Help! Help! The darkness! It has me!

[Barcelona Pat]

Hey S
Got to agree with Mick and PaulinBont - and your general approach to your bike hunting. Most bikes will do most things these days (though, of course, some are better at some aspects than others). As we know, some of the longest travelled have done so on Harleys. Hell, I even took my Intruder off road once (albeit only once!!) - and the ride out at the Boil in the lake district was an experience :woohoo:

Have a go at the 883, and take your time over it - I did a few years back and was surprised - no, very surprised by it. The engine mounts offer better damping of the vibes (once you are on the move) than you'd expect. In fact if it wasn't for the price tag at the time, I think I would have bought one. I ended up with the Intruder in the end, which quietly wormed its way into my heart - and I've put 53k on that - but IMHO the 883 is the better bike, not least as it will stop without having to plot braking points on your route in advance...:S

Have fun
:B
Pat

[scouse]

If you want a winter bike forget a Sporty... too much cheap electrickery hanging in places to be hit by water and salt and build quality is not up to snuff for a UK winter... it will go furry and melt in front of your eyes.

One of my friends bought a brand new 1200 Sporty same time I bought my new 1200 Bandit in 1998. A year later his had spent more time in the dealers than on the road and once winter bit, quite mildly that year with hardly any salt. it quite often refused to run. Carbs iced up on a regular basis, when no-one was wearing any thermals even... not a bike to be ridden all year round... and the tank range on the standard ones is really low.

[Selous]

Sprockette IMHO, you really need to test ride as many bikes and then decide what you really want, as buying a bike is an expensive mistake, unless you have won the lottery.

*snip*

If you can't resist a Posing Cruiser have a look at the Triumphs in stead.

Great advice Selous, I've been test riding bikes as much as possible this year (and having a whale of a time!) :woohoo:

I don't know, a bike's a bike in my book. Any bike will do most things you want and anything it won't do you just work out something different to get around it. I'm just happy to have any bike really, there's far more important things going on in the world to take up my thoughts and energy. If I'm honest about it, I don't really mind if it vibrates, if its like gliding on silk, costs more than its apparent worth, is over or under powered, what people imagine my motivations for owning one is, if breaks down all the time, or is so reliable and over-engineered its as dull as ditch-water. I'm buying with my heart in the future, not my head.

I tried that "buying with forethought" thing before *shudder*, it has never really worked out for me :laugh: :laugh: Three apparently "very reliable" bikes all died a very early mechanical or electrical death and my 19 year old 98cc road-bike-turned-trailie keeps on ticking! :blink:

I'll buy the bike that "sings" to me the clearest and that I get the most out of riding. Pose factor is not really an issue for me, I go for grin factor. My favourite places to ride are the places where there are no other people rather than busy cafes or meets. Whatever bike I get it will be ridden in the winter and it will bloody-well like it! :laugh: I have a hose pipe and I'm ACF-50's biggest fan Anyway, a bike can just be for Christmas, not always for life. If I can't get on with it, I'll release it into the wild (or, at the very least, Bike Trader/The Bay of E!).

Edit: Hope this doesn't sound aggressive, not meant to be.

None taken I can see you passionate about riding your bike, I have ridden bikes, legly since i was 16 I felt just you and still do, not a day go's by when I dont want to get on my bike and have a ride, (some days I cant due to work),

I do ride all year round, & yes I am a member of the ACF50 Club, (I buy it in bulk B))
remember any bike you buy items can be change or fabricated to do the job you want it to.

& Enjoy the Ride

[dash]

what I would say about the HOG they are a lot of £££ for not that modern i.e. cable throttle, & clutch,

Erm...

[OB1]

I love the Sportster and especially that Iron model. When I was looking at bikes last year my list was Tiger XC, F800 GS and the HD Sportster Iron. I know that it doesn't go with the other two, however, it is a superb bike.

I bought one new back in March 1989: back then they were 4-speed, chain drive models without the rubber mounted engine! It was a lovely bike that I toured to Germany on in April of that year (my first distance tour)... so they do stand up to the weather as long as you look after them... just like any other bike! :whistle:

I agree with the consensus that you should buy the bike that moves you in more ways than just as a transit tool. Everyone has their opinions (just like something else I've heard :pinch: ) and, with Harleys, you will find that most people's views and biases are based on nothing more than handed-down, 3rd-hand rumour...

[mark1150]

This isn't a handed down rumour, I owned a spanking new 06, and believe me not in a mad fit would I own another.
Crap finish, and when I say crap I'm talking about welding that was QC'd by Stevie Wonder, with paintwork that needed replacing from the get go.
Extras like sissy bars with chrome so thin, I thought that they must have robbed a cigarette factory for their silver paper; and to keep in line with the aforementioned welding, they ground off the smegs that they could be bothered to, and chromed the rest over, the fitting kit is laughable with the nuts biting into the pillion seat.
I spent a small fortune on the stage kits, and screemin eagles, and it was still a pig.
Guess that's why they are hogs :dry:

[Jimbike]

I think you have the right idea about choosing, Spockette. Ride as many of them as you can and then choose with your heart.

My mother said that to my sister about husbands, too.

[gland]

one mans meat is another mans poison.Go with your instincts and and the grin factor.Plenty of time to get sensible and practical.You can always get two bikes

[Doggo]

I'm with everyone else (and you) on buying what you fancy and "What the Hell".

I will say this also - I suspect (If you're anything like me (fat, bald, middle aged... OK maybe not! :laugh: )) that you're always going to have this Harley itch until you've scratched it by buying one, even if you buy another bike and love it.

So maybe the question really is one of timing. Is there some compelling reason this itch would be better scratched later than now?

[Sprockette]

In your mix you also mentioned the TTR250. I was looking for a lighter bike than my F800 for playing about in the mud and considered the TTR, the Serow, XR250 and the DRZ400 before going for a Husqvarna TE250. At just over 100Kg it is easy to pick up when dropped in the muddy, boggy, peaty stuff-and Touratech have a catalogue brimming with enough 'farkles' to turn it into a serious adventure bike. It is 'only' a 250 but after all, but the Serow got Lois Pryce from Alaska to Tierra del Fuego and through Africa, so another one to consider maybe?

I had a DR-Z400S, brilliant bike! Shame it was one of the few with catastrophic engine problems. I would definitely buy one again though, it was just bad luck with that bike. I put a review here: Sprockette's DRZ review

I actually quite like the look of the new Husqvarna (BMW) TE449 too, very nice.