yes no maybe i dunno confused now :(

[Hobbit]

i have been happily blasting along on my '04 883C for the winter months and collecting a small cupboard full of parts in readiness to convert it to a 1200/1250. i have my cams, ignition, already done stage 1 and leads, when the wife says why dont you buy a new 1200 sporty............................................ ............eh were did that come from ????
she sees the pics of the Nightster and says get that one i like that one (she knows i like it also), she will never ride on it as its a solo machine and we have a Heritage for touring and 2 up riding.
i am now totally confused do i say whooo hooo and go buy the Nightster (i like the green and black ) or do i continue converting my 883c to 1200/1250.
i am helpless as i know why she want me to have a new 1200 it means i dont spend as much time in the garage pulling the motor apart as i am compulsive tinkerer and suffer from chromeitis

[Wow]

Originally Posted by Hobbit

i am helpless as i know why she want me to have a new 1200 it means i dont spend as much time in the garage pulling the motor apart as i am compulsive tinkerer and suffer from chromeitis

The thought of 'man' 'and' 'shed' comes to mind. You will find something else won't you?

The Nightster looks cool, unless you have a Custom I think the Nightster will look cooler than your 04 Sportster but it's hard to say without having seen it. But hey it's up to you or more up to your wife I believe

Edit: oops is this not the beertent?

OK let's make this a bit more technical.

Edit 2: oh you 'do' have a custom, well can't give you any advice then as they look well cool!

Main difference would be EFI and no carbs anymore.

[Hobbit]

now that made me smile she does not were the pants but she has better judgement than me other wise it would be a turbo nutta busa and a 1125 Buell in the garage

but instead its a sporty and a Heritage softail

[Deep Purple]

It boils down to this:-
With a new bike will get a two year warranty and the "new bike feel". No MOts to worry about for a while.
A modified second hand sporty wont sell that easily and you wont get much more than a stock 883 .Also if you crap anything up on the conversion and it doesnt run quite right you will probably spend money rectifying it.
That said I did an 883 to 1200 conversion this year and it was fine. I didnt change the cams.
Also you only live once, and I've seen guys put things off and they never live long enough for their dream.
If it were me and you can afford it without going into too much hock I would go for the new bike, otherwise just improve what you have.
I dont think the current Harley sales offers of £99 down £89 for 36 months then a final payment of £4000 type arrangements are good value. I would suggest you consider a personal loan via some of the supermarket banks such as Sainsburys or Tesco. A good way to check it out is to work out how much you pay overall. I've recently bought two cars and saved about a years worth of payments by going via supermarket banks as opposed to dealer finance. Hope this helps

[Hobbit]

thanks for the reply i have been pricing up getting the muscle from the 883 and it looks like about £3K, 2-1 pipe, HSR carb, barrels, pistons, stage 3 heads, clutch, chain conversion, bits and pieces, or sell the sporty as is and use the money with a loan to buy the new one. i hate dilemmas

[Mr B]

I know nothing about Sportsters, but I bet you don't need all those parts. Have a word with Jaybe...he's got a converted 883 and that thing flies.

Brian.

[HOG maniac]

Difficult. How much time money and personalization have you put into your current bike. When I walk into the dealers I still think mine is the best sportster at the shop (I would) as its has had alot of my effort gone into it with so many one offs.

If your bike is fairly stock and you can afford it get the 1200. But Im sure you will continue to spend loads on it. Personally I don't like the nightster at all but again its personal taste.

You can give the 1200 conversion bits to me.

[Tim]

.If you get a new one you will spend loads more money on it getting it right........keep the one youve got........

[The Dude]

Quite agree with Tim, not sure 'bout his "football" team mind!
Try to shake some more dosh outta the tree tho for the current Sporty, and it'll still be cheaper than a new one!

TD

[Silverflame]

A few ways to help decide:

Fate
Toss a coin - Heads you buy - Tails you carry on and convert.

Accounts
Look at the cost of purchase v Cost of convertion (count your time at £50..00 per hour!)

Blame
"you said i could!"

Self
I wanted it so i got it

Paper
Make a list of the pros & cons for convert and then one for Buy new, give each reason a score ex 10 add them up winner takes all.

Jealousy
My mates got one and its great

At the end of the day and its only my opinoin but, if you have an oportunity to get something that you want and you have the support of your family - go for it. You will always find something to add or polish
Hope that helped
sf