whats more comfy on the hwy - Sportster or Triumph

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Originally Posted By: endeavor to persevere
I doubt many of the posters have ridden a new Sportster. ...


Me too.

Mine is old enough to have a chain and I wouldn't call it a "cheesy rattle trap" but it is definitely not as good as a newer rubber mount. A touring machine it is definitely not. Which is OK, as long as you don't want a touring machine.

I've ridden new rubber mounts and they are quite good...

OP, most Harley Dealers are pretty good about test rides, go try one out. Actually I think Triumph Dealers are too, go try them both out.
 
I like triumphs, they are a bike my friends had when we were younger. Then they disappeared for a few years. I just went looking for Triumph dealers around the country and here's what I found.http://www.motorcycle-usa.com/0/15/Motorcycle-Dealers-Manufacturer/Triumph-Dealers.aspx. Then I went ebay to see whats offered in the triumps line. There were only a few bikes for sale, some were new leftovers. They were reasonably priced I guess, but they were all naked bikes. I bet there's not much in the way of aftermarket support for items like a windshields,different grips or bars. Maybe a universal fit crash par or highway pegs, or generic saddlebags. Some states only have 1 dealer in the whole state. So if you decide to go that way, you better hope you live close to it. So if you should need service or repairs its convenient.Also with year or two leftover bikes still for sale don't expect alot of action on resale if you decide to sell it in a few years. Nothing hurts resale value like a warehouses full of new unsold 2-4 year old bikes on the market for fire sale pricing. Sportster's have been in production since 1957, and that's because people want them. Maybe only to test the motorcycling waters. There are dealers on just about every street corner, unbelievable aftermarket support, and resale is always brisk. You can set it up any way you want, and they are as reliable as any bike sold today. In one way bikes are like boats, they are both compromises. A bike that is great on the highway probably feels heavy around town, and a bike that's sporty will feel out of place on a 3 lane highway with stiff crosswinds. If you plan on mostly highway riding, you might want to think bigger.,,
 
I've never ridden a Triumph America, but I have ridden a buddy's sportster(1200). My impressions were that it was uncomfortable, slow, loud, vibrated more than I was comfortable with, and he was continuosly working on the thing.

I vote for the Triumph, particularly since you're familiar with the owner.
 
The Triumph valve adjustments are easy as cake. There is actually quite a bit of aftermarket for them. A sportster is fine if you are smaller in stature. For me a sportster was just too cramped at 6'1 and it did not handle rough roads well. It would be a good around town bike, but I do quite a bit of riding on the highway and interstate.

My Triumph Speedmaster has 12 more HP than the 883 sportster even with a smaller engine and the powerband is more linear. I also get 50mpg all day long, even after putting a richer tune, air filter, and pipes on it. Before that it got 55mpg easily. It also is a larger bike closer to a Dyna in length, but does not weight much more than a sporty. It also has a 5 gallon tank so I can go longer without refueling. Resale is pretty good. Sure they done sell in huge numbers but most people I have met with them hold on to them for a long while before trading in....meaning they are satisfied. It is not a bike without weaknesses, but it does everything pretty well. Good all round cruiser.
 
Originally Posted By: endeavor to persevere
I doubt many of the posters have ridden a new Sportster.....


I have ridden a new Sportster. Well, it was new when I rode it circa 2009.

ZOMGWTFBBQ-1.jpg


I hope the newer wheel and tire sizes are accompanied by better cornering clearance.

I also rode an older Ironhead Sporty.....yeah, when I compared the 2009 Sporty to a '70s Yamaha 2 valve parallel twin it was a vast improvement. The Ironhead wasn't that good at all. The XS650 was vastly superior

I have ridden several other Harley Davidson models. I just don't get the mystique.
21.gif


A couple of years ago, I had a chance to ride a BMW R65. I like that bike. Its 2 valve twin was not a powerhouse at all but it could cruise effortlessly at freeway legal + speeds and once you get over the fact that the cylinders hang out there seemingly danger close to the ground, the low center of gravity encourages you to choose the twisty road.

I don't understand the Sportster's appeal.

Riding an FLHS Softail, all I could think was the many ways my old ZN1100 LTD was better. Quicker, faster, so much torque that gear selection did not matter, air suspension, footpegs back where they belong.....same seat to bar arrangement.

