Harley 1200C Sportster 2000

Not every Harley costs $25,000 you know. You can get one for $10,000 under that and use it as practical everyday transport. "Here, take this one with you and ride it from Adelaide to Melbourne - you'll love it."

Those words belonged to Guy "Guido" Allen, way back at the end of 1995 when he was the publicity chief for Peter Stevens Motorcycles, and of course it came as no surprise to hear him say those words - it was after all his job to 'sell' Harley-Davidsons.

Back then it was the then-new Harley Sportster Sport that Guido was prattling on about, and I did in fact take his advice and ride it from Adelaide to Melbourne via the famed coast road - and thoroughly enjoyed the experience (other than for a brief session of food-poisoning-induced heaving along the way).

It was thus with a degree of enthusiasm that I prepared for our annual Dumb and Dumber ride aboard a 2000-model Harley Sportster - that is until I saw the bike that Porty had arranged. Having minimal knowledge of any bike that doesn't possess an aluminium beam frame and a set of clip-ons, Porty had indeed arranged a Harley Sportster for me to ride - except it wasn't the one with the twin-disc brakes, quality adjustable suspension, or 'normal' riding position.

Having lived with a long-term Harley XL1200S Sportster Sport on the AMCN test fleet back in 1996, I was sure it would prove to be a capable steed on D&D IV. Pity I never got to find out.

No siree, what I had for my winter wonderland wanderings in the Snowy Mountains was the Sporster Custom, a totally different creature complete with skinny 21-inch front wheel, forward-mounted controls, 'basic' short-travel suspension and pullback bars. Don't worry, Porty will get his...

Harley-Davidson Sportsters can actually be had in six different models - three with the 883cc powerplant, and three with the bigger 1200cc engine. All carry the XL model prefix.

The XL1200C Custom is styled just as its name suggests, with a spoked front rim, lashings of chrome and polished alloy, a single instrument (speedo) and non-adjustable suspension (other than preload at the rear). The Sport on the other hand carries the features outlined earlier on, and has a less cruiser-like seating position as well as a higher-compression powerplant.

The Custom certainly earns points for its looks, although the droopy-drawers speedo hanging backwards off the top triple clamp doesn't do a lot for me.

Neither did the seating position on the faster touring stretches of our trip, where a Custom rider has to battle much more shoulder and arm strain than a rider on a Sportster Sport.

While the Sportsters don't have the grunt of the big 1450cc Twin Cam Harleys, they do have lighter weight and maneuverability on their side.

The purple XL1200C testbike was a stylish around-town runabout, with the low seat height and low centre of gravity helping in this sort of usage, with plenty of leg room due to the forward-mounted footpegs on longer trips.

However, there's no denying that the cruiser-style seating position of the Custom puts more weight on the small of your back than is ideal, especially when the rear shocks do exactly that - transmit plenty of shocks!

Unfortunately the Custom has 30mm less suspension travel at the rear than the Sport, and this isn't ideal for rural sojourns over typical Aussie roads. There was plenty of bottoming going on...

Incidentally, 110kmh equates to around 3000rpm - a cruising speed which isn't too tiring. The traditional V-twin Harley vibes are there through the footpegs and handlebars, although I reckon it's more like a pulsating massage rather than a tooth-rattling shake.

The 16.7lt tank is good for around 290km at touring speeds, which is a big improvement over the peanut-tanked versions.

Despite it being a C rather than a S, there's no doubt the XL1200 Sportster was a surprise on the trip. At $15,385 (incl GST) I reckon it's pretty good value.