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Prologue When I announced that I wanted to take a Harley-Davidson Sportster Roadster for a test ride, my “colleagues in the shop” were surprised at me - why, they say, do I need this children's lisaped? It's too small and doesn't move at all. I, in turn, was overcome by vague doubts, because in 2015 I tested the Street 750 and suddenly I liked it (well, except for the dimensions of me on it), and it’s unlikely that the new Sportster will be worse. Again, the engine of 1200 cubic centimeters versus 750 seemed to hint that the Sportster definitely should not be deprived of something, and power. Having decisively rejected prejudices and with a deliberately prominent slogan “you have to try everything,” the motorcycle was reserved. The Harley-Davidson representative office was also a little surprised - they say, why would I care about 120 kg for this, as someone there put it, “a fence with wheels,” but they did not object. Monsieur knows a lot... Apparently.
He said “let’s go” and waved his hand... From the pages of the press release, the Sportster Roadster looks quite large, or rather, it doesn’t look very small. A kind of fighting dog, low, aggressive, all muscles and tendons on display, nothing superfluous. But what is he really like? Well, reality, as often happens, turned out to be different from the wet images.
So it’s the beginning of August and he’s standing in front of me. It stands and vibrates, although no, it doesn’t vibrate, but shakes like Parkinson’s syndrome incarnate. And will I have to ride this “vibrating baby”? Moreover, “baby” is far from being a diminutive; it is practically a statement of actual size. I look at him and think: how much of a fool have I been? But, as they say, I called myself a milk mushroom, climb into the back and, after listening to a short lecture about the characteristics of this representative of the pair-potted ones from Milwaukee, I climbed in and drove off. At this moment I really wanted it to be night and no one saw the “elephant riding a flea”, but alas and ah...
The epithet “two-wheeled fence” does not easily stick to this motorcycle tightly and immediately. The motorcycle is very narrow, the tank is “pistachio”, narrow wheels, the driver’s saddle is generally almost purely nominal, the passenger’s seat is almost completely absent. The only thing that saves the dimensions is the fairly wide steering wheel and a well-placed and laconic dashboard. The most important misunderstanding of this motorcycle is the driver's footpegs. They stick out like Cheburashka's ears - high and wide. And, despite the fact that the steering wheel is still a little wider than the footpegs, at every moment of time, making your way somewhere in a dense stream, the thought scratches on a subconscious level - so as not to hit something. Moreover, the brackets on which these footrests are mounted were also designed by alternatively gifted engineers. As a result, the foot does not stand on the footpeg itself, but strongly, very strongly, closer to the center of the motorcycle, in fact, on this bracket and behind the “overall” there are still 5-7 centimeters of these same footpegs sticking out. It’s quite comfortable to ride this way, at least more comfortable than if you put your feet correctly on the pegs. The engineers, or rather designers, from Milwaukee have clearly done something too clever, and why, for example, not installing running boards like the Sportster Seventy-Two is a mystery to me personally. However, I am sure that by using the catalog of original spare parts, this misunderstanding can be easily eliminated. By the way, because of this position of the feet on the pegs, changing gears is a separate quest: so, we move the left foot “correctly” onto the pegs, quickly find the shift paw, then change the gear, then remove the foot back to a comfortable position. That's it, the quest is completed. After a couple of hours of practice, you can switch without moving your leg from a comfortable position, but at the same time you need to have a certain flexibility and skill.
But Parkinson's syndrome disappeared before moving off. No special vibrations were noticed in the movement. But as soon as you stopped, you felt it with your whole body - the motorcycle was standing still, but inside the frame there was something not even shaking, just fluttering. Looking down, you can see with your own eyes the “beats of a fiery heart.” Speaking of “fiery heart”. With an impressive volume of 1200 cubic centimeters, the engine did not seem to me much more powerful than the Street 750. Yes, it reaches its cruising speed of 130 km/h faster, but nothing more. In terms of dynamics, it’s time to compare it rather with the Heritage Softail Classic, the same smoothness and prudence, even some ductility, but I was expecting something different...
The first 150 meters revealed that the motorcycle needed to be adjusted to the driver. On bumps, the impacts on the butt are not at all merciful, the handlebars are set with the expectation of a shorter rider, the footpegs... something needs to be done with the footpegs. Having stopped by my workshop, I quickly solved the problem with the steering wheel and handles, fortunately everything is adjustable with inch hexagons. But I had to suffer with the rear suspension. I didn’t find the necessary key in my workshop, but I don’t have anything there. No, with the help of the tool there you can even shoe a bald devil, but the preservation of the appearance is not guaranteed, but the motorcycle is still a test bike, and it must be returned in decent condition. I scratched the crown, then the pumpkin, and an epiphany dawned: there must be an original set of tools, and it probably contains a key for the suspension. Let's go look.
