At 5'-6″ tall, I'm a card carrying member of the Vertically Challenged. I, like most of you, choose a motorcycle that works for me without much thought of what others will think. I've always dug Sportsters, even before I was out of grade school. So, with that being said, I find myself walking through the doors of the 2007 Cycle World International Motor Cycle Show in Long Beach, California.
I've been here before and know the routine. Jump on every bike, go get a beer, jump on 'em again and get some more beer. I even knocked over a rather tall BMW in an attempt to dismount. Hysterical to me, not so humorous to the BMW folks. Anyway, I stumble upon the 2008 Sportster N, or Nightster as she's also known. Wow, I was impressed….no, I was in love.
I jumped on the horn with Keith R. Ball the big cheese at Bikernet.com and unload my enthusiasm concerning this nasty little 1200N. In an attempt to hault my numerous and annoying phone calls, Mr. Ball arranged for me to road test this Sporty for Bikernet. Besides, I don't think it would work out so well with him testing this bike being that Ball is tilting the upper side of six feet four inches. So I'm elected.
My experience has always been with iron heads, carbs, and chain final drives. This EFI and belt drive crap would be completely new to me. Always one to be slow at jumping into the new fangled shit, I'm even semi green in the cell phone department. Did fine before I had one. Couldn't see the reason to be happy about being bothered by the fucking thing ringing every two minutes, but that's just me.
I can almost hear some of you out there with the, “Oh, a sportster, a chick bike.” Let me tell ya something Jackson, this is a light weight 1200 Sportster with fuel injection. This ain't no chick bike (well, you know what I'm trying to say). If some of you out there are still hung up on that bullshit, looking at the clock, I would say it's about time for you to go fuck yourself. Enough of that, let's get back to the bike.
The day came to pick her up. I jump into the Official Bikernet Transportation Vehicle chauffeured by none other than the big daddy of Bikernet himself, The Honorable Bandit, himself. He is the only one that can get my sorry ass into the Harley-Davidson west coast holding facility that contains all the pristine new bikes available only to the press and the movie industry. At the facility, all paper work and processing is handled like a Swiss watch. No bullshit involved, old school American management at its best. Refreshing.
We hit the road. Riding an unfamiliar bike at the beginning of rush hour in Southern California is without a doubt an e-ticket ride. I followed Bandit to the Bikernet International Headquarters, which is not that horribly far away. Once there, I pull the Sporty into the “media area” and shut her down.
Bandit hands me a towel and barks, “wipe it down, we're gonna take pictures.” Funny, I never saw a camera. Sin Wu walks in and throws something at me, but am able to duck in time. Ah, Bikernet Headquarters, it still gives me that warm fuzzy feeling……or, it could be from the greasy tacos we stopped for on the way. Something always happens at Bikernet, but I'm not sure what. Maybe the key is in the spiritual green tea she slips me, or her alabaster skin revealed to me between small fragile layers of silk.
It's now time for me to start home with the new Sportster, which I do with no fanfare from the headquarters. But as I put my departure into motion and head off into the orange-ish brown polluted sunset of Southern California, I hear the roar from Bandit… “DON'T FUCK UP THAT BIKE”! I smile, not so much from his kind instructions, but more from letting out that last big “frap” from that taco.
Next- Taking her for a ride.
IN THE SADDLE
Two things I noticed right off the bat. First, H-D has the fuel injection dialed in, it's amazing. Throttle response is precise and immediate. Defiantly a different animal than the old carb I'm use to. Second was the bitchen Dunlop rubber that comes on this bike.
On some other brands of motorcycles, the stock rubber is sometimes, well, questionable. You see, those annoying rain grooves that they cut into the surface of our lovely freeways makes some bikes wonder and dance all over the god-damn lane. Not so with the Nightster. Didn't even notice the grooves were there. A very welcome surprise even as light as this bike is (well, by H-D standards…wink,wink). She holds her line beautifully.
I must confess that on more than one occasion I gave into the urge to act like a hormone drunk high school punk and race my sporty against any fool next to me at a red light. Usually the Jap sport bikes would catch me by the time I hit fourth gear.
Everyone else was treated to a view of my fat ass. Fun? yes. Juvenile? You bet. I couldn't help it. This bike just seemed to bring it out in me whenever I parked my balls on her.
One particular ride found me and “The Chief” (a buddy of mine) heading over to Ortega Highway for some high speed, spirited riding. Ortega is a fun ass mountain road that the road race types are understandably attracted to. The Chief is actually the Chief of Police in the Los Angeles area. He has been on television and shit like that, but when we're riding, he's just another schmuck on a bike just like you and me. Helluva good dude.
