Question: 2001 Harley Sportster 27000k price?

[Diggy]

Any tips on what I should be looking at if I am going to buy this bike?

Thanks
Kev

[Adjuster]

Whats the price?


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[Diggy]

5000 Firm he said
Also he said Chrome was replaced and it was a lot, how much would it be to replace this?

[Adjuster]

What engine size Sportster? My first thought is that's a little high for a 14 year old Sportster with 27,000 miles.


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[fishman10]

i agree with adjuster,, too much money for that ,,, unless its fully custom ,,,,,in the real world around here ,,they bring $2500 - 3500 dependinging on condition an miles and also whether its 883 or 1200cc

[Diggy]

Ok, he was saying something about it has a chip in it to make it 1200, something to do with innsurence, making it a 800 something.
Any ideas what he is talking about?
Remember I am in Canada so the pricing of 5000 is prolly 3500 maybe. I'm not to sure what the dollar comparison is.

Hmmmm

[Adjuster]

I would not be interested. Too old, too many miles and it sounds like it has the smaller engine size.


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[fishman10]

no way ,,,,,he is lying or misinformed,, no chip is going to take it from 883 to 1200,,,walk away ,,price is way to high

[MICRider]

Yup, $5k for on 01 883 is waay to much, even in Canada! I bought a small mig a few years back from a guy that was selling his wife's 883, it was only a couple of years old with almost no miles on it (she didn't like riding) and he was only asking $6k for it. It literally looked like brand new still.

[jjn]

Sounds too high. A 2001 Sportster is different than the newer ones. Here is a little info: Until 2004 the XL's (Sportsters) had rigid motor mounts. No rubber in the mounts. They had what they call a trap door transmission. This means tat, should you, lets say break a transmission gear (unlikely on an XL) you can get the gears out without having to do a complete engine tear down. There is a cover under the primary drive that comes off and you can then remove the gears. I'm told a good tech can have the trans out and on the bench in about 45 minutes. The 2004 and newer, you have to remove the engine, and split the engine cases=big job and big money.

In 2004, when HD went to the rubber mounted engines, they had to redesign the frame. In doing so, the XL gained a mess of weight. I've heard figures of from 50-85 pounds, which made the XL a bit porky. The pre 2004 XL's tend to vibrate more, and some people just don't like them for that reason. I've owned both. A 1984 XLX1000, and a 2006 XL883. The vibes from the earlier model never bothered me or caused any problem. Due to the weight differences, many who want to build a cafe style XL buy a rigid mount XL because less weight is ALWAYS better on a corner carver. And, less weight is as good as more horsepower any day.

You can easily tell a pre 2004 from a 2004 and newer by the shape of the little cover on the primary drive side of the engine. This is the cover you use when checking primary drive chain tension, and to adjust that chain. It is a super easy job by the way. The rigid XL's have a round coverl, ike 1.75 inches across. The rubber mount bikes have a cover shaped more like a rectangle.

XL's were carbureted through 2006, and went to fuel injection in 2007.That's why I bought a used 2006. I wanted a carbureted engine. A twin with a single carb is very basic and easy to work on. I can work on them, and I might even be able to fix it at the side of the road. Fuel injection,....well, call a flatbed truck to haul it to the dealer.

If someone told you he made his 883 into a 1200 with a "chip", he is a liar. You have to replace the pistons with bigger ones, and that is that. There is nothing wrong with an 883. Some missguided riders who are easily swayed will tell you that you have to have an ever bigger and bigger bike to do that or that. If you get an 883 there are inexpensive ways to convert it to a 1200 if you just have to have more cubes. HD makes dished pistons, and if you go with these, then you can reuse the 883 heads. So, you buy 2 dished pistons and 2 cylinders, a set of top end gaskets and that's it. When I worked at a dealer, I could get the parts for maybe $500. You end up with a bike that is faster off the line than a stock 1200 because you will still have the slightly lower gearing of the 883.

Me, I would not convert to a 1200 till I wore out the 883 pistons and cylinders, and even then, I might just stay with an 883. My 883 hauled me around just fine, and did fine on the freeways. On a trip I took via the back roads and highways, it got about 64 mpg. In town riding more like 48.

Sportsters are fun to ride, reliable,easy to do basic maintenance, use a belt rear drive (except for the much earlier ones), which works great, and hold their resale value better than most Japanese bikes. Oh, and remember, you don't HAVE to buy into the so called, Harley-Davidson lifestyle. You can do like I did, and just dress and ride like a regular rider.

Be advised that many XL's have shortened suspension to give them that slammed look. If you buy one of these, you'd better expect to be dragging stuff and making sparks if you
go around corners in a "spirited" manner. None of the present lineup has normal length suspension--they are all lowered. Too bad on HD for that. A standard suspended Sportster is a fun ride on a twisty road.

That's a quick run down on Sportsters. For me, the Sportster is simply HD's best motorcycle.