48 vs 883 sportsters

[djw238]

Does anyone know the good and bad points with 48's and 883's in regards to owning and riding them in Thailand, apart from the obvious price and engine size differences. Cheers.

[DILLIGAD]

And lack of dealers

[Richard-BKK]

Not much difference between the Forty-Eight and the Iron 883, if I was interesting in a cruiser I would also look at the H-D Street 750 it's 122k cheaper and with that money you could have a lot of fun in the aftermarket accessories catalog.

Alternative cruisers that are also officially available in Thailand are the Suzuki Boulevard C50 price 399,000 THB, the Kawasaki Vulcan Classic or Custom both cost 497,000 THB, Kawasaki Vulcan S which is 285,000 THB, the Yamaha Bolt-R which is 465,000 THB and the Yamaha Bolt C-Spec had an introduction price of 439,000 THB.

Of course you have the Victory Motorcycles in Thailand and the Victory Vegas 8-ball is about the same price as the H-D Forty-Eight. You can also look at Indian Motorcycles, the Indian Scout, which is 849,000 THB is pretty nice…

In Thailand we also have of course the Zero Engineering Type 5 and Type 9, but prices start at 1.5 million THB

[guzzi850m2]

The 48 is one of the most cool looking bike I ever seen but also very impractical, small tank.

The 1200 engine can in the right trim produce very good power, the 883, not so much.

If I had enough $, I would have a 48 in the garage or perhaps in the living room, just looking at it.

[thaiguzzi]

We always called 883 Sportsters "Skirtsters" 'cos they were girls bikes. Or learner big bikes.

A std 883 Evo Sportster makes about 50 bhp, feels about 35-40. A good 1200 with carb/air filter/pipe mods makes 70 bhp and feels it. Those engines are strong and can handle 90 bhp all day long. The 1200 also has HUGE torque.

One of the best/easiest $ for BHP mods was boring out 883 cylinders to 1200, leaving the 883 heads (smaller valves) stock. Dynajet kit in the stock carb, mash the stock silencers and, bingo - nice cheap relatively fast reliable bike.

I've done a lot of 'em in my previous life.

Obviously, OT, the OP is talking about the new fangled 05 on FI models... and rubber mount motor... and cases that need to be split if you wanna look at the gear box.... (you may note, as a mechanic, i'm not a fan of the newer HD models)...

[Richard-BKK]

We always called 883 Sportsters "Skirtsters" 'cos they were girls bikes. Or learner big bikes.

A std 883 Evo Sportster makes about 50 bhp, feels about 35-40. A good 1200 with carb/air filter/pipe mods makes 70 bhp and feels it. Those engines are strong and can handle 90 bhp all day long. The 1200 also has HUGE torque.

One of the best/easiest $ for BHP mods was boring out 883 cylinders to 1200, leaving the 883 heads (smaller valves) stock. Dynajet kit in the stock carb, mash the stock silencers and, bingo - nice cheap relatively fast reliable bike.

I've done a lot of 'em in my previous life.

Obviously, OT, the OP is talking about the new fangled 05 on FI models... and rubber mount motor... and cases that need to be split if you wanna look at the gear box.... (you may note, as a mechanic, i'm not a fan of the newer HD models)...

If horsepower and torque would be important, why look at Harley-Davidson at all? Both the Victory Vegas 8-Ball (standard 85 horsepower and 144Nm Torque) and Indian Scout (out of the box 78 horsepower and 97.7 Nm) produce more and are mechanical superior to the Harley, also with the Victory and the Indian you get a guarantee that all parts are made in the USA. 85% of the parts of the EVO engine are produced by a Chinese company called Zongshen, this Chinese parts are assembled in Japan and shipped to the US as complete engines...

If you want a good "old" American cruiser and tell your kids that you support the American economy buy buying a Harley-Davidson, not forget that Harley is one of the biggest companies to try to evade paying federal tax, they even located the HQ on Indian territory to not pay tax and government scrutiny. Victory motorcycles and Indian Motorcycles are both made for 89% in the USA, as they cannot avoid buying tires, bolts and nuts that suspension that come from other countries that just offer quality better then anybody in the US can offer...

Edited April 30, 2016 by Richard-BKK

[Richard-BKK]

Also dealer representative in Thailand do you really want to talk and do service with a company as arrogant as Harley-Davidson Bangkok? I once needed a part and the person in charge asked me why I want to buy the part???? Obvious told him because I needed that to fix my HD 1200 Sportster…. His answer was why not bring in the bike, I said the bike was not sold through HD Bangkok… After which he introduced me to a payment plan how to get my HD into the Harley-Davidson Bangkok service plan, I only needed to down-pay a 5 digit amount of money and I could buy Harley parts easy… Obvious I ordered my parts from one of the well known foreign parts suppliers and had the parts 5 days earlier than I ordered it at HD Bangkok…. Without paying some huge amount of membership fee… Also with the Sportster of my girlfriend I can tell they not follow the service regulations set by the manual, I market the oil filter and after they supposedly should have replace the oil filter she had still the same oil filter… but i8t was on the invoice… after we exchanged pictures… they said the mechanic made a mistake and forgot to replace the oil filter….

