HD XR1200 (HD lovers you may want to skip this)

[Uma]

Originally Posted by Gas Man

PM... that's my thing. We need to stop talking about it... cause I want one...

Me too babe...and a Viper, and an Italian male model...

[Particle Man]

[Gas Man]

Oh very true. And most are electric.

[No Worries]

Originally Posted by nhgunnut

...Some of you who know me know that one of my goals is to build a 70's era Cafe Style bike. I have been intrigued by the HD XR1200 since it came here to the states. It looks almost like an out of the box Cafe (squint a little and imagine it with a set of clip ons and a Quarter Faring )...

Getting back to the original post, Cycle World tested the XR1200 in their July, 2009 issue. CW said it was "maybe the best overall HD ever." They also said "It's a bike that can do it all and do it well, from carving up a serpentine country road with remarkable ease to cruising comfortably on an interstate highway and just about everything in between."

As for building a 70's era cafe bike, I compared my 79 GS1000 specs against the XR1200:

Dry weight: XR: 564 lbs. GS: 507lbs.
Wheelbase: XR: 60.0 inches. GS: 59.3 inches
HP: XR: 79.2 @ 7,000 RPM. GS: 85 @ 8,000 RPM.
Torque: XR: 68.7 @ 3,600. GS: 59 @ 6,500.
1/4 mile: XR: 12.13. GS: 12.0.

The XR is like a 70's era bike. But if I had a friend who wanted to build a cafe bike I would tell him to get a 1980 or so GS1100. They were quicker than the 1200 Bandit.

[Phenix_Rider]

Originally Posted by No Worries

Getting back to the original post, Cycle World tested the XR1200 in their July, 2009 issue. CW said it was "maybe the best overall HD ever." They also said "It's a bike that can do it all and do it well, from carving up a serpentine country road with remarkable ease to cruising comfortably on an interstate highway and just about everything in between."

As for building a 70's era cafe bike, I compared my 79 GS1000 specs against the XR1200:

Dry weight: XR: 564 lbs. GS: 507lbs.
Wheelbase: XR: 60.0 inches. GS: 59.3 inches
HP: XR: 79.2 @ 7,000 RPM. GS: 85 @ 8,000 RPM.
Torque: XR: 68.7 @ 3,600. GS: 59 @ 6,500.
1/4 mile: XR: 12.13. GS: 12.0.

The XR is like a 70's era bike. But if I had a friend who wanted to build a cafe bike I would tell him to get a 1980 or so GS1100. They were quicker than the 1200 Bandit.

Give them another century and HD might just be up to 2000s performance levels

[derf]

Here is a good review from someones blog, it pretty much sums up everything that has been said here

http://dryohe.wordpress.com/2010/01/...vidson-xr1200/

I think I can sum up my review of this bike as follows. The XR is a simple, basic, industrial motorcycle. It turns, it stops and it rides well. The fit and finish is awful. The tach and speedo look like they were found in the discount parts bin in the performance parts aisle of your local Auto Zone. The suspension? Forgettable. If you want to buy a bike that can give you the same experience as the XR1200 but with more performance and a better ride perhaps you should consider firing up your computer and searching Craigslist or E-Bay for a sweet 1985 Honda Nighthawk S. I find it to be amazing that a motorcycle designed and built in 2009/2010 can easily be blown off the road by a mid-level affordable rice burner circa 1985. You think that’s a load of hype? Let’s go to the numbers:

[No Worries]

To be fair, Cycle World's 1/4 mile time was 12.13, a full second quicker than Bike Magazine. And their 0-60 time was 3.9 seconds, compared to Bike's 4.34 sec. The weird thing is Bike's 90.1 HP compared to Cycle World's 79.2.

In Cycle World's report, they compared the XR1200 to Ducati's Sport Classic Sport 1000. Surprisingly, both bike were comparable. The Ducati's stiff suspension made it a killer in corners, but the highway ride was too stiff. They gave the nod to the Harley.

The short-travel (3 1/2 inch) rear shock was a problem on the XR. But that can be fixed. The high, wide handlebar on the XR made it easier to handle than the narrow, clubman-style clip-ons of the Ducati. Although the XR has more HP and Torque, the 130 pound weight difference made the Harley slower in the quarter.

But here's the clincher: "The Sportster's big-time midrange torque helps it to be an amazingly easy bike to hustle along a twisty road." That would be a selling point to me.

[marko138]

Instead of talking shit perhaps some of you tools should ride the bike, rather than rely on misconceptions and stereotypes.

[Tmall]

Originally Posted by marko138

Instead of talking shit perhaps some of you tools should ride the bike, rather than rely on misconceptions and stereotypes.

Says Shit Talker #1...

[derf]

Can I be shit talker number 2?