drivers test with also. Good luck, ride safe.

Answer 9

certainly would be cheaper getting the 883 and doing the 1200 conversion, you are only talking a 10 horse power difference.

you can also do the wiseco 1450 cc conversion if you feel the need for speed.

Sportster Engine Upgrades

Stage 0: Stock
HP=40 for 883, 50 for 1200 (average)
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Stage .5 (also known as "The Harley Tax"): Stock plus:
SE Air Cleaner(1)
SE Slip-On Mufflers or equivalent(2)
Rejetting (DynoJet, Yost or just jets)(3)
HP=50 for 883, 60 for factory 1200(4)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Stage 1: Stage.5 plus
883/1200 Conversion for 883s(5,6,7,8)
SE Ignition Module or adjustable one(9)
HP=60 for 883/1200, 65 for factory 1200
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Stage 1.5: Stage 1 plus
Andrews N2 cams (mild)(10)
HP=65 for 883/1200, 70 for factory 1200
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Stage 2: Stage 1.5 plus
Andrews N4, N8, or SE bolt-in cams instead of N2(11)
SE S1 Lightning or other bolt-on +/- 10:1 heads(12)
HP=75
Options: 2 into 1 header system, add +/- 7 hp(13)
SE carb (or equivalent), add +/- 3 hp(14)
XR750 (or other) valve springs, no gain(15)
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Stage 2.5: Stage 2 plus
Professionally ported 10:1 or higher heads
Matching (to head) domed pistons(16)
XR750 valve springs or SE cam kit(15,17)
2 into 1 header system(13)
SE,S&S Super E, or Mikuni HSR42 carb(14)
HP=90+
Options: big valves (big twin size), add +/- 5 hp(18)
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Stage 3: Stage 2.5 plus: (or:)
Big-bore cylinders and pistons and/or
Stroker kit and/or
Nitrous injection and/or
Supercharging
HP=?
Options: many

more info scope out www.sporster.org

Answer 10

A Harley as a daily commuter? You're just screwing with us, right?