Educate me on Harley etiquette...

i had a friend tell me he couldn't own a Harley because he didn't want to dress like a Pirate.

 

Hahahahaha

Its funny because it's true

 

So untrue my friends! I ride and I sport my own style rolling down the road! Hate leather but nice on cold wet days only or long distance for added safety.... Ride cause you love it.not to be a pupoet... enjoy the wind

 

I love riding the RoadKing, comfortable and damn reliable so far. Plus it's a one year color so I don't see many similar. There isnt much etiquette, you don't need racing jackets that are sized only for miniature Italian men (looking at you Dainese), no real special pants or helmets (depending on local laws). The whole leather dress up as a bad guy thing isn't me but some Harley guys are into it I guess, pretty evenly divided. Basically a couch you can get on and ride comfortably for hours, I actually like being on it as opposed to my two past sport bikes (Honda Sabre v45 and Yamaha FZ-07). But I'm a tall dude so not many bikes fit me comfortably. Also I can lean this thing around a corner effortlessly, way easier than either of the previously mentioned bikes I used to ride, the RoadKing I ride is slammed so I scrape on corners a lot though haha.

 

I've had several HD's over the years. My favorite was my wide glide. But stay the F away from the 2006 dynas - any of them. They had a terrible inner primary bearing issue that year. Total redesign for 07+

...ask me how I know.

Here's a pic of my wide glide. Wish I still had it.

 

Fuel injection was an option prior to 2007 (indicated by an "I" at the end of the model code; visually indicated by the lack of petcock on the tank).

As for displacement, Sportsters are currently available in 883 and 1200 cc flavors.
If you are looking at used bikes, early 80's to 1999 Touring, Dyna, and Softail (until 2000) models will have a 80 inch (1300 cc Evo). These three then moved to a Twin Cam 88 (1450 cc) until 2007 when they jumped to a Twin Cam 96 (1584 cc). In 2010 they started rolling out the 103 (1690 cc) in Touring models. It was filtered into some Dynas and Softails in 2012. The last Dyna to adopt the 103 was the Street Bob.

Some people poo-poo the Sportster as a beginner or a girl's bike, but I tend to disagree (not just because I ride a '96 1200 Sport, and I'm 5'11" and 225lbs). The 1200 Sportys have the best power to weight ratio of any Harley (with the possible exception of the V-Rod). And some opt to buy 883's for cheap and add a big bore kit to keep insurance low. Big bore kits can be had in displacements from 1250 cc to 90 inch (1500 cc). They make for great bar hoppers and canyon carvers (the non-lowered versions, at least). I will admit that, on long rides, after 4-5 hours a light bike can wear you out.

To figure out what model fits you best, Cycle-Ergo is a great resource.

 

Shovel head was not the motor in the 90s. It was the Evo 80

 

Good catch. I'm working on my first cup of coffee. I'll fix.