I decided to finally break down and but a HD, and decided a 1200 Sportster would be the way to go. Light weight, nimble, plenty of torque, and because we are doing more and more HD parts it made sense to really learn the in's and outs of the bike. I found a 2003 1200XLC anniversary model locally for a good price. The bike was fairly unmolested which was exactly what I wanted.
The dea that formed in my head was a dual sport style bike, I plan on riding the hell out of this and I want to be able to take it on road, as well as in a more hostile environment...say like the EDR run through mexico, down dirt and rocky roads! I also just like look of that sort of bike, and rarely see anything like that. Definitely not your normal Sportster.
I first started by ditching the large aftermarket aircleaner and breather bolts and replacing them all with BCM Willis bolts and a Ribsey aircleaner. I also replaced the HD carb top with a Biltwell Rippled stainless carb top. I have a huge advantage as we have a ton of great parts on the shelves and I really wanted to use a lot of them.
One thing I knew for this style of bike was that I wanted to ditch the stock forward controls and go back to mids. I got a set of take offs from ebay and put em back where they belong.
While I was at it I added in a set of Sanderson footpegs and a Mooneyes points and derby cover.
Threaded Mode
