XR 1200 - Thoughts from the masses?

[2and3cylinders]

The 2 that will go are my duplicate VTR1000F ( I'll keep my 2 spare engines, frame & swing arm, and 100+ sf of spare parts) and my 01 XL1200S.  The latter going will be tough and their dispensement may take a while.

[texscottyd]

On 11/17/2022 at 12:07 PM, Larz said:

Did you ride it? Like it, or not? Be hard to find a bike more different than the FJ in engineering & character. Performace "Hardlys" are a bit of an acquired taste, but have their charms, as well as being great conversation starters. Still love my souped -up Dyna, totally primitive heavy metal riding experience compared to the Tracer.....

I did ride it, and I'm conflicted:  It's just so... uh, 'agricultural' in its core DNA.  But, I absolutely loved it for what it is.   I'm about 85% sure it will find it's way home to Scott's Home for Orphaned and Wayward Motorcycles...   Trading an Aprilia Mille R for a souped-up Sportster is an unconventional swap, but for me it makes sense.  I think.  Maybe...

[betoney]

2 hours ago, texscottyd said:

Trading an Aprilia Mille R for a souped-up Sportster is an unconventional swap, but for me it makes sense.  I think.  Maybe...

Go with what your initial gut reaction tells you, it crossed your path for a reason. 

Prior to buying my VFR, I read about them in reviews, never seen one in the flesh.  There is a Honda shop on the other side of town that I never visit due to owning Yamaha and not being in the market.  By chance, something told me to drive over there and "window shop" and right in the middle of the showroom was the VFR decked out in useful aftermarket and oem optional extras with only 9k miles on it.  When I showed interest, the sales person asked if I was interested in a test ride and that was it - Fate.

[bwringer]

On 10/28/2022 at 4:49 PM, Ride365 said:

Buddy of mine had one, said overall it was a piece of shite.

Same. A buddy bought one new a while back and had nothing but terrible experiences, and a very hard time getting anything fixed under warranty. Guess the dealer techs were too busy carrying stock exhaust systems to the dumpster and taping plastic chrome gewgaws onto cruisers.

Quite a few of the systems and electronics on this bike are very different than the more barge-like core models, and far less well sorted-out. It's a very low-volume model, with a lot of model-specific parts of more or less experimental quality.

Of course, other owners have had far fewer reliability issues. So at best, quality is highly variable.

Since you're buying used, hopefully the bugs have been worked out on this one. And you won't need to deal with getting warranty service or the whole Harley dealer "experience".

Still, be ready for a somewhat different overall ownership experience. You'll be outside the world of the frankly ridiculous reliability and longevity of Japanese brands.

That said, if you're used to the Aprilia ownership experience, maybe this isn't much of a leap. Maybe your Ape is an exception, but I've never known one that left the factory 100% finished.

And of course, if the Harley really blows yer dress up, all that stuff fades to insignificance...

Edited November 19, 2022 by bwringer

[roadrash83]

That's a clean looking XR Scotty! 

 I have the same year and color (fast orange). I spent way more money on the bike than any sane person would admit. Olins 852 rear shocks, X front forks with K tech springs and inserts, Ohlin steering dampener, Marchesini racing 17" front and rear wheels, Race Spirits long horn air intake, Brembo 4 pot rear brake caliper, Drag Specialties engine mounts, primary chain conversion that was run at Daytona (Believe it or not they were clocked at over 150mph on the banking in the draft with a completely stock motor). Then there is the motor work, Hammer 1275 big bore kit and head work, Zipper red line cams and all the goodies. End result is 110HP and 91ftpds  at the rear wheel (the guy that built the motor and tuned it said he could have got more out of it but wanted the motor to stay together and the bike still to be enjoyable for everyday riding)The end result is a bike that weighs a little over 500Lbs dry and is a blast to ride. Always gets attention when I ride it because most people don't know what it is.

  Aftermarket performance parts are starting to get hard to find and expensive. HD has dropped a lot of pieces  from the parts catalog but E-bay has a good selection. If you have any questions about the bike PM me and look on the XR1200 owners forum.

[gerrychuck]

On 11/17/2022 at 4:49 PM, texscottyd said:

But, I absolutely loved it for what it is. 

...and there it is.  I am another one of the guys on here that owned an XR.  Had my 09 for 6 years. The bike is known as a great starter kit, although it looks like the one you are shopping has already had most of the important mods done. It is visceral, kinda uncivilized, heavy, and has way too small a gas tank. But you nailed it with "I loved it for what it is"; I don't know how many times I've said exactly that about the bike...it gives everything its got at legal speeds; great bottom end which makes it great fun around town or passing on the highway. Just runs out of breath at about the RPM that a multicylinder really hits its stride. The weight can be well-compensated with raising the back end a bit and improvements to the suspension, and I spent a lot of happy miles on twisty roads in BC and in Colorado. And as others have pointed out, it is a rolling conversation starter; I've never ridden or driven a machine that attracted more attention. 

