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Megabook posted:Do you think you will keep buying Harleys? Yours looks very cool, but the ownership experience sounds like a pain/expensive. That said, I've never bought a new bike. Is this just what life is like when you need to use the dealer for everything to keep your warranty? Yeah nah he's just rich and lazy  Harleys are very painless to own if you're able to diy and willing to buy a special tool or two. They're extremely reliable from a stranding/breakdown perspective, but they also obligingly leak once in a while so as to give you something to do. Also: the bob is basically the first version of the first generation of a drastically different bike by Harley standards, it will have random poo poo go wrong, that's the price of being an early adopter.
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Jul 27, 2021 19:48
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Steakandchips posted:I'll almost certainly buy a LiveWire. Man I just checked cycletrader near me and I could have a used Livewire with 200 miles for $18k. I'd be all over that if I weren't trying to buy a house. I will echo that Harleys are easy to work on. I have middling mechanical experience (but a large garage), and in 10 years of owning Harleys there's nothing I haven't been able to do at home. I'll take them in for the 1k service, since the techs, however dim, have probably seen more bikes than me. But beyond the oil sumping issues on the pre-2018 M8s that have since been addressed, they're running a really solid platform. Never had an issue with my 107 Softail nor my 114 Road Glide. The unfortunate side effect of a lifetime of modern Harleys is I have no idea how to maintain a chain.
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Jul 27, 2021 20:10
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For 18k that's a sodding steal. Sell one of your petrol bikes and go for it, IMO! Indeed, the M8 has been great for me for the 5000+ miles I've done on it since November. I am quite pleased with my decision to buy the Bob, it's been a great bike and I don't see myself selling it any time soon. Once I've a house avec garage (I too am house shopping), I want my stable to eventually have: Fat Bob LiveWire Goldwing (prior gen probably, don't want to go all in on it). Some smaller CC Japanese thing, e.g. Ninja 400, for taking to the track and as a friend bike. and some £500 shitter of a car to haul bike crap and groceries with. E: the 10k service made neutral super easy to get into again, and also first is now easier to go super slow in without feathering clutch.
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Jul 27, 2021 20:17
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just pointlessly posting the other day I read your post about Harleys push button starter and it threw me right back to nearly 20 years ago. my dad fighting his overbuilt motor to start every time on its maintenance schedule and amount of use was a big part of my teenage years. it was one of those frame mount fairing electraglides with the evo motor and he of course swapped the heads and threw a big cam in there so it took like 5 starts to run if it was happy. just nostalgaing like I do every time I hear a heavy cam at a red light and some fishtails popping on deceleration
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Jul 27, 2021 21:38
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Can't tell if your post or my post is meant to be pointless, but they're all pointless so 
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Jul 27, 2021 21:48
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Apparently the new sportster is rev limited while in neutral, lol.
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Jul 27, 2021 23:01
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Slavvy posted:Can't tell if your post or my post is meant to be pointless, but they're all pointless so to post is to divine meaning from the meaningless High Protein posted:Apparently the new sportster is rev limited while in neutral, lol. Tons of bikes do that actually
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Jul 28, 2021 14:35
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Who the hell pins it in Neutral anyway?
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Jul 28, 2021 17:49
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Steakandchips posted:Who the hell pins it in Neutral anyway? My next door neighbor, for one.
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Jul 28, 2021 17:51
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Steakandchips posted:I'll almost certainly buy a LiveWire. I feel like I just read that they'll be knocking like $8k off the price for next year. Might want to wait a bit.
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Jul 28, 2021 18:30
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Strife posted:My next door neighbor, for one. What a twat. SirLeigh posted:I feel like I just read that they'll be knocking like $8k off the price for next year. Might want to wait a bit. They'll be knocking some thousands of pounds off the new price, not the used price.  And getting it serviced at the Harley dealer is way easier than finding a non-existent LiveWire one.
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Jul 28, 2021 19:29
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FBS posted:I want to like it but I can't get over how goofy the pipes look much like the rest of the bike they look like someone hooked an air compressor up to them and inflated them 20psi past their recommended pressure
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Jul 29, 2021 22:10
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At the local curry place in Dunblane. Apparently the car park here is where literally every old codger who used to ride wants to come up to me and tell me about “ohhh it’s a Harley aye? I use to ride mare than twenty year ago and that sounds brings back maemories!” 
