Sportster

Lots of talk about sportsters on here lately. I have been crawling Craigslist for a winter project. I don't know much about Harley's and sportsters in particular. Can this be made from this ? If so, what will need to be changed? Can you use wide glide tripples for the fat front tire? Will there be much frame modification? If so, what?

In reply to Rusnak_322:

Yes, but you will spend more than what the new one costs to buy and have it worth half as much.....also notice the one sportster thread was 4yo and necroposted by a n00b.

How you figure? I built this for $3,000 and sold it this spring for $5,000

https://plus.google.com/app/basic/photos/109838090794825925836/album/5653883928626879921/5807337254956264578?banner=pwa&authkey=CMPgmZHT_OCtGQ&pid=5807337254956264578&oid=109838090794825925836&source=apppromo

Labor was free, but I had fun doing it. I can get anything welded for free. I can do all the mechanicals myself including body work and paint.

You should be able to find a 1200 sportster for not much more than that 883.

http://cleveland.craigslist.org/mcy/4008772138.html

I'm also very interested in this as well.

Rusnak_322 wrote: How you figure? I built this for $3,000 and sold it this spring for $5,000 https://plus.google.com/app/basic/photos/109838090794825925836/album/5653883928626879921/5807337254956264578?banner=pwa&authkey=CMPgmZHT_OCtGQ&pid=5807337254956264578&oid=109838090794825925836&source=apppromo Labor was free, but I had fun doing it. I can get anything welded for free. I can do all the mechanicals myself including body work and paint.

Pictures no worky. Color me interested as well.

I love me some sportster, I just wish they had some sporty-ness to them

Sorry, stupid Google messed with the photo sharing site so I can't link photos from my ipad.

here is the bike. I posted pictures before. can't figure out how to make the pics smaller.

My post was asking about making one of the cheap sportsters into one that looks like the newer "48 SPORTSTER".

I sold my café racer and I have been looking for my next project bike. I don't have an eye on anything yet.

I have been going between a XL600 like the KT600

Or a old Triumph or Guzzi.

Between the wife and me, we have owned 49 bikes. None have been made in the USA. A cheap Sportster would be a cool one to start with. I like the Mule style street trackers, but I know that it would require too much $$ to make how I want. Plus those street tracker sportsters can look great, but also not so great real easy. The key is the right tank that can cost $1000+ without paint.

The 49 looks like an easy bike to copy. I just don't know enough about them to know what it would take to make replicate the look.

"Cafe Racers" are a fad at the moment with inflated prices for well(and even crappy) done bikes.

I just don't see how you could pull it off.......I'd have to think your market for an 80's 883 would consist of high school kids who think Harleys are awesome and poor cpa's. Feel free to prove me wrong though, just remember to actually put an exhaust on it.

Also, FWIW, the new Yamaha Bolt is begging to get the "bobber" treatment.

don't care for the bobber style, plus they are the fad now and they are rarely ever done well. I don't play with bikes to make money, if I added my labor to the bike I did I would have made $2/hr. When I do my next bike, it will have zero thought into re-sale. I will do it how I like it. The café was fun to make, but less fun to ride. that is what I hope to fix on my next bike. That way I won't think to sell it right after I finish it.

Hey! Classified Moto is here in Richmond! (They built Katee's bike, pictured above) I've spoken to the owner, he seemed really cool.

Also, thanks for posting the Honda picture Rusnak, I remember your build thread. That was very cool, and I have the same attitude of, "I'll build what I like, and if sells for more than it cost to build when I'm done with it, all the better".

Make the sportster happen! I eyed the '48 a couple times too, but can't justify spending that much money on a bike, so I'll follow your build with interest.