The king is dead! (Sportster)NGC

[aklawok]

" the king is dead! Long live the king!"
https://www.jpcycles.com/common-tread/the-evo-sportster-is-officially-dead-but-that-shouldnt-stop-you-from-buying-one?

 Is this just another airhead going the way of the dinosaur or the end of an era? I have no real world opinion as I have never thrown a laig over a huurly...."I am a motorcycle enthusiast, not a biker" but the overall theme here hits a certain cord for me.
 So tip a glass of your favorite malt beverage ...."Like a prize fighter who's past their prime, the mighty Sportster is going out on its shield."....cheers

[Kev m]

Isn't that article a year late? I mean weren't they dropped for the 2022 model year?

Personally, like the death of the airheads and then eventual death of air-cooled Guzzi, Harley, and BMW models, it's a shame.

But it's the cost of ever chasing hp and emissions standards.

I don't need more of either in my life and hope I buy a few more air cooled models before they are all gone.

[steven c]

Story is from 12/2022.

[Kev m]

Story is from 12/2022.

Right so a year or more late... Since they were dropped from the line like around 12/21 - 1/22 ish give or take.

[blu guzz]

The thing is, there are no shortage of them if you want one or fifty. 

[Scout63]

It was a great run. I’m not a Harley rider, but it would be hard to overestimate the importance of the Sportster in motorcycle history and culture. I wonder how production numbers stack up to other chestnuts. Not enough curiosity to look it up though. Kudos to Harley Davidson.

[Kev m]

It was a great run. I’m not a Harley rider, but it would be hard to overestimate the importance of the Sportster in motorcycle history and culture. I wonder how production numbers stack up to other chestnuts. Not enough curiosity to look it up though. Kudos to Harley Davidson.

If I think of it I'll check my spreadsheets next time I'm at the desktop.

That said Sportsters were generally ~20% of Harley production for decades. In the lean years decades ago that was only around 10,000 Sportys per year, but by the peak years it was 50,000-70,000/year.


IIRC there were more than 1M Sportsters produced over the life of the model, with slightly more rubbermounts ever made than solidmounts.

The rubbermount EVO was introduced in 2004, so only represented something like 17 years of production, but most of those years Harley's total production was exponentially more than the shovelhead and early EVO years.

[JJ]

Have ridden them before...Never owned one...but always admired them. 

I always liked the look this "48 model" from 2022...

[Moparnut72]

I had a 2006 Custom. I sold it in 2014 for $3750. I doubt I could replace it now for twice the money now. I wish I had kept it for an around town bike. The suspension was absolutely awful but not worth the amount of money needed to make it better compared to the total value of the whole bike. I would like to have another but not at what the asking prices are now. I only suppose they are going to continue to go up. In my mind the best model line Harley ever built excepting some of the newer ones with the new engines but the jury is still out on those.
kk

[buck]

One of the most configurable, moddable bikes ever made. Simple, reliable, reasonably fuel efficient, and manufactured in such numbers that parts will be plentiful for decades to come.

I’ve owned three. I’d own another in a heartbeat. The worst part was the suspension, which is easily remedied.

[JJ]

QUOTE:  I wish I had kept it for an around town bike. The suspension was absolutely awful but not worth the amount of money needed to make it better compared to the total value of the whole bike.

I always thought a Sportster would make a great, "around town only" Bar Bike...but they were not noted for their precise handling... 

My cousin in NY had one of these iconic Sportsters, (1980 XLH model) back in the day...

It was a "VIBRATO" of biblical proportions!!

[sdcr]

IMO, the best sportster had a frame made by Buell.   

[aklawok]

Harley-Davidson actually had plans for a liquid cooled motor back in 76'! And it would have been made by Porsche! With v, v4 and v6 OHC models.
https://www.hotcars.com/porsche-powered-harley-davidson-superbikes-70s/