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Jul 30, 2021 20:57
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a few weeks back i got one of the patented 60something y/o white guy half in his cups at a bar beeline it over to talk about my sportster before i could even get my gloves off. he said 'i see it's a v-twin but... what the hell IS it?' and when i told him it was just a lowly sporty he responded with 'that ain't look like any sportster i've ever seen in my life!' he later gave me a trading card of his old race car https://twitter.com/terry_was_taken/status/1412167215936262157?s=20
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Jul 30, 2021 21:52
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i bought a 883 iron to dink around on and its fun but im already sideeying 12xx conversion kits send help
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Jul 30, 2021 21:58
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why throw money at a 1200 kit when you could just throw that money (and a lot more) at a second bigger bike
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Jul 30, 2021 22:03
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Why not both?? lol Honestly when I looked into it, it also looked like a fun manageable project when I'm not wrenching on the ural
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Jul 30, 2021 22:05
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Delta-Wye posted:Why not both?? lol It is seriously a waste of money. Sell the 883 and buy a 1200 if you want. Then put a cam in it and have a good time.
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Jul 31, 2021 02:15
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A 1250 kit on an 883 bottom end is objectively better than a factory 1200, everyone who builds up sportsters starts with an 883 because there's more meat at the cylinder bases than a 1200 so it's possible to sleeve the barrel to the case perfectly for added strength. Also you get to run decent power making pistons. For most people it's still just better to get a 1200 but changing top ends on a sporty is super easy and fun.
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Jul 31, 2021 03:30
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Slavvy posted:A 1250 kit on an 883 bottom end is objectively better than a factory 1200, everyone who builds up sportsters starts with an 883 because there's more meat at the cylinder bases than a 1200 so it's possible to sleeve the barrel to the case perfectly for added strength. Also you get to run decent power making pistons. Its definitely not hard to do but the kit is like 800 dollars. Plus the cylinder heads are not the same. I am not super familiar with what the differences are exactly but they are different part numbers. Yup they are different and here is a huge amount of information about it if you want it. http://hammerperf.com/ttxlheads.shtml Basically the main reason I would say its a waste of time is that sportsters are a dime a dozen. You likely could sell the 883 and buy a 1200 for what you sold the other bike for. I'm not sure where you are but here in texas you can find any of those bikes all day long with like 5k miles on them. Pretty much regardless of the year, also they made those evo sportsters for like 25 years so you have a million to choose from. Valt fucked around with this message at 15:20 on Jul 31, 2021 |
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Jul 31, 2021 14:42
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Valt posted:Its definitely not hard to do but the kit is like 800 dollars. Plus the cylinder heads are not the same. I am not super familiar with what the differences are exactly but they are different part numbers. Yeah this is a locality thing, sportsters are not a cheap bike here, even a ragged hosed old 883 is like 5 grand so you take what you can get and run with it.
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Jul 31, 2021 20:24
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Slavvy posted:Yeah this is a locality thing, sportsters are not a cheap bike here, even a ragged hosed old 883 is like 5 grand so you take what you can get and run with it. I feel like a lot of people are saying things about the availability of bikes that might have been true 5 years ago. The only Sportster I found for sale in Boston on Craigslist is a 2010 with 10k miles for $5500. The cheapest one at Boston HD is a 2012 for $7k. Not to say there aren't maybe some cheaper ones of dubious quality out there, but they all seem to be priced for like a grand cheaper than just buying a brand new one.
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Jul 31, 2021 21:03
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ya'll have strong opinions, i like it. thanks for the feedback. i was looking for other bikes but a 2016 sportster caught my eye cause it had abs. the previous owner had some tasteful cosmetic mods but not much in the way of performance. i feel like im still getting used to the forward controls and handlebars but the rest of the functional parts of the bike are all stock as far as i can tell, every other mod are things like light swaps or tank lifts, just doodad poo poo. forgetting about going up to a 1275 for now, the exhaust is currently stock pipes with mismatched slipons (i guess one fell off when he was out riding and he never found it? lmao!) and im thinking about minimally swapping the exhaust and intake out. there is a dyno place up the road that i can utilize to get a new map, a service i was planning to use if i reworked the top end, but not sure if i do exhaust/intake only. would it be worth it? this is my first time getting my hands on one of these. been keeping the ural stock while working on it, for instance, so haven't bumped into things like needing to remap it and not sure how far i can push the stock config on the 883.
