It has been an interesting month or so. I did some extra work and saved up enough money to buy a decent bike for my commute, which is 60 miles round trip. My goal was to find a bike that has
The next close thing to my list was 2007 or above 883, which are fuel injected and requires 91 octane or better. I calculated the difference of 87 and 93 octane, $0.30 per gallon difference, in one year (12,000 miles) estimating the bike to get 50 mpg. It came to be around $100.00. I can live with that. BUT if I am going to compromise on octane rating, might as well, I should get 1200cc and have more fun with it. That caused me to look for 2007 or above 883 and 2004 or above 1200. (The reason I have been looking for 2004 or above is because Harley began using rubber mount engine. That helps in vibration issues.)
Another important matter for *me* was to be able to stand on the pegs. As a commuter, I am not too worried about forward controls. But for the safety reasons, I would like to stand up if I need to control my body. This eliminated all the Sportster 'Custom' models.
I found a few. I almost came to buy a 2005 1200 Low in black with 5000 miles on it. I had an appointment to meet with the seller. But last minute, he backed out of the deal stating that he had sold it to someone else.
I finally found a nice 2007 (fuel injected) 1200 Low model in White Gold Pearl color with a bit over 5000 miles. We negotiated and came to the agreement in price which I was going to pay for the 2005 model mentioned above. My bad luck really paid off. The seller was really nice. We met at her credit union which had her title. She still owed a little. With my cash, she paid it off and I received the clear title.
below is from Harley website
Here she is in my driveway.
- hydraulic lifter = no valve adjustment
- belt or shaft drive = no chain/sprocket maintenance
- good mpg
- accepting low octane 87 (this is the only criteria, it could not meet.)
- not too expensive for my pocket.
The next close thing to my list was 2007 or above 883, which are fuel injected and requires 91 octane or better. I calculated the difference of 87 and 93 octane, $0.30 per gallon difference, in one year (12,000 miles) estimating the bike to get 50 mpg. It came to be around $100.00. I can live with that. BUT if I am going to compromise on octane rating, might as well, I should get 1200cc and have more fun with it. That caused me to look for 2007 or above 883 and 2004 or above 1200. (The reason I have been looking for 2004 or above is because Harley began using rubber mount engine. That helps in vibration issues.)
Another important matter for *me* was to be able to stand on the pegs. As a commuter, I am not too worried about forward controls. But for the safety reasons, I would like to stand up if I need to control my body. This eliminated all the Sportster 'Custom' models.
I found a few. I almost came to buy a 2005 1200 Low in black with 5000 miles on it. I had an appointment to meet with the seller. But last minute, he backed out of the deal stating that he had sold it to someone else.
I finally found a nice 2007 (fuel injected) 1200 Low model in White Gold Pearl color with a bit over 5000 miles. We negotiated and came to the agreement in price which I was going to pay for the 2005 model mentioned above. My bad luck really paid off. The seller was really nice. We met at her credit union which had her title. She still owed a little. With my cash, she paid it off and I received the clear title.
below is from Harley website
Here she is in my driveway.
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