Sporty buy back

hey all,
not sure how many of you are aware of the new HD marketing ad going on right now. It has caught my eye and am now possibly looking at an 09 Street Bob.

I talked with one of the guys at the HD dealership and it is definitely happening, no strings attached, they just want to move more bikes.
I love my Nightster, but after riding it, even for the short amount of time I was able to, I wanted a little bigger bike - with a larger gas tank also!

Somebody will remember when H-D 1st did that, but I'm thinking late '60's & I do remember that when an 883 Standard was $3995 new that program was going on. I do believe that's where the "starter bike" image came from, but a Sportster is not a good starter bike - something like a Honda Rebel is much better. And if I'd wanted a Barcolounger on wheels, I've have bought one :roflmao: :roflmao::roflmao:

I like the Sporster. Was my first Harley. And if I can ever afford it, I'll buy another one, however it will have to be an older one...

Yep. Don't know if a Sporty is a good 1st bike.
But, to each his own.

That buy-back offer is not too bad though.
You just have to plan on trading it back to the dealer within a year for a larger bike.

So IF you truly are buying that sporty as a FIRST bike, you will have to make sure your wallet and your riding skills are up for the switch to a big-twin within 12 months.

I saw the offer as well. Not a bad deal if you bought a Sporty and are ready to upgrade. I'm not sold on the Sporty as a first bike for men or women. Sometimes it's what the salespeople push when they don't think someone can handle a big bike. Not the best sales tactic.

Sporty buy-back

After 30 plus years of riding everything but a Harley, I bought a used 883 custom at the end of November. The bike was in excellent shape aside from some carb problems. I had never ridden a Harley of any kind before so I took it real easy at first. This is bike not would I would call a starter, or even an entry level motorcycle. I will say having looked at both the standard 883 and the 883 custom, the 883 custom is a much more comfortable bike. I don't ride great distances, so the 883 is perfect for me, and the price was reasonable. I might trade up to something larger someday, but for now, I love this bike. While the program is a nice marketing ploy, I would think that anyone in the market for a Harley would be looking for a specific model. The dyna might have been a good choice for me, but price also was a consideration as was the style of riding I do.

The only reason I am looking to upgrade already (again, I currently own a Nightster, which I bought last season) is because I want the bigger bike now and the deal seems pretty sweet. I don't know that I will get $10,000 out of my Nightster if I hold it and ride it for the next 3 years and then trade up.

If the weather stays good around here, I can hopefully get a demo on the Street Bob this weekend!

I very seriously doubt you'll get what you paid for your Nightster back in 3 years, even selling it privately in perfect condition. But what bothers me is the "upgrade" idea - to me, trading in an Dyna for a Nightster is an "upgrade". But I prefer a Sportster over a Big Twin & it's a far better bike for what I want to do. But for someone who wants the bigger bike, then it's a different story & there's nothing wrong with that. The bikes are quite different & it's like saying trading a Mustang GT for a Crown Victoria is an "upgrade" - it is if you'd rather have the Crown Vic, but it wouldn't be if you'd rather have the Mustang.

:roflmao: OK here is a question. You buy a Sporty, trade it back in for a BT, get your full MSRP back for your Sporty against your BT. Financially all is good. Now you have your BT for a week or so and figure out the Sporty was a lot more fun to ride and want your Sporty back. Is Harley going to be willing to give you your MSRP on the BT back in a trade to get your Sporty back?

I have never rode anything but my Sporty. I have set on some BTs but they just don't do it for me. The only bigger bike that ever flipped my switch just setting on it was a Victory and I can guarantee the Victory shop won't give me what I have in my Sporty on trade. Thus they can kiss my stinky spot. I love my Sporty and can't see any of the BTs as an "upgrade". Only upgrade I see is in my payments and insurance LOL.

Don't you just love the individuallity of bikers . No matter what ya ride just stay safe and have a crap load of fun.

It definitely is all about the individual's wants and needs. When I was leading the demo rides for the '08's, I jumped on a couple of different Sportsters. I could not fathom how someone could ride that thing more than a couple of miles. I know people don't consider my Softail a touring model, although I've made it one, so I guess it's all what you're used to.