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Jul 31, 2021 21:56
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Delta-Wye posted:not sure if i do exhaust/intake only. would it be worth it? Yes. I did intake/exhaust on my 1200 and without remapping it, it ran super fuckin weird. Dyno tuning it is probably unnecessary though. You can buy a fuel mapper either from Harley or from Vance & Hines. I've used both of them, and the V&H one is easier to use and doesn't require a computer. For both, you basically just pick your bike, your exhaust/air, set it to Stage 1, and it'll map the bike. As long as you're not throwing super weird offbrand parts on there, they should be pre-loaded for you to pick a map for the bike. But if you're on a quest to make a Sportster faster, it will never be fast-fast. It'll run smoother, the sound will get better, and you could potentially improve the fuel economy, but you'll still get beaten by a stock Ninja 400.
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Jul 31, 2021 22:12
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Strife posted:Yes. I did intake/exhaust on my 1200 and without remapping it, it ran super fuckin weird. Dyno tuning it is probably unnecessary though. You can buy a fuel mapper either from Harley or from Vance & Hines. I've used both of them, and the V&H one is easier to use and doesn't require a computer. For both, you basically just pick your bike, your exhaust/air, set it to Stage 1, and it'll map the bike. As long as you're not throwing super weird offbrand parts on there, they should be pre-loaded for you to pick a map for the bike. Hahaha there you go. Yeah Harley’s are not fast at least compared to a sport bike. https://www.jpcycles.com/product/126-995/vance-hines-fuelpak-fp3-fuel-management-system I have one of these on my dyna. They have the ability to auto tune since they just piggyback onto the stock ecu. My bike has exhaust and different air cleaner. It runs much better now after the fp3.
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Jul 31, 2021 22:16
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New Sportster first ride review https://www.revzilla.com/common-tread/2021-harley-davidson-sportster-s-first-ride-motorcycle-review tl;dr: he likes it. This seems weird, though: quote:Another oddity from the Sportster’s computer control is an inability to blip the throttle for rev matching. Yep, no blips. Instead, a quick twist of the throttle after clutching in is neutered. Muscle memory presses on, the left foot downshifts, and the clutch is released. Between the bike’s brain and slipper clutch, the revs actually stay right where they were when the clutch was pulled, except now I’m one gear lower. It is possible to force a blip, but that takes a little planning, and the traction control light will flash.
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Aug 1, 2021 04:39
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Toe Rag posted:New Sportster first ride review Hard to tell what's going on there. What he's describing is only possible if the difference in rpm is really small and the clutch can just slip the difference; it's impossible to downshift without the revs having to be blipped if you're going at all quickly. I wouldn't put it past Harley to try to automate this using the QS and then locking out the owner from doing it manually, but it would definitely have to blip the revs somehow to work at all.
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Aug 1, 2021 05:21
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Harley is warranty replacing Bob's USB socket for free. Should be getting done on the morning of Saturday the 14th. Similarly, the fork ends should be being replaced in a few weeks too as well for free. The alternator/rectifier they refused to replace, much as you guys said they wouldn't, as it's cosmetic erosion that happens to all other Harleys too.
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Aug 5, 2021 15:58
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Looking at an ‘87 softail custom that looks clean and is unmodified according to the listing, with 24,000 miles on the odometer. I know nothing about the 1340 evo motor, or much at all about Harleys of that era other than it looks cool and I’ve always wanted one - anything to watch out for?
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Aug 5, 2021 19:49
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moxieman posted:Looking at an ‘87 softail custom that looks clean and is unmodified according to the listing, with 24,000 miles on the odometer. I know nothing about the 1340 evo motor, or much at all about Harleys of that era other than it looks cool and I’ve always wanted one - anything to watch out for? They're awesome but leaky. It's hard to verify if it's unmodified but try to look for skulls and eagles I guess. Check for how many leaks it has and where they're coming from, check to make sure the starter engagement is crisp and it turns over immediately, look for modified wiring at the handlebar junction etc
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Aug 5, 2021 20:13
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Oops wrong thread
epswing fucked around with this message at 12:41 on Aug 6, 2021 |
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Aug 5, 2021 20:14
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Strife posted:But if you're on a quest to make a Sportster faster, it will never be fast-fast. It'll run smoother, the sound will get better, and you could potentially improve the fuel economy, but you'll still get beaten by a stock Ninja 400. i don't think i need to go any faster, but it would be nice not to be topping out and pushing so hard to maintain it. its time for a intake/exhaust/tune, should be a fun small project even if the majority of the result is cosmetic. im thinking about pushing for obnoxious on this bike and like the look of the bassani radial sweepers and a monster sucker hanging off the side. i wonder if i can call up arlen ness and get them to cough up datasheets? i'd be interested if they have any quantitative comparisons of their large lineup.
