Faults:

Volt regulator died on a trip.

Old and faulty ignition module incapacitated the bike.

2 dead batteries (as a result of above).

Throttle cable split.

General Comments:

This beauty was my first Harley and I loved it. I had no issues with one of my 750 mile road trips, and for that I'm grateful (sport seat was surprisingly comfy as well; and the drag bars were a good fit for me and the bike).

It cost over $1000 to fix in the space of 3 months afterwards, however. First, the ignition module went, then the 2nd battery, then the volt regulator. The volt regulator flopped on another road trip, and left me stranded 100 miles from home.

The throttle cable broke after going over a bump on a questionable road. Spent an hour and a half rerouting the secondary cable just to get me home. Luckily, I broke down across the street from a cable guy who had some tools I didn't have in my travel box, and let me borrow them (i.e. the carb bolt hex-keys; otherwise I would have been "up the creek").

All things considered, I adored this bike and would get another in a heartbeat. I would be wary, however, of electrical gremlins that could be lurking.

Mechanically this bike was a dream, requiring nothing more than an oil change or two and proper tire inflation. Plus, its Screamin' Eagle pipes were the bee's knees when it came to sound. Throaty and attention grabbing, but not obnoxiously loud.

Faults:

The voltage regulator quit and left me stranded, at night, in the dark, on the side of the road, with 750 miles on the bike.

A bolt vibrated out of the gas tank and was lost.

The brand new battery on the brand new Harley lasted about 6 months.

General Comments:

Well, I'm conflicted about this bike. I had HD do the stage one upgrade using Harley Screaming Eagle parts right from the start as a brand new motorcycle. It sounded awesome. It cruised through the mountains like a dream. It was fun and exhilarating to ride. So, from that side I loved the Sportster.

When it had only 750 miles on it, I stopped on the side of the road to help a guy on a brand new Fat Boy who was broken down. I went to start my bike, it was dead, bad voltage regulator. There we were, two brand new Harleys, broke on the side of the road. That had an impact on me.

I really wanted to love this bike.

Then there was the time that I had to go to an out of town school for work. I rode the Sportster. It beat me nearly to death out on the highway. Granted, it was pre-rubber mounted engine. It was at that school that I decided to trade the Sportster. It was a love hate relationship. I loved it, but it only moderately liked me.

If you're looking for a motorcycle that's great for easy, low speed, around town or back road cruising, the pre-rubber mounted engine Sportsters are great. If you need reliability and highway riding, this wouldn't be the best choice. Like I said, there were things about the Sportster that I really liked. But the negatives were too much.

I eventually traded the Sportster custom on a 1999 Honda Valkyrie. There were many times when I would rather have had the Sportster back. The V-twin rumble is great, the feel of the V-twin at lower speeds is great. The power of the 1200 is good. But all things considered, it wasn't the best motorcycle I ever had.