I don't understand the metric cruisers either. 25 years ago, the Shadow 500 was pretty powerful and smooth for a half liter. It was comfortable and had a pleasant reassuring engine feel. Ride a 600cc Shadow VLX. It's buzzy and weak compared to its smaller predecessor.

I do prefer much smaller machines. This was a gradual discovery. Going from 1100 to 600 to 750 to 500 to 400....the 400 4-cylinder was my favorite.


Quote:
It is dead smooth up to 50 and then gets a very small amount of vibration between 50 and 60 mph, then smooths out and is dead smooth from 70 on up. Mirrors are clear.

grin.gif
you just described my 250! Vibration from about 60 to about 65mph. Cruises smooth and easy at 70mph.
 
Just to further my argument that Metrics were better

Honda VT500C Shadow: 1/4mi 13.64 seconds at 93.65 MPH
Honda VT600C Shadow VLX: 1/4mi 14.5 sec at 91 MPH
The shaft driven 500 is quicker and faster than the chain driven 600

They detuned them and reconfigured things to give it a specific sound.

But the target was arguably always the Harley Davidson. Credit where credit is due to Harley Davidson for the paint quality, switchgear feel etc... but you eventually have to ride the thing. So back on topic:

Harley Davidson 883 Sportster: 1/4 mi 15.69 seconds at 85mph
...hey, that is marginally quicker than a Honda CMX 250 Rebel. By almost two seconds! About the same margin that an air-cooled two valve Suzuki GS450L Cruiser is quicker than the Sporty.
 
Originally Posted By: BigCahuna
The only thing faster then the speed of those bikes, is the rate their value and popularity dropped.,,


And the speed at which a Harley/Triumph thread turns into a Honda/Scooter thread on BITOG.
 
Originally Posted By: Spazdog
Harley Davidson 883 Sportster: 1/4 mi 15.69 seconds at 85mph
...hey, that is marginally quicker than a Honda CMX 250 Rebel. By almost two seconds! About the same margin that an air-cooled two valve Suzuki GS450L Cruiser is quicker than the Sporty.


A really good friend of mine has a Harley with tons of mods on it, big bore kit, stroker crank, etc. Sure sounds loud enough. I know he has around 30k in it!!!

My 4 door luxury sedan can embarrass him, especially from a roll.

I had dozens of Japanese bikes as a kid. Almost universally quieter and faster than any Harley even if you give the Harley a couple hundred CC of displacement.

The one thing Triumph lacks is the incredible marketing of the Harley "Image". They are a fine bike IMO, made by enthusiasts for enthusiasts...
 
What does speed have to do with the quality of the bike ? Does anyone really think the Harley is junk because it's not the fastest ?

Oh, the last I checked Harley and Suzuki ruled the drag strip....
 
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Originally Posted By: FastGame
What does speed have to do with the quality of the bike ? Does anyone really think the Harley is junk because it's not the fastest ?

...


Well of course, because the essence of motorcycling is beating some loser in a tarted up grocery getter some where ... duh...
 
A sportster hands down . You can get any type seat , handelbars , controls . plus if you don't like it , they sell easy ! I ride a o2 , plus my superglide . A five hundred mile day is a good day . You can run 75 mph all on a four lane . I look at a sportster as a day bike , by that I mean if you can get there in a day they are fine . I have put around 140000 miles on them with no trouble . But I trade them off at 40 or 50 thousand, so who knows on evo sportster ? Harley doesn't see how much HP they can get out of one . But its very easy to get 75 out of one . please remember that straight pipes don't help , they only make HP at full throttle . s&s has showed that time after time .
But ! ! You should ride them both , that way you will know .

Jake
 
Originally Posted By: FastGame
What does speed have to do with the quality of the bike ? Does anyone really think the Harley is junk because it's not the fastest ?