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Aug 7, 2021 08:51
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Delta-Wye posted:i've been getting a kick out of trucking along in town but this thing struggles to hit 80 on the highway, that's ural speeds. a shameful motorcycle. I find it difficult to believe a Ural with sidecar will actually sustain 80mph, even downhill, without something falling off or exploding. They'll do 65, but 80 is pushing it
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Aug 7, 2021 23:35
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A stock Ural cannot break the 60mph barrier don't be absurd. Delta-wye: those pipes will cost you power, don't bother. Basically any pipe that isn't two into one or lacks a crossover pipe will cost you power, nothing Arlen Ness makes will help you go faster afaik but things might have changed there. Intake mods beyond just a more open design compared to factory will do nothing. Basically nothing you can bolt on is worth doing to an 883 as you'll gain no performance. If you want to make it louder and cooler go hard but just know, you'll almost certainly gain nothing and depending on how you go, you might even lose some. If you want an actually measurable improvement in performance you either need to go to 1250 top end, do cams and port work, or just trade it in for a 1200. Slavvy fucked around with this message at 06:28 on Aug 8, 2021 |
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Aug 8, 2021 06:21
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posted this in the gear thread like a dimwit IM DAY DAY IRL posted:also here's a crappy iphone photo of my goofy little scrambler-inspired '95 883, perhaps next time i go somewhere photogenic i will take some better pictures. click for bigger resolution
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Aug 13, 2021 05:23
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I love it, but to be fair I have a real soft spot for modified sportiest especially the scrambler variety.
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Aug 15, 2021 03:36
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Today I scraped my right peg, and while doing so, felt a second different sounding scrape a millisecond later. It was one of the bolts holding the front pipe to the pipe bracket, part of the head of the bolt is scuffed. It sticks out further than makes any sense to me, I had initially thought it was the pipe itself scraping. I guess I was a hair away from dumping the bike. This is also tells me that the peg feeler (mid pegs on a Sportster) is basically just before scraping "hard parts". I thought I’d have more room to work with. I'm a little scared now. epswing fucked around with this message at 18:27 on Aug 30, 2021 |
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Aug 30, 2021 16:36
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Hey one time I went for a ride on nazibike and did the exact same thing, the rear tire lifted off and the whole bike sort of pivoted around the hard part (I think the corner of the frame?) that touched, it was a puckering moment and I was very grateful for the long lazy cruiser geometry. I mean yeah a normal bike wouldn't have touched down at all but at least they're safe within the limitations I guess. I've also had the same experience while turning left on a triumph America. It touched the side stand down, which is mounted quite far forward, and it sent me into a bucking weave onto the wrong side of the road, luckily no cars about. You can get high pipes for a sportster but then you'll just touch down on the left instead, taller shocks are the answer. Slavvy fucked around with this message at 21:14 on Aug 30, 2021 |
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Aug 30, 2021 21:11
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Slavvy posted:You can get high pipes for a sportster but then you'll just touch down on the left instead, taller shocks are the answer. Right, I'm weighing the difference between making my 1200 Custom less lovely (mid pegs, taller shocks, better front suspension), or just selling/buying a Roadster (all of the above plus dual discs, usd forks, steeper rake, bonus nicer tach/odo) which has a claimed lean angle of 31° vs the normal 27°. My only problem with the modern (2016+) Roadsters are the comically low bars (thanks, cafe bros), but I'm thinking a set of Biltwell Moto or Burly Scrambler bars, perhaps with a 1-2" riser, will fit me well. Alternatively, the old gen 2004-2008 Roadsters have sensible bars (and carbs for '04-'06), but these are hard to find. So, change the pegs (done), shocks, suspension vs a Roadster with a handlebar job. Hm.
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Aug 30, 2021 22:02
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If you have a normal front wheel, it's worth improving. If you have a 21" sell immediately and get a working bike instead. I have seen the roadster at dealers with both the clip on bars and genuine looking normal bars, I think the clipons are an option you can just not tick. My main problem with that bike was my knee hitting the air filter, the seat is kind of sporty and puts you in a position to want to grip the tank but it isn't possible at all. What you really want is an xr1200 anyway. If I had a choice between carb and EFI on a Harley I'd pick carb every time. They're just so much nicer.
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Aug 30, 2021 22:11
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