The Harley Davidson Sportster has been around for a long time. Harley Davidson's main bike was the Sportster before the Big Twin became more popular. There are some who say the Sportster is a bike for beginners. I think that is a statement that was not made by a thinking man. Most *bikers* that I have ever met got there start on Minibikes or smaller Japanese motorcycles within the 125 cc to 250cc range. A beginner on an 883 or a 1200 Sportster! This seems a bit to much power for a beginner to me. I have ridden for about 12 years myself. If I were responsible for getting someone started ridding motorcycles I would start them on a 125cc or 175cc Japanese bike. Harley Davidson does not make these size motorcycles but they did when AMF owned Harley Davidson. These AMF bikes are restorable but parts are hard to find.

When I first rode a Harley Davidson Sportster ( I had owned a 650KZ Kawasaki for 3 years) it was an experience that was hard to forget! I had barrowed a friend of mines Sporty while in the Marines and drove to a local bar. A few moments after I had arrived a bunch of guys came into the bar all excited asking who's sporty that was. It seemed as though I had instant groupies just from ridding a Harley Davidson Sportster. When I drove the thing I could not get over how many heads turned in my direction as I rode by. Also the feel of the Sporty was quite different from my 650KZ Kawasaki. I tried to put it in words but it seemed more like a motorcycle than any other motor driven two wheeled vehicle that I had ever driven! A truly amazing experience!

A Harley Davidson Sportster is alot less money (about $6,000.00) than one of Harley Davidsons Big Twins ($15,000.00). The Sportster is still enjoyable to ride. A used Sporty can be very cheap to very expensive. A used Sporty can cost as much as a new Sporty in some instances. A new Sporty does have a warranty which should be concidered.

I have heard that everyone that buys a Harley Davidson Sportster ends up buying a big twin. This might be a reason to consider buying a Bigger Bike first!

I have seen the Big Twins of course and this is the bike I really want but money doesn't grow on trees! These bikes can cost 3 to 4 times as much as a Sportster!

One way to go about owning one of course is to buy the parts and build one or buy a basket case or one barely running. This would take time but so does working two jobs to buy one.

Another thing to realize is that the range on a Big Twin is alot more. You can go farther between fillups. A nice thing to know when going through a desert!