I should have clarified my statement:

What I was going for initially is that Metric Cruisers were better then than most Metric Cruisers now.
They were ugly, but they were functionally pretty good.
Now they are pretty, but functionally terrible.
Apples to apples comparison: Let's say '85 VT750C Shadow vs the current 750 Shadow. The first 750 Shadow was a 3 valve oer cylinder, 2 plug per cylinder shaft driven machine. It had torque all over(except for the O/D 6th gear but you knew you were in 6th from the light on the instrument cluster) A legitimate 13 second bike. It felt faster than that. The old ZX600A Ninjas and FJ600s had to really work hard to get ahead of that thing. It was balanced well. It handled fairly well for a weird looking cruiser thing. Fast forward to the Shadow Spirit. Sleek and low/chain driven and slow. Doesn't corner as well as its predecessor.

Probably the biggest example is the Kawasaki Vulgar 750....I mean Vulcan 750. Man, that was a good riding bike, but wow, was it ever ugly.

I don't mind slow bikes. I said before, I prefer smaller bikes. One of the most fun bikes I ever had couldn't do 70mph without being in a full tuck. But there is something wrong - something very wrong with an 883cc fuel injected machine that will get embarrassed by an air cooled, SOHC, 2 valve, parallel twin 440cc Kawasaki. You know the Kawasaki 440 LTD is slow, but you wouldn't expect it to walk away from something with double the displacement.
 
Comparing new machines to older machines does not take into account one thing.....EPA emissions standards. They have been DEATH on newer air cooled bikes in the performance department. If they were not a factor it would be very easy to get more ponies out of the engines of today.

Now comparing two contemporary and similarly sized air cooled engines is fair. That being said the 865cc Triumph mill will walk away from the 883 Sporty as well as some liquid cooled options like the 900cc Vulcan.
 
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It doesn't seem to have nearly as nasty an effect on the Yamaha SR400.
21.gif


Chuck the carburetor, add fuel injection and a carbon canister and it's 1978 all over again. (except you don't have to fiddle with a choke lever and kick it until you are too tired to ride...you still have to kick it, but it'll handle all the enrichening by itself)
 
My Sportster cruises easily at 70 to 75. It will run over 100 mph. Has torque you won't believe. Is one of the most fun to ride bikes I've had in a long time. And since I don't have to prove my manhood in racing every bike I pull up beside of or red line it in every gear between red lights, it suits me just fine.

Being 5/9 at 185 it fits me just right. It is as reliable as any Honda I've ever had. Maint is minimal.I find myself wanting to get on my Sportster and just go riding more than any bike I've had in a long time.It stires my spirit. I couldn't ask for more out of a bike.

I don't understand this you got to have the baddest, fastest bike or it ain't no good. Thats not what I ride for. I like cruising the back roads and seeing the countryside, smelling the crisp morning air. Maybe I just didn't learn much in the 56 years I have ridden. You tell me....
 
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Originally Posted By: Robenstein


The Triumph he is looking at is a 2 cylinder, air cooled, 270 degree parallel twin.


Boy is my face red...
 
Originally Posted By: BusyLittleShop
Originally Posted By: Robenstein


The Triumph he is looking at is a 2 cylinder, air cooled, 270 degree parallel twin.


Boy is my face red...


Yep and you walk hunched over, put the RC45 away and get a cruiser...haha
 
Originally Posted By: DuckRyder
Originally Posted By: FastGame
What does speed have to do with the quality of the bike ? Does anyone really think the Harley is junk because it's not the fastest ?

...


Well of course, because the essence of motorcycling is beating some loser in a tarted up grocery getter some where ... duh...
Maybe for you, but I haven't lived as long as I have and kept my insurance rates under control by doing that. Lots of riders today are just barely able to keep things under control in normal riding, I wouldn't want to egg one of those types into a "competition" and have someone get hurt. BMWs handle and stop very well, I have no need to prove that to anyone.
 
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Originally Posted By: HerrStig
Originally Posted By: DuckRyder
Originally Posted By: FastGame
What does speed have to do with the quality of the bike ? Does anyone really think the Harley is junk because it's not the fastest ?

...


Well of course, because the essence of motorcycling is beating some loser in a tarted up grocery getter some where ... duh...
Maybe for you, but I haven't lived as long as I have and kept my insurance rates under control by doing that. Lots of riders today are just barely able to keep things under control in normal riding, I wouldn't want to egg one of those types into a "competition" and have someone get hurt. BMWs handle and stop very well, I have no need to prove that to anyone.


I think your sarcasm detector is out of calibration...
wink.gif


Now I think I will go ride...
grin.gif
 
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