There was no set under the seat, strange. I went to all the other supposed places where a set of tools might fit, but it was nowhere to be found. I think so... Maybe they stole it, I’m not the first to test a motorcycle, and our people are strange... I’m upset. And I was just about to put the removed seat back, when I discovered that it was on the back side of it, in a special recess there was a key fixed, that’s exactly the one that was needed - to adjust the tension of the springs. Hurray, the fifth point will thank you. I still don’t understand whether the tool is a bug or a feature, but the springs are tightened, now I need to do something with the footrests. I took them apart, assembled them, turned them over in my hands, and applied them this way and that, no, there’s no way to do this without a grinder and welding, and you can’t cut a motorcycle, even if you really want to, and even if in the end they’ll thank you for it. Life is pain, we will ride as is.
By the way, there are no complaints about the controls, apart from the notorious driver’s footrests. Everything is made with the usual Harley-Davidson quality, and is located in familiar places. As always, it took some time to get used to the turn signal buttons on the remote controls (left on the left, right on the right, respectively), but it comes quickly. The above-mentioned dashboard, although not the most impressive in size, is excellent to read in any weather and in any light. And there are also such useful (but already standard for almost all HD) features, such as an indicator of the included power supply, and the estimated mileage on the current remaining fuel (this is in addition to the standard ones, such as total and daily mileage) - asking for more is already overkill.
After “adjusting for height,” the motorcycle began to behave much better, the arms were at the right height, the back was straight, the seat even began to pretend that it was comfortable. Yes, on the bumps named after Sobyanin and all his predecessors, although you feel the depth of corruption in the capital’s road construction, you no longer want to take immediate and destructive measures to combat this corruption. I even thought about traveling with a passenger and decided to take my wife to the Sexton bike center. This adventure turned out wonderful, the wife said that she would not sit on this fence again (apparently the epithet suggests itself). The passenger seat exists purely nominally; nothing larger than a skinny teenager can absolutely not be transported there. Even though my wife was almost exactly the same size, it was uncomfortable for her to sit. When accelerating, the passenger’s fifth point tries to move back onto the wing, and when braking, it is not immediately possible to rest against the tank. The passenger footrests are located quite high, which does not add any comfort to the passenger. It’s better not to think about the operation of the suspension when driving with a passenger. In general, the motorcycle is clearly not for traveling together.
To be honest, by this moment I thought that this was an epic failure, and not a motorcycle, everything about it seemed not as it should be. But something haunted me, I kept trying to understand this motorcycle - who is it for? Who is its target audience? Who are these people? Something was constantly spinning in my head, but could not form, some obvious thought that would instantly explain everything and dot the t’s. I looked at the motorcycle from different angles, thinking about the appearance, the design of certain parts, the engine, power and maneuverability. But overall he is very good. The initial comparison with a fighting dog is really not far from the truth; the engine, frame, wheels with cast spokes, brakes, by the way, are more than adequate for a motorcycle. Here they are bones, muscles, tendons, there is also meat where necessary, but there is not an ounce of extra “fat”, neither a hound nor a bodybuilder. And then it dawned on me... Student!
But it’s true, “in the states” the Sportster is truly a people’s motorcycle - it’s cheap, the credit policy is such that anyone who can buy a new IPhone on credit can afford it, and this, in turn, is almost every American. And now everything falls into place. It is just the right size for the average student. This is the young man's first Harley-Davidson. It is more than 146% possible to move between buildings inside the institute campus along the route: dorm - lectures - gym - cafe/cinema - dorm. It is quite possible to give a lift to a classmate, or better yet, a classmate along the way. And since it’s not far to go, she won’t have time to understand all the “delights” of riding number two on a “fence,” and will certainly appreciate the good appearance. You can even ride a motorcycle to visit your parents for the weekend, provided, of course, that they live in the same state (I’m sure there will be fans who will travel further, but these are fans). Moreover, now his appearance becomes even more attractive. Fighting, almost hooligan traits are quite consistent with the spirit of student ardor and craving for nonconformism. Yes, muffin is in my smoothie, but in this context, even a washed-up hipster Pokemon-catcher, with a full set of modern appearance clichés such as rolled up pants, a beard and Ray Ban glasses, will look more than organic on this motorcycle. I would even say it will look cool. Certainly cooler and more organic than next to a fat chopper or a plastic rocket.
To be honest, I'm a little jealous of this hypothetical student. In my student years, all I could afford, even if I got into crippling debt, was the Ural 8.103-10 “Sovkotsikl with sidecar,” with the appropriate design. At that time, I could only read about something like the Sportster on the pages of “Western” glossy magazines, and my envy was quiet and very dark...
