jumping 883 Sportster with about 4-6 inch clearance ??

Question

I ride a 30 minute strip of interstate and backroads pretty much every day ... on one of the backroads when i get off of the interstate there is a small jug handle that used to be for 18 wheelers for a weigh station and the pavement has buckled into a big dirt mound ... sometimes when cars and trucks come tailgating me I pull into this jug handle so they can pass ... the first time I did it I had no idea of the buckle and was riding at it at 50 mph,saw it and knew if I slowed down I would wreck,so I gave it some gas and went over it .... major adreniline rush .... so I do it now and then but recently I have needed to do it to get away from jerks and would like to spot out other "escape ramps" along my route as speeding up may not always get me away from psychos .... can this crack my frame or cause other damage ? Do you ever jump your street bike?

Answer 1

My reading comprehension skills are usually good enough,,
But I'll be darned if I can find ANYTHING in your question about Stunt Riding or Serious Jumping.

From the little I can understand,,,
*During Normal Riding You Occasionanly come upon Road Conditions which will launch your bike.
*And,,,such paths offer some benefits/advantages relative to the type of Traffic Conditions you face---particular in terms of Safety>"Escape Route"

*Therefore,,,,it seems Logical to You to seek/explore OTHER such places that You might be able USE when out Riding.
And they Might have Humps also.

*But that you also have the Good Sense to LEARN about the EFFECT on Your bike,,,and take that into account

Or,,That's what I understood your question to mean.

Nothing about Stunts or Super Cross.

..............................
1st,,,regardless of what some people might Imagine,,
Anybody who rides a bike SHOULD know the BIKES's Capabilities,,,as well as their Own.

Roads /Driving DO include surfaces which will Launch damn near Anything,,,Bike,Car,Truck.

Bikes launch at Lowest Road Speeds.

LEARNING that is NO DIFFERENT than learning about Rain,Mud,Gravel,Ice,Snow,Debris, Pot Holes or any OTHER Road Condition and the Various Hazards a Rider can encounter.

Anyone who DOESN'T know how to Jump,,and the Specific Capabilities of what They're riding,,
Is a LESS Competent Rider than someone who Does.

If Bikes' "Jumping Capability" can be graded on a Scale from 1 to 10,,
It DONT make a DAMN Bit of DIFFERENCE if it's a 1 or a 10 or 5.

What IS Important,,,is to Know what Your Bike IS,,,whatever Ya ride.

That Fact is ALSO something I understand Your Question to be Asking.
It's Capability to Jump,,,and the Effect of it on your bike.

Which is a LOT WISER than most of the answers You recieved so far.

A Sportster is actually a GOOD Jumper.
You Alread Know that.

Your "Surprise Ramp" found your bike coming off the lip of the "jump" Steady,Straight,Stable and Level.
NO sensation whatsoever of being "outa Shape",,,or going over backwards or Nose-Diving.
They Sail REAL Flat with just the Slightest NoseUp attitude.
And upon landing,,,Barely a Twitch or wobble,,,IF any at all.
Soon as back wheel touches,,,it's Like Nothing ever happened.

Avg Stock Sportster is that way from about 30 to 70mph.
And will act very civilized on 2~3ft rises.
More than gets a bit hairy especially at higher speeds----but the BASIC bike is still capable of avg hiway speed jumps of 2~3ft

Notice that "30~70mph range" and 2~3ft Bump Height,,,
That's all "Normal Highway/Riding Conditions",,,
it's pretty good Bump-in the road,, though...LOL

MOST bikes are RIDEABLE in that range of conditions.
A XL is particularly Stable because of it's geometry/layout/balance,etc.

.........................
Damage Potential:

Each Bike has Different Strenghts/Weaknesses.
Each INDIVIDUAL Bike.
Obviously,,,Loose Chains,,Crappy Tires,loose mounting bolts,spokes,,,and EVERYTHING becomes a VARIABLE.

2 Identical Bikes,,,,one can be a Good ,Safe,Solid Jumper,,,
Other can be a Death Trap,
Unlimited Possibilities.

So about the only USEFUL way to evaluate such a situation,,is to Look at a Specific Model Bike,,,and in Average Condition.

The LEAST of a Sportster's weak points is Frame.
They DO have a long history of Cheesy Swing Arm Mounting.
But if it's in avg decent Shape,,,it's "good enough"

Wheels,suspension,etc all rate "Ok",or Better.

