Hey fellas, wanted to ask you more experienced guys that have knowledge about Harley Davidson motorcycles. A buddy of mines is interested in a 2008 HD 1200 Sportster. Has 21K miles for 5K dollars. Bikes looks clean on pix and has aftermarket parts. This is the eb@y auction number xxxxxxxxxx We would be driving 1400 miles to pick it up (NY to NO). We have never ridden HD bikes. What should we look for when testing out the bike? Is it a good deal? THX for the advice.
There are better deals to be had out there for 5k on a sportster with that high of miles and in your area more then likely. I wouldn't make the drive for it personally.
Dude seriously? Craigslist is your friend. Forget driving 1400 miles to pick up a bike. Even if that is total miles round trip, that is just insane. Especially for that age of a bike with 21,000 miles. PASS, PASS, PASS. Tell you friend to scour criagslist every single day so he can find the good deal when it pops up. Also you can ship a bike cross country for around 600-800 bucks.
The drive there is to have a weekend road trip. He could get it shipped for 600 bucks. Was looking to get input on the bike it self from your experiences.
It looks like a nice bike....the EVO engines are relatively trouble free and should go 75K without batting an eye...many riders get over 100k out of them
You can see he has a few bucks invested in that bike and the asking price is right where it should be, if not a little cheap...it does look like it may need tires though...so expect to spend about $300.00 on a decent pair
The only other concern I would have is the tank lift...They only have a 3.3 gallon tank, and lifting it reduces the usable fuel to a bit less than 2.6 gallons...so on that bike, I would expect to need fuel every 85-95 miles. ..but if necessary the lift can be removed in about 10 minutes.
To anyone looking to buy a Sportster, go test ride one. Harley lets you. Metric places usually won't. Take advantage of this and see if you like it. There is a reason people trade Sportsters for bigger Harleys.
I didn't appreciate a Harley until I bought one. Coming off of sport bikes and dirt bikes, I was prepared to be disappointed. I wasn't. The Sportster is a fantastic platform for customization. It's also lightweight and handles well, compared to larger v-twins. It puts out 80 ft-lbs of torque. It's a different mindset from riding a sport bike. If you like relaxing and enjoying the views – and feeling that torque kick after every stop – instead of the adrenaline rush of a sport bike, it's a great ride. And I am having just as much fun on the Harley compared to the FZ, just a different kind of fun. Here's my '06 1200 Custom before and after.
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I owned a 2008 Sportster Nightster back in Ireland and have to confess, it was one of the best bikes I have ever owned. IMHO the sportster range is probably the best that H-D has to offer. Given how quickly folks trade up from Sportsters to bigger H-D models, the majority of Sportsters are often barely used and in newish condition so you can rarely go wrong with a Sportster. Oh, and for the record, I commuted daily on my nightster (roughly 3000 miles a months) and the bike never failed me. its a tank of a bike. My only regret is not wearing ear plugs in lieu of the Vance and Hines 50/50 pipes that came with the bike when I bought it. My hearing inevitably did suffer as a result...
Also, the bike is versatile allowing you to really make it your own with after market and OEM parts. Finally, most H-D dealerships will do a 99 point inspection if your uncertain. It could be part of the criteria you ask of a private seller if they are not willing to budge on price. You could also get the list from a local H-D dealer. All used H-D's are certified by H-D dealerships so they should have it on file. Food for thought.
In almost 13000 miles my Sportster has not given me one single problem. nothing, Nada Zilch...also, they are one of the best, if not the best bikes for fit and finish.
There is virtually no plastic on these bikes, and that's part of the reason that cost as much as they do.
99% of the people who trash talk Harleys have never owned one...it really is their loss ...for a nice cruise with the girl on the back, the Sporster cannot be beat.
its as much fun as my FZ is if you use it for the right purpose .
So you cant even link to EBAY (am I allowed to say the word?) to have people look at something YOU want to buy? ( I See the ebay link is XXX'd out in the OP. I get posting YOUR ebay link being against the rules, but what the heck is wrong with posting a link there to have people look at something and give opinions? Its not his sale ad. And this is not the classifieds section.
So EBAY is banned PERIOD from here???
I see other links to Ebay in other threads (Taillight thread).
Just curious why this one was censored....
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