My girlfriend, 50 kilo hates to ride her 1200 Sportster, she had a Kawasaki Vulcan 900 Classic before and she always complains that the Harley moves like a bag of rice… According to her the Kawasaki Vulcan 900 Classic was superior of handling and performance...

This is just my idea about the bike, maybe others have more positive experience.... My girlfriend bough one of the first Indian Scout being sold in Thailand, and while she is currently often outside the country, the bike is superior to anything she had before... Yes, even the "perfect", but without spirit Kawasaki Vulcan 900 Classic...

Edited April 30, 2016 by Richard-BKK

[thaiguzzi]

We always called 883 Sportsters "Skirtsters" 'cos they were girls bikes. Or learner big bikes.

A std 883 Evo Sportster makes about 50 bhp, feels about 35-40. A good 1200 with carb/air filter/pipe mods makes 70 bhp and feels it. Those engines are strong and can handle 90 bhp all day long. The 1200 also has HUGE torque.

One of the best/easiest $ for BHP mods was boring out 883 cylinders to 1200, leaving the 883 heads (smaller valves) stock. Dynajet kit in the stock carb, mash the stock silencers and, bingo - nice cheap relatively fast reliable bike.

I've done a lot of 'em in my previous life.

Obviously, OT, the OP is talking about the new fangled 05 on FI models... and rubber mount motor... and cases that need to be split if you wanna look at the gear box.... (you may note, as a mechanic, i'm not a fan of the newer HD models)...

If horsepower and torque would be important, why look at Harley-Davidson at all? Both the Victory Vegas 8-Ball (standard 85 horsepower and 144Nm Torque) and Indian Scout (out of the box 78 horsepower and 97.7 Nm) produce more and are mechanical superior to the Harley, also with the Victory and the Indian you get a guarantee that all parts are made in the USA. 85% of the parts of the EVO engine are produced by a Chinese company called Zongshen, this Chinese parts are assembled in Japan and shipped to the US as complete engines...

If you want a good "old" American cruiser and tell your kids that you support the American economy buy buying a Harley-Davidson, not forget that Harley is one of the biggest companies to try to evade paying federal tax, they even located the HQ on Indian territory to not pay tax and government scrutiny. Victory motorcycles and Indian Motorcycles are both made for 89% in the USA, as they cannot avoid buying tires, bolts and nuts that suspension that come from other countries that just offer quality better then anybody in the US can offer...

# The topic is Sportsters.

# See my avatar? I like my Harley's, and all things old fashioned, but because i work on bikes, and have done all my adult life, the last good big twins they made were in 1999. Sportsters, 2003.

# IMO. Victories are hideous. Indian Scouts are horrible. Why? Liquid cooling, FI, DOHC, absolutely no style, no originality. Bigger Indian Chiefs are better. I like old Indians. Sidevalves - marvelous.

# I still had my shop in the UK in 99 when the last of the Evo's were made. I've seen a lot of the insides of those motors. And i dealt in a lot of original and aftermarket parts. Proof/link please to show that 15%, let alone 85% of the parts were made in China by Zongshen. Horsecrap !!!! No, edit, even 5%... We are talking original, from the factory HD motors here, not the Taiwanese aftermarket copies of which there are half a dozen or so.

Edited April 30, 2016 by thaiguzzi

[Richard-BKK]

We always called 883 Sportsters "Skirtsters" 'cos they were girls bikes. Or learner big bikes.

A std 883 Evo Sportster makes about 50 bhp, feels about 35-40. A good 1200 with carb/air filter/pipe mods makes 70 bhp and feels it. Those engines are strong and can handle 90 bhp all day long. The 1200 also has HUGE torque.

One of the best/easiest $ for BHP mods was boring out 883 cylinders to 1200, leaving the 883 heads (smaller valves) stock. Dynajet kit in the stock carb, mash the stock silencers and, bingo - nice cheap relatively fast reliable bike.

I've done a lot of 'em in my previous life.

Obviously, OT, the OP is talking about the new fangled 05 on FI models... and rubber mount motor... and cases that need to be split if you wanna look at the gear box.... (you may note, as a mechanic, i'm not a fan of the newer HD models)...

If horsepower and torque would be important, why look at Harley-Davidson at all? Both the Victory Vegas 8-Ball (standard 85 horsepower and 144Nm Torque) and Indian Scout (out of the box 78 horsepower and 97.7 Nm) produce more and are mechanical superior to the Harley, also with the Victory and the Indian you get a guarantee that all parts are made in the USA. 85% of the parts of the EVO engine are produced by a Chinese company called Zongshen, this Chinese parts are assembled in Japan and shipped to the US as complete engines...

