Test riding the 2011 Harley-Davidson XL1200X Sportster Forty-Eight

I had never been on a Sportster before, so when I had the chance this afternoon I took it. And I promptly did something I've never done before: I scraped hard parts. The steering dynamics on this bike apparently are quite different from what I'm accustomed to, so on my first right turn it seemed like I needed to lean it way over to make the turn. I did, and the turn went smoothly, but there was this surprising sound and feeling down by my right foot. I was kind of amazed.

On my next right turn I figured I'd try not leaning it so far, and I ended up running wide, across the center line. I guess I'd have to spend some time getting familiar with this bike if I was riding one regularly. I'm sure there's a happy medium.

I was a bit wary of the seat at first because there wasn't that much to it, but at least for the short time I was on the bike it was surpisingly comfortable. Doing the kind of riding I generally do I'd want to know what it feels like after 200 miles before I'd even consider buying a Sportster, but Sportster aren't really intended as touring machines. And with the 2.1-gallon peanut tank you're not going far between stops on this one. That said, I've seen plenty of people burning up long miles on them.

I was surprised that the mirrors are below the handlebars. I had only seen that for first time recently when I test rode a BMW R1200RT. That's another thing I guess you just get used to. No one will be surprised that the seat height was low, 26 inches. That's low enough for nearly any short person to get their feet solidly on the ground. No one will be surprised either that there's a whole lot of shakin' going on at idle. It smooths out at speed but doesn't go away entirely.

There's not a lot of suspension on that rear-end either. Crossing some railroad tracks I took a pretty good bump on the butt. That's the kind of situation where I like having my pegs underneath me so I can stand up on bumps, but you won't get that on any Harley except maybe the V-Rod. Then with the grips a forward-reach away, and my feet out in front, the riding position was not what I consider comfortable unless I made a deliberate effort to sit very upright on the front part of the seat.

One thing this bike absolutely has is power. With 1200cc in that engine, on this small, light bike, you'd better believe it has power. It's also very maneuverable.

It all comes down to what you want in a bike and what you intend to do with it. This would be a fun bike for running around town, and maybe going out for an afternoon with the guys. For anything more than that, though, you're almost definitely going to want to look at something else.