Motorcycle Forum banner

I just bought my SECOND bike! My FIRST cruiser!

3K views 17 replies 11 participants last post by  Retired Guy 
#1 ·
I started out last year on a 2004 bright yellow Kawasaki Ninja 250, the old school one designed in the eighties.

I learned everything on that bike but quickly learned that I was not a sportbike rider and just preffered to "cruise" along and explore. I recently sold her to put the money towards another bike!

After test riding a few bikes, I fell in love with the Harley Davidson Roadster. I loved that bike so much and felt so perfect but I couldn't afford it at the time and didn't want NO OTHER BIKE.

I was working and doing LYFT on the side killing myself to get that bike and said to myself it's not worth it and gave up.

A little while past and I ran into a used 1996 883 Sportster for sale that I paid cash for!

Although she is no ROADSTER but I feel she is good enough for me RIGHT NOW until I can afford my Harley Davidson Roadster.

She is not as fast, she has a carburetor, and came with those ridiculous "buck horn" handle bars, but I am happy to still be on two wheels. And at the end of the day, is not that all that really matters? Just wanted to share my story!
 
See less See more
#4 ·
Nothing wrong with your Harley. You like it and enjoy it and that is what matters. And if that Roadster finds it way back on your bucket list, I bet one day you will figure out how to get it. Congratulations.
 
#6 ·
Saving up and buying with cash is a great way to ride now and keep working towards your dream bike without being shackled with a big payment right now. Things have a way of working out if you wait a bit anyway, you never know what's coming down the road for you.
in 2015 I was in some financial difficulty after a divorce and while I really wanted a brand new $30K bright blue 2016 touring bike I settled for a 6 year old bike, same type but black, but with 45K miles on it. I was worried but decided I would take the chance and spent the 5K that I had.
5 years later, that bike is still in my garage with 110K miles on it, I ride it daily, it's my favorite, and meanwhile my finances improved beyond my wildest dreams at the time and the brand new bike I had been dreaming about is parked right next to it in the garage of my new house.
Back then I was ready to give up..oh was I wrong!

60631
 
#16 ·
That's short buckhorns, if you get the right height they're great
Had 2 883 both carb, but both had forward controls

If you're riding curves you'll have just as much fun on that as you would a 1200
but if you're looking for power there is considerable difference

That is a good looking bike
 
#9 ·
I've owned three Sportsters, Carb. The third one is on my lift now. Once it's done and ready (had to change the shifter shaft), I'll be riding the hell out of it. They may not be a big road bike, but you will find them to be more fun than a barrel of Monkeys. After you get your 'big' bike, you might end up keeping the Sportster. They're that much fun. And yes, I have an FLH sitting in the garage too. Have fun with it!
 
#11 ·
Congrats, .... Nice sporty!

Change the bars if you don't care for the riding position, but don't do it for looks, do it because it's more comfortable ( which I doubt, buckhorns are designed for comfort), or faster or some good reason. Too many guys are suffering, riding around on bikes they made worse in some cases a LOT worse, because they thought it looked cool.

Fuel injection is awesome in a lot of ways but let's be honest with ourselves. EFI systems are on our bikes because the EPA says so, not because any of us wanted them. OK, maybe the race guys and drag bike builders like the extra power and response that EFI gives them, and the EFI bikes do start a heck of a lot easier and run smoother in cold air, but there's some serious advantages to carburetors.

for a few:
- Easier to diagnose and fix
- Much less expensive vs the EFI system
- More Adaptive to engine changes
- Fuel Economy? Carb comes out worse on a stock bike, but put on straight pipes, then add an aftermarket gadget with a power optimized fuel map and you can easily end up less fuel efficient than a carbureted machine, and spend quite a few dollars getting there.

The difference between a 60mpg ride and a 45mpg ride is only $17 per thousand miles, if I'm paying $3 a gallon. At $17 per thousand miles, how many thousands of miles do I have to ride for my new EFI bike to pay for itself?

That same 15mpg difference between a 20 mpg car and a 35 mpg Monster Moto accounts for $64 per thousand miles. Which isn't why we ride, but, it's nice.
 
#12 · (Edited)
  • Easier to diagnose and fix
  • Much less expensive vs the EFI system
  • More Adaptive to engine changes
  • Fuel Economy?
I'll agree with point #2 but the others, only if you don't know what you are doing. And that's where carbs might be an advantage again. Point #3 might require a different throttle body and a different map and if you really went crazy, different injectors but not really a problem. And how well does your carbs do at sea level or at 11,000 feet above on the same day same trip. You can't beat fuel injection there. The only way you get poorer fuel mileage is by not knowing what you are doing. Take it to a pro and points 1, 3 and 4 are not a problem. But you are 100% correct on 2 and no way around it. And when I say "you", I don't mean you personally but the general public "you". The average everyday rider who might think he can work on bikes but knows enough to cause more problems than solutions.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Retired Guy
#13 ·
One of the reasons I wanted a F.I. bike was because of changing altitudes. I had one carb'ed bike quit running I suspect due to altitude, (ran fine once I got out of the mountains) and a second carb'ed bike that wouldn't run the posted speed limit of 65 MPH at a higher elevation, (throttle wide open and 55 MPH is all it would do).

I've been told with F.I. systems they will adjust themselves automatically to the changing altitudes with little or no effect on performance. I hope that's right.
 
#15 ·
I like the power as well as most people I reckon, but I also place a high value on reliability. Like I said in another thread, as far as I know, my Super Glide is all stock. I'm hoping that leaving the engine alone, except routine maintenance of course, will help with reliability and long life.

Trying out the "If it ain't broke, don't fix it" theory.
 
#17 ·
She is not as fast, she has a carburetor, and came with those ridiculous "buck horn" handle bars, but I am happy to still be on two wheels.
May not be a sport bike, and there are faster bikes, but not many that are more fun -- in my book, the CV40 carb is a plus, and like most CVs, altitude adjust as the throttle depends on ambient pressure (the first military drones used CV carbs and ran them all the way to 20K+ feet because no mixture adjustment was needed by the "pilot")... fairly simple to work on, but rarely needs tweaking unless you did something else to the engine -- the bars are the bars, most find them comfortable, but if not -- change `em
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top