I do agree that a Sportster is not a starter bike. I'm sure the price tag has a lot to do with it. I know a lot of people who thought they wanted a Sportster and within a year were trading it in on a big twin. It's a great deal.

Or what you want to do with the bike. A gal on our Sportster List has 107,000 miles on her '05 model & hasn't done much of anything to it other than add GPS gizmos & change the seat (stock Sportster seats are awful). Others have done the "Iron Butt" long-distance rides, gone up to Alaska & back, all across Australia & even Siberia, so it can be done if that's what you want to do.

I'm too old for all that, but there's some "little kid" left in me & a Sportster will handle the twisty, hilly 2-lane roads in my area far better than any BT ever could. Yes, the FZ Yamaha I had @ 1 time would do it even better if you're wanting to play "Ricky Racer" in the twisties, but a Sportster is a great handling bike (better with some tweaks) & loads of fun to ride.

It's also the longest continuously-produced motorcycle in the world - since 1957 & while there have been many changes over the years, the basic design/style has remained the same, even going back to the earlier flathead "K model".

It's NOT a smaller version of a BT as the sales promotion would have you believe & the name fits perfectly - "Sport" - as in something you do for fun, like play baseball - the bike doesn't say "Worldbeater" or "Glide", etc. - it is what it is - if you like it, great, if you don't, get something else.

The Sportster is also the easiest bike on the planet to customize to your liking & riding style, which is why you almost never see 2 the same, except in a showroom.

I think the sporty is a great bike, except as Art says, the seats. I received my Mustangs seat and pylon for Christmas, so I should be set. I have done some 300+ mile days, and the butt went a bit dead, so hopefully the new seat will cure that. A bigger fuel tank would be nice also, but stopping for gas and coffee gets the blood flowing to the butt again.

As art says, it handles curvy winding roads very well. It is not so great on the highway, as it turns about 3 grand at 70mph, and the vibrations at that speed get a little annoying. I am considering reducing belt ratio to get the revs down a bit.

Before doing the trade up, you should see if you can try one out for a few hours, you may find the bigger bikes are not quite to your liking. If you like the highways, the bigger bikes might be a better fit. If you like to tackle the curves, you might be disappointed.

:roflmao: That factory seat is why I refer to my Sporty as riding the padded 2X6. Yeah it will wear on your can a bit, but I have done just over 500 in one day on it. Can't say I was ready to run out and repeat the ride the next day though , although if the gang would have called and wanted to do it I would have been there . Sometimes foolish I am.

Considering the profit margin on a Sportster compared to the margin on a BT,
there shouldn't be too much of a surprise what they are promoting.

BINGO !!! And trying to attract new, younger customers -
"Welcome to my parlor, said the spider to the fly."

efi

art,,,have you ever changed an efi back to a carb????03 ultra,,,place in germany does ,,,but cost like heck,,,pops

I haven't done it myself, but I certainly know a guy who has & finally got him on the phone - high winds blew a tree over, knocked the power lines down & he just got power & phone back.

Earl Calhoun
ECS Engineering
Bessemer City, NC
hdrepairman@yahoo.com

Pretty straightforward conversion using parts you can get @ any H-D dealer. Remove the whole EFI system & go back with CV carb, intake manifold, throttle cables. Earl said the ignition module is tied in with the EFI on the newer Delphi systems so you'll have to change the ignition module too. He also said you don't have to remove the fuel pump from the tank, but you'll get a bit more fuel capacity if you do.

I was able to demo one of the street bob's on Friday. The winds here were hellish, so I thought it would be a great day to throw my leg around one and see how it handled. The winds here in Nebraska are always crazy - my sporty would throw me around the road like a rag doll - the street bob, while I had to control it somewhat, the extra weight made a huge difference. I'm not sold just yet; the temp was dropping pretty quick around here so the demo didn't last as long as it probably should have - hopefully a warm day is around the corner and I can cruise for a while. I never thought there would be such a huge difference from a sporty to a dyna model - the comfort especially.