Harley Davidson Sportster XLH883
Tuesday, September 25, 2007

I always wanted to ride a motorcycle. An old fashion one, not a plastic rocket but one which looks like motorbike. So I bought HD. And I love it soo much!My Harley Sportster XLH883 is 2003 anniversary model. I bought it a year ago, with 8k miles on clock and stage 1 fitted in (Screaming Eagle air filter plus Screaming Eagle mufflers).I use it mainly to commute to work. 25 miles everyday, Monday to Friday. It is the only reason which make me get up at six o'clock from bed. And after long and busy day at work riding it home is so much better than best massage to relax.Harley make five different families of motorbikes. The best one to start with, specially if you have no previous experience with motorcycles, is Sportster. It's fairly light (about 250kg), have enough, easy to handle power, low center of gravity, good maneuverability, and after 1999 bikes have very descent brakes too. Sportsters come in two engine sizes: 883 (about 50bhp) and 1200cm3 (about 75bhp). Another great advantage is its price. Sportsters are entry level Harleys. New XL883 cost as little as £5200 (next cheapest one, from Dyna family, cost nearly twice as much). It doesn't mean that it's worse product. On contrary; there are people who think that only Sportster, from whole HD range, count as proper bike. They maintain price very well too. Check by yourself at ebay, if you find one below £3000 buy it; it won't happen again ;)Best thing with HD motorcycles is that by definition they should be modified. Personalized. Improved. Dressed up. Harley itself sell lots of accessories and parts. Theoretically you can change anything, from handlebars, pegs, sit and lights to wheels, mudguards, exhausts even engine.I have a big plan for mine. At the moment its black and chrome. It's going to be black and black. I am going to improve its performance too. First by upgrading it from 883cc to 1200cc. Later bigger carb and another cams. Does it sound like gibberish to you? Yeah, I was the same a year ago. And then I bough my first HD.If you like old fashion motorbikes, try Harley. You may find your love, just like I did.