Go Sportsters

An Xl883R or XL1200R was what I would have liked to have bought. But I work at an HD dealership, and we took a nice 2006 XL883 in on trade. I got an employee discount and got it for $4062 in Dec of 2008 with 3000 miles. Other than one slight rocker box gasket leak, it's been a model of reliability.I mistreat it by riding in rain all the time and in very cold temps too. My Sportster IS my transportation. It's got tank scratches from my tank bag; some rust here and there; some oxidation on the fork legs.

I'm happy to have another Sportster as my 20 somethingth motorcycle. I had missed my 1984 XLX1000 that I bought new that year. I've owned a lot of dual sports over the years and street bikes. My darn Sportster is just a great do it all street bike for me. I can count on it totally to get me to work and back every day.

Jon

First fix whatever bothers you the most. It depends on how much you want to spend in terms of money and effort.

Start off with setting front and rear rider sag correctly, 1/3 to 1/4 total travel. If you don't bottom out , you might be able stay with the stock springs. If you then want a better ride, try Intiminators in the forks. If you still want be better, get better shocks. Then fine tune the forks to better match the shocks.

Progressive fork spring and shocks will be a bit better than stock, even better with Intiminators.

RK air shocks are cheap and carry two up, but may be a bit stiff at your weight solo. The Whittlebeast hybrids will be good solo. Other aftermarket shocks are hit and miss, but standard springs should work fine for you.

Ohlins and Ricor are the best, and can be the most comfortable, but not cheap.

Then upgrade tires and add fork brace. Make sure the drive belt is not over tightened, it can jerk the engine backwards over bumps and cause nasty handling and wobbles.

What Ohlins model are you talking about? 36e? 745?

Right now, Ricors are $629 and cheapest Ohlins are $555.
I bet you're going to tell me that the Ricors are worth the extra dough at this price, but what when the ricors jump back up to $800+ ?


edit: and whats the preload adjustment on the ricors, screw type or clicks?

Today

That road goes to Cherokee Via Big Cove Road through the Res. I saw a deer not far from that spot. It had to lope along the road until it found a place to jump back into the woods. The SMNP has a few other good unpaved roads also.

Yep. I love that side of the Smokies. Seems to have a lot less traffic than the other areas. Mount Sterling Road is another good one.

More pics and details about side-hack please.

The hack is a Liberty and was designed specifically for the Sportster. Unfortunately, they discontinued it after a very short time. Liberty still makes sidecars for the big Harleys.

I love the look and feel. Since it was designed for the Sportster, everything just works. There are no "universal" clamps to try and fit up and the look is right.

yup

"Norley" Love it....

^^^^^WOW, that thing is badass^^^^^

The hack rig is very cool and the first photo showing the rig pointed down the forest trail is awesome. I stole your photo for my Hack Photo File...

+1. Where can I get one?

Buy a Nightster, the rest is up to you. lol

PLEASE don't tell me who made that dirt tracker out of a rubber mount bike. I really, really don't want to do that to my Roadster.

I would like to know how well the swing arm pivot shaft stands up to that kind of abuse.

If any shock is worth the cost is up to you. The Ricors have a threaded body which the top spring perch screws up and down by hand, unless you have too much weight on the spring.

I have spent $600 on shocks that were garbage. I have also spent $60 on shocks that worked pretty well. Road King air shocks and Whittlebeast hybrids prove you don't have to spend a lot of money to get a decent ride. Buying 3 or 4 pairs of cheap shocks that you're not happy with can also get expensive.

I don't know all the different Ohlins set ups. But I have only heard good things about the 36e's from Hard Racing.

I spent nearly $1000 to upgrade the Ohlins on my (now totaled) 2005 Ducati Multistrada, and have ridden other bikes with high end shocks.
The real difference is due to Ricor's inertia valve mechanism vs standard valve shim / check valve / bleed / bypass circuits of conventional shocks. As far as I know, Ricor still offers a money back guarantee if you don't think they are worth it.

This is just completely simple assed beautiful.
I love 'em when they're this clean.

Thanks for sharing.

terry

what abuse?
its way too low for anything other than flattrackin