Well.. The xmas bonus is coming in soon. I'm thinking about suspension upgrades.

The roads around here are delightfully twisty with alot of steep hills.. but they are in terrible condition and some are just dirt roads.

So lets hear it.. if you had a couple grand to toss into your suspension to make your sporty a mean offroad machine what would you buy? I'm a 30 inch inseam so I can pick up a few inches of seat hight no problem.


Also what kind of tires would you use? I guess it's basically supermoto'ing a sportster eh?

May not want to hear this, but I'd sell the sportster, take the bonus money, and buy one of the following:

'06 Buell Ulysses (Or the TT model). Selling used at attractive prices on ebay, you may find a NEW one still languishing on the dealer floor, ready for a deal. If you still want the sportster heritage, this is the one to have. A sportbike that ain't afraid of the dirt. Many have commented its almost as good as the following:

A BMW GS. A mid 90s-99 R1100GS can be easily had for $5000-$7000(or less) and is a far more capable machine- it will outrun, outcorner, outstop, outdistance and out tour a Sportster on asphalt- or dirt. And you won't believe the ride quality. You might even find one with ABS if you look. However, you get a truly 'unique' looking machine, a sound best described as an angry sewing machine, and dealers that can be just as bad, or worse, than some Harley dealers. You also get to ask yourself, "what the heck where those German engineers thinking?!" at times.

Its sounds like you'd be a fine candidate for a dual-sport machine. You could spend a ton of money and time on a sportster, and still wouldn't have the capabilities of either of the Buell or BMW.



As I have likely now committed heresy on this board, you may now commence with burning me at the stake.

Hey, why not? You're not going to have optimum performance like you would with a special purpose bike but it could be done. I'd look at the desert sleds that were raced in the `60's. Also the flat track and TT Sportsters would be something to learn from. You could look at the Storz catalog and get some ideas from there. The main thing is that you do whatever you want to. That's what having a bike is all about. Lord knows I've seen enough half-assed and just plain butt ugly choppers made from Sportsters. Go for it.

Well.. The xmas bonus is coming in soon. I'm thinking about suspension upgrades.

The roads around here are delightfully twisty with alot of steep hills.. but they are in terrible condition and some are just dirt roads.

So lets hear it.. if you had a couple grand to toss into your suspension to make your sporty a mean offroad machine what would you buy? I'm a 30 inch inseam so I can pick up a few inches of seat hight no problem.


Also what kind of tires would you use? I guess it's basically supermoto'ing a sportster eh?

Interesting thread, since moving to Tucson I'm becoming more and more interested in the same thing... There are great long desolate desert highways, and incredible race track twisties in the mountains... but then there are also great places to go by dirt road and I'd love to be able to ride some of them.

Imagine the shock value of being in a Jeep and having a Harley pull up behind you on a mountain shelf road! :smoke

I don't have anything to contribute, but wanted to chime in with interest. :)

Keep the Sportster and add a used KLR650 with it's 6+ gallon tank.

A Triumph Scrambler is also a pretty decent fire-road burner.

Yea, ultimately it's probably not the best idea... especially for me with the 1000-inch bling wheel I have on my Custom...

well.. I'm not adversed to selling the sporty for a different bike.. the check should be about 4k and i can prolly get 3k for the sporty.

7k should be able to buy me a nice bmw and ship it from florida to the virgin islands.

I'm still early enough in my riding career (less than a year in) that i want to ride every bike i possibly can and i know if i miss my sporty i can always pick up another one down the road.

That said i think tibaal has gotten it right on the head.. imagine the look on someones face when some dirt hopping sportster comes around the corner while they stop for lunch.

I would consider trading up to a 1200 Roadster and replace the suspension with Progressive parts.

if you had a couple grand to toss into your suspension to make your sporty a mean offroad machine what would you buy?

In my youth I considered this but there weren't many options back then. There is now. A sporty is the most versatile bike there is. Chillibrr mentioned Storz, here's their link;

http://www.storzperf.com/

There is a section on this forum for suspensions;

http://xlforum.net/vbportal/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=36

Good luck.

YUP! What he Said!

May not want to hear this, but I'd sell the sportster, take the bonus money, and buy one of the following:

'06 Buell Ulysses (Or the TT model). Selling used at attractive prices on ebay, you may find a NEW one still languishing on the dealer floor, ready for a deal. If you still want the sportster heritage, this is the one to have. A sportbike that ain't afraid of the dirt. Many have commented its almost as good as the following:

A BMW GS. A mid 90s-99 R1100GS can be easily had for $5000-$7000(or less) and is a far more capable machine- it will outrun, outcorner, outstop, outdistance and out tour a Sportster on asphalt- or dirt. And you won't believe the ride quality. You might even find one with ABS if you look. However, you get a truly 'unique' looking machine, a sound best described as an angry sewing machine, and dealers that can be just as bad, or worse, than some Harley dealers. You also get to ask yourself, "what the heck where those German engineers thinking?!" at times.

Its sounds like you'd be a fine candidate for a dual-sport machine. You could spend a ton of money and time on a sportster, and still wouldn't have the capabilities of either of the Buell or BMW.