But I got distracted. The Sportster Roadster can and should only be compared with its “younger brother” - the Street 750. The Street is clearly made with an emphasis on the Asian market, it is much more maneuverable and lighter, has a simpler finish, and the price matches. The Sportster is already a full-fledged American Harley-Davidson, it is more stylish, more rough in an American way, a real Harley-Davidson down to the very last bolt, no matter what the oldfags say. It's simply Harley-Davidson for a new generation.
The Sportster also has a secret, and thanks to it, it is head and shoulders above the Street in all respects. Somewhere in the Sportster's pedigree there was a Flat-Tracker, and those genes are there, you just have to find them. If you find them, the motorcycle is transformed, the engine ceases to be sluggish, and the stiff suspension turns from a disadvantage into an advantage. I’ll tell you this secret: you need to turn the throttle harder, corner harder, brake later, open earlier, and then you will go over to the “dark side”. A kind of humpbacked horse lives here, small, but his backside was smeared with turpentine very thickly. It roars with its engine almost until the valves ring, the sound of the exhaust rises to an unmerciful crescendo, the wheels constantly strive to skid, but it holds on, squeals, but holds on, and it drags, and drags, and oh-ho-how it drags. At such moments, I caught myself grinning completely insanely, and added more gas. And only very deep in the back of the mind the thought scratches - to edit madrit, and the steps will crawl through where we are now flying like that?..
I guess I'll end here. Would I like it for myself? No, of course not, I have long grown out of it both physically and mentally. Would I buy it for my hypothetical son, an idiot student? (all students are idiots - IMHO) Of course, I would first offer the idiot a sportbike or an endura, but if neither of these attracts the young man, then a Sportster would be one of the best options.
Thank you all for reading. Peace to you 
HARLEY-DAVIDSON SPORTSTER XL1200R, XL1200C, XL883C, XL883
The Harley-Davidson company, apparently, is absolutely confident in any of its products - both before and after testing the newest Sportster, journalists were given the opportunity to ride the “old” ones, and there were seven models. Their series was extended by a series of four new ones. Common feature: the motors are mounted on rubber silent blocks. The features of each are as follows. The XL1200R Roadster has an uprated V-twin engine, a retro-style gas tank, slightly raised handlebars, alloy wheels and dual front brake discs. The custom XL1200C has the same engine, spoked front and disc rear wheels, pushed-back handlebars, a lower seat and a larger tank. The custom XL883C looks the same as the 1200, only it has a smaller engine size. The base model is XL883, it has cast wheels, one disk and no tachometer. And now - in more detail, based on fresh driving impressions.
XL1200C CUSTOM
All of the above is also true for the custom version of the bike, even to a greater extent. It doesn't look like a classic early '60s Sportster, because the Custom is prettier, with a narrow 21-inch spoked front wheel, a cast rear wheel, raised handlebars and a lowered tail.
The driver's position is completely different - this is because the steering wheel is raised on chrome brackets and the footpegs are moved forward. Both the handlebars and footpegs have been moved back by 38 mm compared to last year’s model, making it more comfortable for shorter bikers to sit here. The bike with a single speedometer and a round bright headlight - it is very reminiscent of the Big Twin.
The comparison continued naturally when I started the engine: excited by the capture, he immediately began to move on the rubber mounts, like a hedgehog in a basket. But as soon as I increased the speed, I began to work more softly - like a hedgehog that had calmed down slightly (unless I accidentally closed the air filter housing with my right foot). All that remains is to lean back like a cruiser and get ready for a measured ride.
The Custom was far less tempting for me to try out its newfound smoothness at high revs - it would have been more useful on long trips than on my short raid through the Austrian hills, time was short, and not fuel - the Custom's 17-liter gas tank is enough for a long trip. It was not particularly difficult to feel that the modified version of Harley did not lose its responsiveness at low speeds.
The XL1200C began to grind when cornering, with the muffler pipes touching the ground even earlier than the 1200R's. In addition, due to the strong tilt of the fork, he himself fell a little on his side. Nevertheless, its handling is not bad, the motorcycle “stands” in a vertical position and straightness quite stable.
About rubber. The designers honestly admitted that they installed a thick rear tire not at all in order to ensure the best grip of the wheel on the surface, but for aesthetic reasons. This is purely “Harley-style”: in the company’s custom series, style has always dominated over the technical component. Therefore, without a twinge of conscience or fear of offending, I would call the XL1200C the most impractical of the two new 1200s. That said, even if style is your top priority, know that the XL1200C Custom rides as good as it looks.