Does it handle as effortlessly as a Tracer? No, it takes more muscle and, shall we say, commitment, to push it in the twisties, but it will acquit itself pretty well at the end of the day. Is it as fast as a liquid-cooled modern engined bike? Oh, hell no, but you don't know that until you are into the high 6000's in rpm.  Before that it will hang with just about anything; after, not so much. I'm not gonna lie; the XR is a fun bike, with a real personality, and has a uniqueness that is rare these days (redundancy pun intended). I have never seen another one on the road except for the summer of 2016 when 23 of us met up on these noisy machines in Colorado for a few days of wonderful riding and good times. One other thing; an awful lot of XR riders are guys who would never even have considered any other Harley. HUGE amount of overlap between Tracer and XR rider demographics. 

I wanted to get back more into some touring, or I would probably still have mine. I didn't put a huge number of mies on mine, but for what it's worth I never had to do anything to it except routine maintenance (and of course all the mods lol).

[dazzler24]

Strangely, I've recently had a hankering for a very similar (in appearance) bike.  Completely different from the Tracer but IMHO a very good looking machine.  Each to their own of course.

Think it was @PhotoAlwho mentioned it earlier - the Indian FTR 1200

[2and3cylinders]

9 minutes ago, dazzler24 said:

Strangely, I've recently had a hankering for a very similar (in appearance) bike.  Completely different from the Tracer but IMHO a very good looking machine.  Each to their own of course.

Think it was @PhotoAlwho mentioned it earlier - the Indian FTR 1200

 They really improved the latest ones for the road with the 17" wheels et cetera

 The electronics and brakes, and on the S the suspension is great

 But the gas tank again is too small

 I can't get used to the 19" wheel on my 01  XL 1200S

 Even my Matchles had an 18" front wheel

[betoney]

11 minutes ago, dazzler24 said:

Strangely, I've recently had a hankering for a very similar (in appearance) bike.  Completely different from the Tracer but IMHO a very good looking machine.  Each to their own of course.

Think it was @PhotoAlwho mentioned it earlier - the Indian FTR 1200

I agree, very nice looking machine.  👍

[texscottyd]

@dazzler24 - I looked over a FTR1200 R Carbon in detail when I was at the Triumph/Indian dealer buying my Speed Twin, and I agree it is a spectacular motorcycle!   Fascinating styling mash up of tracker, hooligan, brutal, sport-standard… I like it a lot.  And everything I’ve read indicates it’s a great riding bike.  Tempting! 

But… for about one-third of the price, the XR found its new home with me today.   It’s very different from anything I’ve owned in the past, but I’m really excited about taking it on as a long term project.  

[betoney]

17 minutes ago, texscottyd said:

the XR found its new home with me today.   It’s very different from anything I’ve owned in the past, but I’m really excited about taking it on as a long term project. 

Congrats on the next bike Scott.  Between this new one and the new Triumph, the FJ might start to feel left out.  😪

[dazzler24]

35 minutes ago, texscottyd said:

But… for about one-third of the price, the XR found its new home with me today.   It’s very different from anything I’ve owned in the past, but I’m really excited about taking it on as a long term project. 

Congrats!  Thought that you'd weaken and succumb. 🙂 The part about the price differential is hard to ignore and I'm sure you'll have a lot of pleasure transforming it into your own over time.  I do like the look of the machine. 👍

Looking forward to the farkling reports.

[2and3cylinders]

Yes!  Sharp! Fastest Red! 

It's direct predecessor and also Fastest Red and too small tank but lighter?

https://www.totalmotorcycle.com/photos/2001models/2001models-Harley-Davidson-XL1200SSportster1200Sport

[dazzler24]

46 minutes ago, 2and3cylinders said:

 They really improved the latest ones for the road with the 17" wheels et cetera

 The electronics and brakes, and on the S the suspension is great

 But the gas tank again is too small

 I can't get used to the 19" wheel on my 01  XL 1200S

 Even my Matchles had an 18" front wheel

Yes, that little fuel tank could be an issue - agreed.  Think I read a post elsewhere where someone was getting a custom built tank done to address that issue.  Don't know how it would affect the lines of the bike but.....

[dazzler24]

29 minutes ago, betoney said:

 Between this new one and the new Triumph, the FJ might start to feel left out.  😪

I think the evidence for that is clear..... look who's sulking behind the fence in the background....