(Quick Reminder,,,we are NOT talking about Stadium SuperCross Bikes,,Baja,Snake River Canyon Attempts)
And Chrome& Paint May add a Higher DOLLAR Risk,,,
But it dont have 2 cents worth of affect on jumping a bump in the road )

The WEAK Points on a Sportster,,,& most ALL Harleys,,,
and most all Street Bikes is all the OTHER Crap that gets bolted on to the Basic Engine/Rolling Chassis.

Fender Mounts,,Headlight Bulbs,Chain gards,,Turn Signals,,etc,etc.
Jumping is hell on Batteries,,and Battery Boxes & it's mountings.
None of that stuff is Designed to take the Shock of landings,,,not even from a couple feet "airborne".

Even so,,It's all Tuffer than it Seems----
what usually Gets it ,is what happens over the miles BEFORE the Jump.
Vibrations,,things get loose,,fatigue sets in either as visible stress cracks or Internally in the metal.
Or something will "rub" on it's loose mount,,bolt,grommet for long time and become Degraded.

Continuous,,Regular Jumping is almost Certain to eventually Break Some of those things.

With Normal GOOD maintenance,,keeping things tight,lubed,and in good repair,,,an occasional jump doesnt hurt anything.

Of Course,,NO Jumping would be Better.
So would leaving it in the garage.

Anybody who DOESN'T "jump their street bike" hasn't fully learned about what they are riding yet.

And 1st time they face such a situation,,they'll have NO foundation for their Judgement of What to Do.

Indecision,,Inexperience,,,,and the Imagination -Based Opinions we see so commonly around Yahoo Answers,,,
are what Cause Problems in the Instant a Rider MUST Decide what manuever to execute.

Of Course it's not GOOD for any bike to jump anything.
But it's well within the capacity & capabilities of most all bikes to do Some jumping.

An Average Sportster can easily withstand Moderate jumps none the worse for wear,,,and they have respectably Good Manners over moderate jumps.

Dont take that as an ENDORSEMENT,,,and certainly not as Encouragement to go around jumping everthing and every time ya get a chance to.

But when Ya Gotta do it,,a Sportster will play along a LOT better than most people IMAGINE.

BIG WARNING---those kinds of sidetracks are used by State/County as a "storage lot" for Road Fill & Repair materials.
Dont expect the conditions to be CONSTANT.
You might find something in your path This Afternoon,,,which WASNT there this morning.
Most such areas are Not maintained as Roadways.
Various crap can appear at any time.
Goes without saying,,,that Riding or Jumping in those sort of areas at Nite,,,or poor visibility conditions,,,ain't real wise

Answer 2

I don't think as a evasive action, you have damaged your HD. But give it a good look underneath. Your shocks and forks, seals definitely took a hit. They could begin leaking over time due to the impact. Look at your casing to ensure when you landed no damage was done if you bottomed. Fortunately the Sportster has the highest clearance of all the HD's so you may be OK. But if you plan on taking this route as a short cut because its cool/fun, your headed for trouble with frame weld integrity erosion and goose neck buckling. The Sportsters are very familiar to dirt, but oval flat tracks, not hoopty's.

Answer 3

used to do it occasionally on a number of different street bikes never caused any damage except on one that the kickstand would flop down on & hit the pavement sometimes.
you might use a heavier weight fork oil if you make a habit of it. keep in mind it will come down different with a chick on the back. I about lost it once with a heavy girl (yeah she was a wide ride)I kept the power on too long & the bike rotated & the back wheel came down first & slammed the front wheel down like a hammer causing an embarassing wobble. so stay away from wide rides, stick to those little hard bellys if your going to show off.

Answer 4

Dude, Evel Knievel broke alot of bones & bikes jumping with a Sporty. Get a dirt bike & hit some trails. But really, don't jump: it will mess up forks & seals AND you don't want to find a weak frame weld that way.

Answer 5

Agreed, get a dirt bike. Street bikes of any sort don't have the frame strength or long travel suspension needed for serious jumping.

Answer 6

LOL! That's Great! "Insanity at it's Finest".......Just kidding, You might want to check front fork seals and watch your tires, If they start getting "weird wear patterns" then something is out of alignment.

Answer 7

Why would you use a Harley? If you want to do a stunt, get a dirt bike instead. That's no way to treat an HD. Even if it is only a sportster.