Harley forum compairing Monster 1000s and HD XR1200!

[Monstermash]

Now the new 1125CR is a whole different ball game.   Except for the whale shark look of the cooling intakes it's a bad ass motorcycle.  For under 12 large it's a pretty good price point too. Hardley guys hate em too.

Hmmmmm.......12 grand for a Buell that no one will work on or $12,999 for an 848 or an Aprilia RSVR.

I think I would skip the 1125CR.

[LA]

Hmmmmm.......12 grand for a Buell that no one will work on or $12,999 for an 848 or an Aprilia RSVR.

I think I would skip the 1125CR.

Well .... when you say it like that the CR doesn't sound like such a good deal.

LA

[blue tiger]

A lot has happened in the last ten years.  In the past the Sportsters didn't get any Buell updates. Buells with the same basic engine as the XR1200 have about 90 hp at the rear wheel, so I see no reason why the XR1200 wouldn't produce similar numbers.  They might tune it a little differently, but it is the same engine.

Reference: http://www.motorcycle-usa.com/79/881/Motorcycle-Article/2004-Buell-XB12R-Firebolt.aspx

I did not know this. Do something about the weight,. the suspension and the brakes and I think they're onto something. BTW I'm not bashing HD. I have a Road King with 30 grand on the clock. However I owned an S4RS (before totalling it ) and it's not in the same ballpark, league or sport. I did have fun on my sporty, got laid alot because of it (or more likely the crowd/age I was) and could puull a wheelie on it after I tried and tried to learn. Fun yes but a comparo with a monster?

[DoubleEagle]

As the previous owner of a 1200 cc sportster (and this was more than a decade ago) I find it very very very hard to believe that machine makes 90 HP. At the crank on a very friendly dyno ....maybe. In the real world...at the rear wheel..hell no. I'd like to see a show of hands...who thinks the sporty is down by only 3o or so ponies on a s4rs let alone down 5 on the s2r1000

Not a chance in Hates. A '03 Heritage Softail Classic which I owned for several years put out according to the Harley catalog about 60 hp which probably was at the crank.



If the 1200cc Sporster puts out another 10 to 15 hp I might believe that.      Dolph

[psycledelic]

I went to the HD website and checked out the slideshow.  If you flip through it enough, the XR starts to resemble a Buell Blast on steroids. 

At least they are trying!

[blue tiger]

   Not a chance in Hates. A '03 Heritage Softail Classic which I owned for several years put out according to the Harley catalog about 60 hp which probably was at the crank.



If the 1200cc Sporster puts out another 10 to 15 hp I might believe that.      Dolph

My 01 RoadKing feels like it has about 50. Top speed with the windshield off is about 109.

[pespina]

Brand comparisons made for good conversation (especially for those who like to compare numbers) but let's face it... It boils down to DNA. In the East Coast, most HD owners think of us as irresponsible twits that needed to buy an overpriced Italian penis extension to justify our existence and who go around giving a bad reputation to bikers with our riding styles (or something along those lines  ) Meanwhile, most Desmo owners would not be caught dead in a HD even if they were giving them for free at the local Starbucks. It might take 100 more years, but in the end, Darwin is sure to decide...

[Norm]

I've owned 3 or 4 Harleys thru the years and, in general, like them. The new motors work good and can easily be upgraded to resonable HP levels. The 1st bike I owned was a '67 modified sporster that we all thought was great.............until we started riding the British bikes. In the HD world, I feel that the sportster has always been at the bottom of the barrell and still is (althought it's been about 3-4 years since I've ridden one).

[Monstermash]

I feel that the sportster has always been at the bottom of the barrell and still is.

And it always will be until they update the design of the 100 year old power plant for something that revs over 5500 rpm.

[Ivan]

In the HD world, I feel that the sportster has always been at the bottom of the barrell and still is (althought it's been about 3-4 years since I've ridden one).

I consider the Sportster to be the best of the HD lineup, but that aint sayin much....

[superjohn]

I owned an 883 Sportster prior to getting my Monster and I like the new XR1200. I kind of dig that homage to the old flat track racers, but the weight is wayy too high to be a proper sporting bike. It doesn't come close to playing in the same sandbox as an 1100S Monster, but it'd be kind of cool as a second bike if the first bike was a big Harley tourer.

[flynbulldog]

I just got back from th Seattle IMS show where I got to sit on the HD.

The bike is a big fat  pig (or is that a hog?) with giant wide bars that sit you too far back and too upright to give you any weight on the front in cornering .
The brakes are cheap weak two piston HD units clamping tiny non-floating disks, they gonna compare that to radial brembos and full floating calipers? (give me a break!)

The bike is not in the same ball park with anything performance oriented but I'll bet it stomps all the other HDs...

[blue tiger]

The best HD as far as sport or performance (in my opinion) was the 1983 xr 1000. If it was purchased with the engine upgrades from manley it made over 90 HP and since it was essentially a street legal flat tracker it would have been easy to modify into a much more powerful machine. It would still have suffered from the same problems as far as the frame/brakes /suspension. I don't think they were specially modified in any way. I actually had the chance to buy one years ago and passed it up. I still kick myself over that one.Look it up. It's a pretty cool machine.

[Travman]

The brakes are cheap weak two piston HD units clamping tiny non-floating disks...

4-piston Nissin brakes on the XR1200. 

I'm not trying to defend the XR1200.  It is what it is.  It is a heavy standard.  It is a Sportster that now has a few more horsepower, better suspension & better brakes than the standard Sportster.  It has a flat track looking paint job.  Nobody ever thought it could hang with the Ducati.  Not even the people in the HD forum or the person that wrote the article.   

[Centerline]

Funny, most of the anti-Harley comments in this thread are similar to the comments you can see on Japanese liter bike threads...... about Ducatis.

Motorcyclist did a write-up recently of a comparo between the XR1200 and a Super DukeR.

http://www.motorcyclistonline.com/features/122_0811_2008_harley_xr1200_vs_ktm_superduke_990_r/index.html