My Sportster is a 883. I have had my Sportster for 25 years and 400,000 miles on the original engine and 37 back tires and 17 front ones and 3 belts in 25 years and used every day as it is my daily driver as I don't have a car. I am extremely satisfied with the bike.

I HIGHLY recommend a carbureted bike. I have a 2002 Sportster 883C (non rubber mount) and a 2006 Sportster 1200L (rubber mount, and LAST year for a carbureted Harley) If you are buying a Sportster, or any used Harley, hopefully you are a gearhead, and actually like working on your vehicles. Carburetors are cheap and easy to work on and tune, EFI is an expensive nightmare, and it will need to be tuned, all EFI bikes come from the factory set so lean the engine gets hot enough to melt down, and it will sputter and hesitate. Jets and needles are about $5 apiece, an electronic tuner is at least $500, and some are over $1000. Also, if you want that Harley sound, you won't get it from an EFI bike. If getting gas and oil on your hands bothers you, then internal combustion powered motorcycles are probably not your thing. A big thing you missed, which is an issue for ALL EVO engined Sportsters, is the clutch "grenade plate" In their infinite wisdom, H-D decided to put what they call a "spring plate" in the clutch. A "spring plate" consists of 2 plates riveted together, with springs between them. I really don't know why they did this, I've heard a lot of different things, but H-D has never explained it. Over time and mileage, the rivets tend to break, and then you have a real mess. That's why it's called a "grenade plate" There will be lots of little pieces of metal floating around in your primary and transmission (unlike the big twins, on a Sportster, the primary and transmission use the same oil) and can cause a lot of internal damage. Around 15,000 miles and later is when these things tend to fail. Both my Sportsters had well under 15,000 miles when I bought them, and the "spring plates" were still intact. I replaced them with a Barnett "extra plate kit" which eliminates the spring plate. I can't tell any difference in the way it works, but it is a VERY important thing to do. It does require a special $50 tool to remove the pressure plate. I got mine from Motion Pro. It's an easy job if you are mechanically inclined, if you're not, again a Harley may not be the right bike for you. They tend to be a "do it yourself" bike. Some things I did when I bought my Sportsters are things I do with pretty much any used vehicle. In addition to the clutch upgrade, I replaced the tires, brake pads, changed the engine oil and filter, primary and transmission oil, Removed, cleaned, and retuned the carburetors (the PO had installed great sounding aftermarket exhausts, but had not tuned the carburetors for them) Both still had the stock air cleaners, which I kept, but replaced the element. I lubricated and adjusted the clutch and throttle cables, drive belt, rear wheel alignment, and replaced the grips. I replaced the batterys. I gave them a good cleaning and detailing. One tool you will need is a platform type scissors jack that can lift both wheels off the ground at once. Neither one of mine had all that corrosion on the engine or forks, but they were both original Arizona bikes. Don't expect a used Sportster to be ready to ride coast to coast, unless it is really almost new. I strongly recommend joining xlforum.net/ and getting a genuine H-D service manual for whichever model you wind up buying.

I just bought a 2005 Sportster for my 1st bike. Its been sitting for years and needs a complete going over. This video is so informative, can't thank you enough for sharing !!

Very meticulous, I would hate to have someone do this if I was selling a questionable bike, so great as a buyer, Thanks !!

Excellent video! Great information here. Thank you for making this video.

Picking up an EVO in two days, stoked found a killer deal on a 1200 C

Missing the cylinder head brace between the two heads

Just found your channel. Great video and well presented.

Great video, super informative. The length of the video was perfect. You explained everything thoroughly, which was much appreciated. I definitely subscribed to this channel. Thank u!

Some rim's are balanced with dina beads which would account for no weights on the rim.

Awesome video - thanks!

Good video Adrian, this is quite the list, well done. cheers Dave

TYVM for this video.

Great vlog bud, excellent advice,, Rich from the UK 👍

Thank you

Excellent Video. Now I can look like I know what I'm doing when I go to look at a 1999 Sportster that's for sale. Thanks!

Great Video , Thanks for your time & know how ! What tha Scooter you have in the back ?

merci c est vraiment bien et complet pour moi vraiment bien

seat base pans (plastic) are broken many times also, Thanks for sharing

For $5,000 you can get 2 Evo Sportsters. I have seen them for sale as low as $1,600.

Thank u comment

The steering stop should prevent that gas tank damage. Are the steering stops broken? If the steering stops are not broken, I have found that corner tank damage is caused by a windshield bracket or some other add on attached to the handlebars in the triple tree area. it only takes one screwup to get that chip.

I have a light ticking sound when ridding, but it stops when i pull in the clutch when getting to a light, it's a 07 sportster i rebuilt and ice changed all the fluids and stuff is that something to worry about?

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A battery can have 12.7 volts but be cr**ped out for CCA. Most likely will start from cold or on choke while the compression is down. When the engine is hot is going to be another story,as when fuelling up. CCA is not about the engine being cold, it's the current the battery can supply in amps, don't cheap out on a replacement battery either,so if it's not going to be a free fix. Discs get spendy as the pads shouldn't be reused. Wheel bearings definitely can give out at low miles. Always be set up to walk away, no matter how far you have travelled. It's usually cheap for a reason, don't spend your whole budget on the bike, there will almost always be issues that will need extra money early on.

XR1200!!!!!

I want to buy a 1997 Sportster 883 with 100,000 miles. It's priced at $6,500. Is it a good deal?

Worst bikes ever.they suck