After a short absence...

The last time I had an active post was back in March. I had completed a light duty build on a GS300 Suzuki. I have since sold that on. It was a fun project, but as it turned out, it wasn't something I could ride very far. The reality of a 58 year old body, and a low-bar crouched riding position just didn't mesh.

So, when I started on my '02 HD Sportster, I decided to keep it so it could be ridden.

And ride it I do. Some of the things I have done included the Biltwell "Tracker" handlebar, the Mustang seat, a nice set of Metzler 888 tires, a clutch, and an overall servicing. It has been an absolute joy to ride and has been rock solid dependable. The only real downside is the typical vibration at highway speed. Nature of the beast, so they say.

Also recently added to my "stable" is a 2014 Triumph Bonneville. Smooth as glass at highway speeds, so this will likely become the weekend road tripper, while the Sporty will be ridden closer to home. I actually feel safer on the Sporty in city traffic, as it can definitely be heard!

I too have a Sporty, an 06, and a 2013 Bonneville, along with a 08 Aprilia and just added 97 Buell S1. The Bonne is just more fun to ride than it should be for a dowdy standard. I don't know what it is, but it's just a blast to ride. Right now it's my daily ride. The Aprilia is just stupid fast and the Buell is like trying to ride a Bobcat chasing a rabbit, it's just a mean spirited ride that is at some point going to put me on my ass. But no matter how many bikes I have or have owned, there is always at least one Sporty in my garage. When I was young, a sporty was my only vehicle for about six years. Rock solid dependable and infinitely modifyable. You hear a lot of crap about Sportsters, but they aren't one of the best selling bikes in the world for nothing. The haters can hate, but I put 55,000 miles on a 96 in a year with nothing more than oil changes and tires/brakes, and it never skipped a beat. The kid who bought it has over 96k on it without opening the engine. Gotta love a good Sporty.

That's a cool analogy Bill! "Trying to ride a bobcat chasing a rabbit!"

Most other HD riders I have come across on rides have been pretty cool, and some even seem a bit envious, since they are weighed down with bags, floor boards that don't allow them to corner hard and such. Seems some yearn for the "sportiness" I reckon.

The worse are vendors at shows. Stop in to look at their wares, and they ask what kind of bike, and when they are told Sportster, the replies are often "Oh. I see. Nah, we don't have anything for those...."

BTW. Love the old Mopar in the avatar. I'm an old Mopar guy too!

Mike Lawless said:

That's a cool analogy Bill! "Trying to ride a bobcat chasing a rabbit!"

Most other HD riders I have come across on rides have been pretty cool, and some even seem a bit envious, since they are weighed down with bags, floor boards that don't allow them to corner hard and such. Seems some yearn for the "sportiness" I reckon.

The worse are vendors at shows. Stop in to look at their wares, and they ask what kind of bike, and when they are told Sportster, the replies are often "Oh. I see. Nah, we don't have anything for those...."

BTW. Love the old Mopar in the avatar. I'm an old Mopar guy too!

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That was a beater I picked up in Santa Maria, it's already sold. I bought it from an old guy losing his mind. It was Cortez silver, and he painted it red and put a really crappy White vinyl roof on it. I figured I better save it before he pulled the big block and replaced it with a Honda. I saw your 9 second Ghia, now that's cool.....

I think your Sportster is where it needs to be. The one I have for my wife has so much stuff on it, you almost can't tell it's a Sporty. She Loves it, but it's a little over done for me. I like them stripped down and clean...

ApriliaBill said:

I saw your 9 second Ghia, now that's cool.....

I think your Sportster is where it needs to be. The one I have for my wife has so much stuff on it, you almost can't tell it's a Sporty. She Loves it, but it's a little over done for me. I like them stripped down and clean...

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Thanks Bill!
We're taking the Ghia to up to Sacramento Raceway over the Labor Day weekend. Should be a fun time.
Since you mentioned Santa Maria, are you in California also?

welcome back Mike, I watched your build of hte GS, nice sporty. Best part of being on this forum is aside from some freindly ribbing and the few real assholes, we don't care what you ride as long as you do.

Cheers

Mike

Mike Lawless said:

Thanks Bill!
We're taking the Ghia to up to Sacramento Raceway over the Labor Day weekend. Should be a fun time.
Since you mentioned Santa Maria, are you in California also?

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Simi Valley...

Maritime said:

welcome back Mike, I watched your build of hte GS, nice sporty. Best part of being on this forum is aside from some freindly ribbing and the few real assholes, we don't care what you ride as long as you do.

Cheers

Mike

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Thanks Mike

The Zookie was a good learning experience, and a lot of that learning came from here and guys like you.

I also learned a lot about myself and what I really wanted in a bike. While the Zookie was fun, it was just something I could NOT do any kind of distance on. My stiff and creaky old body just can't tolerate a bent over low grip position. A young feller bought it, and was happy to get it.

Not a bunch of resources here at DTT for the Harley's however, so I migrated over to the hdforums while I worked out the kinks on the Sportster. It only had 1500 miles on it when I bought in January, but it was still a 12 year old bike, and came with the problems of bikes that age whether they get used or not. Weather checked tires, miscellaneous electrical stuff, leaky rocker boxes, as well as the ergonomic stuff (It came with mini-ape handlebars. HATE HATE HATE those!). The Sporty is extremely easy to work on compared to the japanese bike. Almost as if they were built with customizing in mind!

Now I have the new Bonnie, and will be looking at ways to make it better, mostly for comfort. It doesn't need much, It's a really sweet ride, and it does a lot of stuff well that the Sportster does not. I can go a LOT farther on the Bonnie than on the Sporty before getting tired.
First on the list is seating. It took three saddles for the Sporty before finding one that fit my particular profile. The Bonnie....well, it just has a plank. And not even a stylish one. Flat and plain looking.
I'm not gonna do anything radical. No tail cowl. Something comfortable and functional as well as good looking.

ApriliaBill said:

I too have a Sporty, an 06, and a 2013 Bonneville, along with a 08 Aprilia and just added 97 Buell S1. The Bonne is just more fun to ride...

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Hey Bill, is your Bonne stock? I'd assume it's fuel injected. I was wondering if you have tinkered with the fuel mapping. Mine runs pretty dang good as is, but I've been looking at different mufflers, and most require tuning after installation

I took the air injection off, put Dunstalls. Didn't remap yet, but it runs better than stock, no more farting...

Since the last entry, just shortly after buying the new Bonneville, I've made a few changes to that, which include a Mustang seat, custom mirrors with "one-off" stainless steel stems that I made to position the mirrors to where they were functional, Kuryakyn ISO grips and Progressive rear shocks. Other'n that, I haven't changed the pipes, the tune or modified the engine in any way. My understanding is the the 2014 exhaust is "growlier" than the previous models, and it suits me fine. The thing runs beautifully as is and knocks down over 50mpg on the open road, and about 45mpg in town. So, why mess with it? I've just been riding it....a lot! That and tuning up my winter gear. It's dang cold up in the Sierra's now.


I still ride the the Sportster to work every day. It has gotten new bars with a bit more pull-back than the Biltwell trackers and ISO grips. I liked the feel so much, I bought 'em for the Bonne too! I've also installed a British style 7" headlight. I like that Brit bike look!


But with two bikes of virtually the same class, (about 900cc and around 500lbs), I'm thinking of selling the Sporty and getting a bigger cruiser. Just when I finally got it the way I like it too. Isn't that how it always goes?