As I have likely now committed heresy on this board, you may now commence with burning me at the stake.

Yep with get a second bike. The Sporty can be mad into a really drivable sport tuoring bike but I don't think you will ever get to the suspension travel required for bumps larger than about 3". I dought you will ever get it to fly correctly. And if you do get it to fly, I wonder if the chassis will ever take the punishment at 600 lbs plus rider.

AW

well.. im not trying to build an offroad acrobat here.. i just want something that can handle crummy roads a little better.

The biggest problem is there are no (zero) bike dealerships around here.. so i can't just trade her in.. i would have to sell her myself and then buy something from florida and have it shipped here..

if i can get a cheap klr650 and ship it i might go that way.. otherwise i need to explore the world of high travel bolt on suspension parts. I don't have access to fabrication tools or really nobody does that work around here.


It sounds like a klr or a call to storez so far.

a 200cc chinese knock-off dirt bike is about $900 or less.

wow.. i just looked at the storez site.. I think they can definitely help me out.

Weak fork tubes, limited suspension travel, and too heavy will always severely limit rough road capabilities. No amount of money will make it as good as a bike with twice the suspension travel.

For really rough roads and true off-road capability, get a bike 300 lbs or under with long travel suspension. Suzuki / Kawasaki make a nice 400 cc street legal off-road bike that will be good for up to 4 or 5 hours riding at a time. If you want to cover much longer distances, mostly on pavement and better dirt roads, the heavier Adventure bikes will work. Be careful how tall the bike is relative to your height. I have seen some riders crawl up their adventure bikes like it was a step ladder. Even the new Adventure bikes that weigh 400 to 500 lbs need to stay on fairly good dirt roads, and very few riders have the skill to actually take them off-road.

My other bike is a Honda XR 650 R, street legal, serious off road bike, but not as comfortable as the adventure bikes due to the banana type seat.

Look the Sportster is the jack of all, master of none. but i think you could make it a little better for those roads with out spending any more then others spend on their sporty tourers or sporty cafe's or sporty what ever's. start with longer shocks there is a guy on here that some 14 incher's on recently, a fork brace and dual purpose tires. gear it down a little, parts from an 883 would work here. then you could look to lighten it up a little. look for plastic fenders and stuff.

I like the second bike answer. look I want want a v-rod drag racer a Buell for the twistie's an old school chopper for bar hopping. my Sportster for commuting to work and a Road Couch for squiring my lady love around. Alas, funds are limited, so I pour over all the threads on this forum and else where and try to build my multi use Sporty.
That being said why is it so hard for so many to just give the help one asks for.
Add a caveat if you feel the need.

400cc might be best in a dual sport if you plan on doing more off road riding than on-road. Otherwise at least 650cc is a must.

findangle, you might want to read cavebikers thread to compare what he did to his sportster and what he rode it through, compared to your situtation.

http://xlforum.net/vbportal/forums/showthread.php?t=85290

"Adventure Biking" is easily possible on a Sportster, and the modifications don't have to cost an arm and a leg. Here's a link to one of mine:

http://xlforum.net/vbportal/forums/showthread.php?t=36899

All I've done is add Progressive(brand) springs up front and Progressive(brand) 412 shocks in the back. This shouldn't be more than $300 plus shipping.

Switching to chain rather than belt final drive would be a good idea since after several extended off pavement rides I ended up with a hole in the belt. Also going to an 18 inch rear wheel would allow you to run dirt tires. None are available for the 16 inch stock rear wheels. So these mods would cost some more. I also like the lower 883 gearing for picking through rough spots.

wow.. i just looked at the storez site.. I think they can definitely help me out.

Keep us posted and photos please.

All I've done is add Progressive(brand) springs up front and Progressive(brand) 412 shocks in the back. This shouldn't be more than $300 plus shipping.

Switching to chain rather than belt final drive would be a good idea since after several extended off pavement rides I ended up with a hole in the belt. Also going to an 18 inch rear wheel would allow you to run dirt tires. None are available for the 16 inch stock rear wheels. So these mods would cost some more. I also like the lower 883 gearing for picking through rough spots.

Completely agree. You should be able to trade even for the 883 gears on this site.

i don't think any engine or transmission upgrades are going to be need.. the bike already pulls like a tractor anywhere i need it to.

fork brace and long travel progressives seems the way to go. i already need to get a mag for the front (i don't like the lace wheel's) so i might go for a smaller rear wheel for the dirty tires.. some flatter bars, mid pegs and one of those cool fiberglass rear fender/seat things from storez is probably going on too.. maybe a new (non dented) tank and some form of offroad front fender to round it all out..

i don't think any engine or transmission upgrades are going to be need.. the bike already pulls like a tractor anywhere i need it to.

fork brace and long travel progressives seems the way to go. i already need to get a mag for the front (i don't like the lace wheel's) so i might go for a smaller rear wheel for the dirty tires.. some flatter bars, mid pegs and one of those cool fiberglass rear fender/seat things from storez is probably going on too.. maybe a new (non dented) tank and some form of offroad front fender to round it all out..

sounds good, if you do it put up some pic's