OK, here is an honest rundown on the HD line. Good for those who don't want one as well, know the enemy and all that....

55 CID (883) Sportster. This is an 'entry level' bike. Good for learning to deal with a full size motorcycle, but short on performance. This is what you buy when you graduate from the 250 - 400 primary training bike. You will soon be moving on from this basic trainer to an advanced trainer.

74 CID (1200) Sportster. This is the 2 wheel equivalent to the AT-6. This version has potential and can be made to outpower the big twins. Handling and braking is not up to being able to ever match a typical Triumph but, with a bit of work they can be at least as fast.

88 CID (I dunno, don't do sissy numbers well) twin-cam, general. This engine can be made to produce a respectible amount of power. Even stock, it makes a decent amount of torque. Parts are expensive!! There is a lot of metal spinning inside this engine, so it's not as good as it might be for short distance sprints. Once all that internal iron gets spooled up, they can have a respectable top end. If you enjoy slow racing or wiener bite contests, this spinning mass is much to your advantage because the gyro effect makes the bike uncommonly stable at low speeds.

Dynaglide (Nee Superglide/Wideglide) Not much on cornering. Comfortable riding. Nice classic lines.

Softail. A little rougher riding than the Dyna due to having a lot of unsprung weight in the rear. They do look really nice, especially if you grew up when the hardtail was popular.

Tourglides. These are very heavy and would do better if they had a 96 inch engine. If you drop one call a towtruck, there is no picking it up unless your club brothers call you Tiny. If you are heavy into touring, these are the 2 wheel version of a motorhome. Because the engine weight is concentrated on the centerline of the chassis, they handle much better than a leadwing.

Oh yeah, about Sportsters being "girls bikes". Untill recently, I had a '76 XLCH Ironhead. When it was stock, it had the same displacement as an EL and produced more power than my '57 FLH Panhead. So, if it's a girls bike, so are Knuckleheads and Panheads.

Let's hope there's intelligent life somewhere in space 'cause it's buggar all down here. -- Monte Python