2009-01-09
Sportster For Sale ... Again.
I have once again put my 2008 Sportster Nightster up for sale. I realised that for the type of riding that I like to do this is not the bike for me.
This bike is beautiful. There really are times that I have paused while walking through the garage to admire it. It's classic from the paint to the engine design. There is no doubt that it's a big, loud bike. The look and feel is classic American motorcycle, a visceral experience that should be experienced by everyone at some point in their life.
Unfortunately, the performance is also classic and American. The musical lope of the off time cylinders evokes power that never materializes. The low end punch, and overall balls, of the engine is phenomenal ... and then the rev limiter kills the party. Actually it's out of steam before the limiter but you hope it's a flat spot in the power band. It's not; it's over. For casual riding, cruising even, the lazy lope of the big cylinders is nice, preferred even. The sound is appealing at all engine speeds and your not rowing through gears constantly ... even though I think a lower final drive and a six speed would help.
The performance point is underscored by my previous bikes: 500 and 550 cubic centimeters. The Sportster has a whopping 1200 cc (small in current cruiser bikes) engine is gigantic in comparison. Those previous Japanese parallel twins and inline fours provided as much acceleration as the much larger V-twin. They had six speeds and revved to 10,000 RPM ... but they made some movement.
The tough, low slung look of the Nightster is what attracted me ... and then all I wanted to do was change it. I bought longer shocks for the rear, a taller seat, and started looking at switching to longer forks to quit dragging the muffler every time that I turned to the right. I bought classic superbike bars, then I needed rearset pegs and controls to match the new riding position. Then the tires needed attention, then I would have to look at doing a dual front disc setup for the brakes ...
So I'm at the point where I paid nearly five figures for a premium bike that I would need to spend half as much again to make it perform how I wanted. Not a smart way to go about it.
I'm shopping for a new bike so I can go get what I want when the Sportster sells. None of them grab me by the balls like the Nightster did when I saw it ... but all are much better performing bikes. Faster, better handling, more modern design, lower cost. I'm looking for cheap, fun transportation that commutes as well as it's gets knee down on a back highway. I'd like a little panache and swagger but I don't think I can afford performance and swagger yet (think Ducati Desmosedici RR, or BMW HP2).
I purchase bikes based on the wallet (Vulcan and GS550) and the heart (Sportster) so I'm going to give the brain a chance.
For the Harley-Devotees, I'll own another Sportster. Mark these words! The first bike I rode was my dad's chopped 1993 Sportster and I love them, it just doesn't work as my only bike.
I guess the phrase Perception is reality or beauty is in the eye of the beholder come to mind when it comes to the lack of speed that you say the Nightster has.
In 2008, I also bought a Nightster. At the time I had no intention of buying a cycle for Christmas, but my wife and I were shopping and we walked into a Harley dealership. I saw this black bike and asked the salesman what it was and he told me is was called a Nightster. I'm only 5'6", so when I sat on it, shit, it fit me. I had not owned a cycle since I was in High School back in the 70's- a Honda 350. Anyhow, I asked how much and the guy said he could make me a good deal- knocking $1500 off on the sticker price. I guess buying a bike in the dead of winter and near the end of the year sure helps. I wrote a check out on the spot.
When Spring came, I got my learners permit and took the black beast out for a spin. WOW. It accelerated like a bat out of hell. I thought to myself, this is one fucking fast bike, be careful to hang on tight. The more I rode it, the faster I took corners. I was thinking however that maybe this bike was too fast and I should of started off with something slower. I did some research and compared the 1/4 mile time of the Nightster with my 2003 Corvette C-5 which most people would agree is a pretty fast car. My Corvette does the 1/4 mile in 13.4 seconds. So I looked up the Nightster 1/4 mile time and guess what. 1/4 mile in 13.65 seconds, only .15 of a second slower than a vette!
My point is that to many of us, a corvette and a Nightster are VERY FAST. So you see, what you consider slow, others like myself and even some of the reviews I have read agree that the HD Nightster is Fast. But I do see your point in that I suppose you could find a faster bike, but how fucking fast do you want to go?
Peace and Out.
Dono
Spring Green, WI
: 2:31 AM I am in no way knocking the Nightster, or the Sportster line, or Harleys, or the clones ... I am just not getting the enjoyment out of it that I want.
Bikes are fast. Even small displacement bikes are fast when compared to most cars. A 250cc Ninja does the quarter in the low 15s, faster than most cars on the road.
As I said, I will own another Sportster, but for me, it's not working as an only bike.
Thanks for posting, by the way. You are the first wanderer from the Internet to post a comment. The rest of the comments are from close friends.
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