I know this thread is old but wanted to reply. Im currently on a 03 1200 sportster custom. The one with the skinny front tire. The brakes on this thing are fair at best. The handling is somewhat jittery and does not inspire confidence at all. The vibration (mine is a rigid mount) is out of this world!! I have tried everything in the world to tame it but its the nature of the beast. Some are better than others. Mechanically, its been a good bike if your careful to tighen everything back up every so often. The mirrors on mine are totally useless. The good part of this bike is the power. Mine is a stage one bike. I have never had it dynoed but I have never wanted for more. The torque as may have said comes on early like a house a fire. The problem is you cant use it all of the time because of the vibration.
Now, with all of this said I have been researching every mid sized bike out there and keep coming back to the Bonneville. I like the Bonneville standard but I am afraid I am too short to ride it. I believe it would give a 1200 a run for the money. At least you could ride it all day and use all the power all of the time. The seat is 29.1 inches it says and my sporty is 28.5. I need to go down and not up. The dealers are scarce in my area. I have not even seen one yet but I know Im going to like one of them.
Can a standard Bonneville be dropped a bit and if so how? Thanks.