If you want a good "old" American cruiser and tell your kids that you support the American economy buy buying a Harley-Davidson, not forget that Harley is one of the biggest companies to try to evade paying federal tax, they even located the HQ on Indian territory to not pay tax and government scrutiny. Victory motorcycles and Indian Motorcycles are both made for 89% in the USA, as they cannot avoid buying tires, bolts and nuts that suspension that come from other countries that just offer quality better then anybody in the US can offer...

# The topic is Sportsters.

# See my avatar? I like my Harley's, and all things old fashioned, but because i work on bikes, and have done all my adult life, the last good big twins they made were in 1999. Sportsters, 2003.

# IMO. Victories are hideous. Indian Scouts are horrible. Why? Liquid cooling, FI, DOHC, absolutely no style, no originality. Bigger Indian Chiefs are better. I like old Indians. Sidevalves - marvelous.

# I still had my shop in the UK in 99 when the last of the Evo's were made. I've seen a lot of the insides of those motors. And i dealt in a lot of original and aftermarket parts. Proof/link please to show that 15%, let alone 85% of the parts were made in China by Zongshen. Horsecrap !!!! No, edit, even 5%... We are talking original, from the factory HD motors here, not the Taiwanese aftermarket copies of which there are half a dozen or so.

I not have to proof anything, Google is your friend... search long enough you will find what the partnership between the two companies involves.... (By the way it's easy to find that both companies are partners in motorcycle development and production)... And not forget we talking here about the EVO engine used on the Sportsters... The newer Harley's like the V-Rod and the Street is developed by Porsche and are called the Revolution Engine... and are much more powerful and much more fuel efficient.... Also annouched the Revolution engine would pass Euro 4 emission standard.... Until now, nothing about the EVO engine passing Euro 4...

Edited April 30, 2016 by Richard-BKK

[Richard-BKK]

Also when you buy a Victory or Indian you get on you motorcycle a registered logo, which says "Made in America"... I Visited the Harley-Davidson dealer and the excuse was becuase the Street 750 was made in India, they could not get "Made in America" for all models... Okay... everybody laugh whit me...

[canthai55]

EVO engines - maybe buy a calendar. The Twin Cam came out in 1999, which means the last year of production of Evo was 1998

[thaiguzzi]

You could still buy a new Evo big twin from an HD dealer in 99 in the UK and Europe, as they were phasing the new Twin Cams in and the old model Evo's out.

[thaiguzzi]

Also when you buy a Victory or Indian you get on you motorcycle a registered logo, which says "Made in America"... I Visited the Harley-Davidson dealer and the excuse was becuase the Street 750 was made in India, they could not get "Made in America" for all models... Okay... everybody laugh whit me...

I'm not laughing. I think they are all crap, except maybe the Chief's engine.

[saorsa]

I rode a new Scout from Edinburgh to Isle of Skye and back last year when I was on holiday and hated the bike. Much prefer my HD.

[saorsa]

With regards to sportys, better to buy the 883 and put a 1250 kit on it from S&S. You can use it with original heads, but will get much better HP gains if you change the heads also.

[guzzi850m2]

I think the Sporsters still uses the Evo engine? Well with current prices on HDs I ain't buying any, so doesn't matter to me what they uses or not.

I find my V650 mk3 a fun and comfortable bike to ride and that's what matters to me.

[guzzi850m2]

With regards to sportys, better to buy the 883 and put a 1250 kit on it from S&S. You can use it with original heads, but will get much better HP gains if you change the heads also.

What's the price for a SS1250 kit?

[saorsa]

With regards to sportys, better to buy the 883 and put a 1250 kit on it from S&S. You can use it with original heads, but will get much better HP gains if you change the heads also.

What's the price for a SS1250 kit?

Sorry, it is NRHS that do the 1250 kit that takes the stock 883 heads. The S&S kit needs different heads. $700 gets you the NRHS kit.

http://www.nrhsperformance.com/ekit8831200.shtml

[guzzi850m2]

[quote name="saorsa" post="10702543" timestamp="1462169848"

Sorry, it is NRHS that do the 1250 kit that takes the stock 883 heads. The S&S kit needs different heads. $700 gets you the NRHS kit.

http://www.nrhsperformance.com/ekit8831200.shtml

Thanks for the link. Well now I could be tempted to get an old 883 as a project bike and do that upgrade.

[saorsa]

I used a Dan Vance 103" power kit for my night train. Gave me ported heads, cylinders, high comp pistons, adjustable rods, cam, etc. I didn't have tools, so got the BKK Harley shop to fit it and setup the EFI...ended up with 99HP and 109 ft/lb at the wheel on the dyno

[BSJ]

The biggest drawback with the 883 is every time you stop where there is a bunch of Harley riders their gunna ask you why your riding your girlfriend's bike!

[guzzi850m2]

Well now the 1200 Roadster is soon coming out, what a bike man.

Below 400K baht in the US but here it will be what? +800k baht likely, sadly.

I just refuse to pay that much money.