Anyway, he was a motorcycle cop back in the day and it shows 'cause that fucker can kick some tail on the twisties. He straddled some porked-out Road King and I'm getting my ass kicked out there. It wasn't the bike, it was me! I guess I lost some of the old, “I can never die,” juice through the years. I guess I'm different from some folks because you see, pain kinda hurts me. Maybe I evolved into a slow old guy or something. Slow or not, it was a great fucking ride. H-D has really hit a home run with this one, I'll be bummed to give her back.
Do I have any gripes? Yeah, one. The lowered suspension on this baby reminds me of a ridged frame I had a ways back. Fun back then, kinda a pain in the back now, with the understanding that I'm no spring chicken. At high speed, hitting bump or pothole or something launched my rear end a good five inches off the saddle…and I chime in at 210 pounds. But, as mentioned earlier, she still held her line, which I was very grateful. That's my only bitch. I won't go off about limited cornering in the canyons because lowered has trade offs. It won't corner like a ninja because it was never meant to, it's not her job. Besides, sparks in the corners remind me of the Fourth of July.
Parking at various locations brought glances of curiosity or approval towards the bike, but nobody would ask questions or talk to me about it, even though it was obvious that many wanted to. I am not intimidating or shit like that, but I've been told on occasion that and I can upset some folks just by entering a room. So with this in mind, I decide to try something a bit different. I live in a beach/surf town, so this experiment was easy. I slapped on a street legal motocross style helmet, donned a surfboard company t-shirt, surf trunks and some sandals… and suddenly I was an okay Joe at the mall. Lot of folks approached me from all different walks of life. I almost wanted to bill Harley-Davidson for my public relations work that afternoon. A lot of people liked this bike.
So the dismal day came to turn the bike back over to the factory. It's kinda funny, but I'm almost pissed. I dig the looks of this bike. Black is everywhere. The rims, bars, turn signals, you name it. The combo brake/turn signal is tits. The fork condoms look great as do the cut fenders and low license plate hanging off the port side.
The seat is comfortable and holds yer ass in place during acceleration, unless yer stupid enough to Armoral the seat the night before a ride. The wide bars make turning effortless. Brakes work fine but upgrading the pads is a low cost stopper improvement.
There are a few companies that already make after market pipes for this model as seen in our Texas Nightster test article. A company that rhymes with, Vance and Hines comes to mind here. Fuel injection equals better performance and fuel economy. Get use to it kids…it's here to stay because the EPA says so. They make the rules and we don't. End of story. But they don't tell me what bike to buy, and I want one of these…..no, fuck that, I want two!
Oh, by the way, I could be wrong but I didn't find the reflectors to be gay. In fact, at no time did they ever make a pass at me or try to hump my leg or make gestures under bathroom stalls or any shit like that.
With that I must say, “Adios,” to the Nighster. I'm new at this, but I'm being coached. Watch for my next report on an FLH Standard.
XL 1200N SPORTSTER 1200 NIGHTSTER™ MODEL OVERVIEW Stripped down and gritty, the Nightster reinterprets the Sportster legend with rugged, retro-rod styling. A solo seat and lowered suspension puts the rider just 25.3 inches above the pavement. Clipped front and rear fenders expose chunky tires.
Wheel rims and hubs, forks and handlebars, hand and foot controls are finished in basic black. Fork gaiters and a bullet-hole belt guard come from the old-school book of style.
Combination rear turn indicators/tail/stop lights and a side-mount license plate clean up the rear fender. The classic 3.3-gallon fuel tank is topped with a simple silver-satin cap. Muscular 1200 Evolution engine barks through new slash-cut chrome Staggered mufflers.
The XL 1200N Nightster features:
Rubber-mounted XL Evolution 1200cc engine
Medium Gray powder-coated engine with polished covers
Black laced steel wheels, 19-inch front / 16-inch rear
Black low-rise handlebar
Sportster Classic solo seat
Chrome Slash Cut Staggered Shorty Dual exhaust
Black mid-mount foot controls
Lowest-Profile rear shocks
Lowest-Profile front forks
Classic 3.3-gallon fuel tank
Black front forks with gaiters
Bullet hole belt guard and front fender supports
Side-mount license plate holder
Combination rear brake/tail/turn lights
Lowered front and rear suspension
Optional Smart Security System
