JohnB said:
I considered one of these before I bought the S10. It would have been my first HD in 40 years of riding bikes. Finally, an HD with real suspension and brakes! But, then I heard about the swelling gas tank issue and the way that HD was (or wasn't) handling it. This was one of the reasons I traded my Ducati Multistrada for a Street Triple. So, I bought the S10 instead and have no regrets.
Hi John,
Great choice with the S10! ::022::
The XR1200 is also my first HD in 30 years of riding. I got it because I love it's dirt track XR750 inspired looks. To me it's how a bike is supposed to look. Like Evel Knievel's HD's, ahhh, my boyhood hero.
Anyway, the suspension on the 2009 actually sucked, incredibly harsh, oversprung out back, undersprung in front etc..... just did not work well at all on less than perfect pavement. The new fully adjustable Showa suspension you would get if you bought the 2010 and up XR1200" X" model is somewhat better. I actually upgraded to those forks and shocks, it was avalable as an HD suspension upgrade "kit" in 09. The front brakes are as good as most any, real strong but maybe lacking a little feel at the lever. The rears, well, they kinda feel like an afterthought to me......similar to the metal shoe rubbing up on the tire of your old 5 hp Briggs and Statten powered mini machine back in the day. I harldy use rears anyway. The bike handles well enough for the street if you at least upgrade the suspension on the 09's, but it's still an 580 pound bike. Steers pretty slowly, but has always been stable. With far more ground clearance than, say, a WIDE Glide, you can ride it
far more agressively than any other Harley
ever made, and I have no problem keeping up with any bikes in the mountiains and twisties here on Long Island. ??? You do have to work harder at it, and it may batter you after a little while if you are semi old and slightly worn out, like me.
) The s10 is a lot easier to ride fast and long! You only get 100 miles outa the xr gas tank anyway.
As far as the gas tank issue, I'm the one who actually started off that HUGE thread about the gas tank swelling over on the XR forum! I've had 3 tanks on the bike and just gave up, would rather not be bothered over and over. The third tank is swelled up, but not nearly as much as the other two, so the problem did vary somewhat. That being said, I'm aware of NONE of the HD plastic tanks ever leaking or coming loose as a result of swelling. Nothing like the severe Ducati problem, it is only a slight cosmetic issue here. The problem results from the fact that the black plastic tank is covered with a painted plastic cover or skin, which "pops" up in back when the actual gas underneath tank swells a little. It creates a gap of up to 1/2 inch between the actual tank and the orange cover.
No one ever notices it until I point it out. If the tank were one piece without a cover, you would not notice the swelling. I have one of the old tanks on the shelf, and after only a couple weeks sitting there, it shrunk back down to the origonal size! The orange cover goes right on with room to spare. The problem
HAS to be a water absorption issue, the tank swelling like a sponge over time with gas in it. If I wanted it to always look perfect, I guess I could keep switching the tanks out as they swell up and shrink back down, but I think I would need to
see a shrink if I did that. ::013:: After a while, most of the owners have been able to live with it. ::021::
There is a lot of room for different improvements on the XR, and I made a lot of mods to it. That's half the fun! The damn bike just gets under your skin some how if you keep it long enough. Anybody who tossed the bike after the first tank swelling, I think has missed out on a great motorcycle, something fun and different and kind of rare. Still, in my opinion, if YOU were considering an XR1200 for anything but riding around town or short day trips, you made the right choice going with the S10 instead. The XR is just not practical or comfortable, but it is real fun and an awsome second bike for short rides and getting attention too. People either love it (real motorcyclists, racers, and generally cool people) or laugh and curse it. (ignorant bikers and squids), but it gets everybody talking!
