Harley-Davidson XR1200 ride review

So, today I had a doctor's appointment at 8:45am, and to which I rode my Sportster. I got out of there, then went and had breakfast. Some of you may know the place - Hank's Place @ Rt. 100 & Rt. 1 - yummie! After breakfast I took a spin down Old Rt. 100 and back up to Rt. 1, then headed to Hannum's Harley-Davidson dealer on the way to the office. I wanted to check on a 2-up seat for my Sportster since I'm selling the 'Glide but still want to ride with my daughters. While I was there I was convinced I should take one of their XRs for a ride. Gosh, my arm hurts from all the twisting they had to do. This place knows me pretty well, so a smile and a handshake, a toss of the keys and I'm down the road.

My test ride took me down Rt. 1 South to Creek Road (where I did three passes), across Center Meeting Road to Rt. 52, up 52 to Owl's Nest Road then down to Rt. 82 in to Kennett, where I turned around and came back up Rt. 82 to Snuff Mill Road, back over to Rt. 52 and up Rt. 1 back to Hannum's. This allowed me to explore the bike's ride and handling on highway conditions, mild and intense twisties, and casual country roads. It's a good loop for testing a bike in this area, and you get to ride Delaware's only seriously twisty road, Rt. 82 - which is not to be missed if you're in the area.

Harley-Davidson XR1200


Harley-Davidson XR1200



Comfort:
Sitting on this bike took me right back to earlier in the year when I was lusting after one of these and was sitting on each one I could find and making "vroom vroom" noises. For me, the ergos on this bike are almost perfect. My body size and proportions just feel right at home on this bike. Each hand and foot just fall to a perfectly neutral position with the balls of my feet on the pegs and with my hands resting on the bars with the appropriate amount of elbow bend.

The seat is a bit tall for my 30" inseam, but no worse than the CBRs and FZs I've ridden in the past. I can't flat-foot it, but I feel perfectly secure with the balls of both feet on the street at stops. The bars are wide and have only slight angles in them, akin to a dirt bike or large cruiser. They provide ample leverage for turn-in and for in-turn maintenance. Very neutral and comfortable for me. All comfort features on every bike are, of course, subjective. They seem to have done well getting this bike ergonomically "good enough" for the masses.

It's a naked bike, so the wind hits you... well, everywhere. There is no buffeting at all, only a clean stream of unfoiled air on your torso and up and around your helmet. Legs don't feel fatigued by the wind because your feet are behind your knees and that natural "locked-in" feeling that you feel in your legs on more aggressive sport bikes is there, but not as extreme. Again, very comfortable and neutral.

The seat just sucks. It's hard in the wrong places, it's soft in the wrong places, it's sloped funny and there are edges inside it. It just sucks and begs for an aftermarket upgrade. But I was perfectly ok on my hour-long test ride. Any longer than that and I would be kicking the bike over in frustration at the next stop.

I didn't go exploring, but I'm told there is storage space under the pillion seat. It can't be much, but apparently it's larger than many other "sport" bike offerings. I didn't find the air box or oil cooler to be in my way at all... the tank is very narrow and the air box is well out of your way. In that regard, it's far and away better than my Sportster, with its conventional ham-can air cleaner taking up real estate on the bike's right side. The XR is very subtle in that area.

The mirrors are typical Sportster mirrors. You can see behind you when you look in them. You can adjust them so that you can see pretty well behind you without staring at your own elbows. And yes, they shake... the V-Twin's vibrations are transmitted throughout the entire bike just as they are on any of Harley's other rubber-mounted, unbalanced, 45* V-Twin-powered motorcycles. This is part of what makes a Harley a Harley. If you don't like a twin throb, don't bother getting on this bike. You KNOW there's a twin under you on this bike, but to me it's just grin-worthy. I love twins.


Engine & Power:
The bike is powered by the larger, 1200cc Sportster engine, with some minor mods. I've ridden 1200cc Sportsters before, so I don't really have anything new or exciting to say about the bike's power, other than, if you don't like the way twins deliver power, then clearly you are a communist-era loser who hates kittens, apple pie and all things Detroit; you are unAmerican and deserve to be kicked in all the bad places. You probably like liver and onions for dinner, too. Freak!

But seriously, the bike is a typical twin, delivering all its torque nearly right off idle and completely through to red-line. The bike falls flat on its face once you hit redline and the rev limiter kicks in, so you'll want to be mindful of your RPM especially in the lower two gears. If you really go playing at red line in 4th or 5th, please be sure you have lots of open road ahead of you. This is not a slow bike. But once you get to know the shift points, the bike will pull you to triple digit speeds (and yes, that's in MPH!) far quicker than you might expect from something air-cooled from the Bar & Shield folks. The 1200 Sportster package is no slouch when it comes to acceleration and power delivery.

Yes, there is a shake at idle. Yes, there are vibrations. Yes, there is a serious twin pulse (as compared to the SV, the Ducatis, etc.) But the bike is buttery smooth at 4k RPM, tooling down the highway at speeds that will get you more than a wink and a wave from the troopers.


Ride & Handling:
The bike has inverted forks, lightweight sport-bike rims which are shod with Dunlop Sportmax Qualifiers. This bike knows how to stay glued to the road and feels absolutely awesome leaned over with its massive torque propelling you through any turn you're willing to twist it through. The bike handles well... period...

... as long as the road surface is good.

To clarify... The front end of the XR feels absolutely perfect, if only slightly under-sprung (I'm just shy of 200lbs with gear on). Damping is good, the ride is plush but well damped, predictable and rock-solid stable. It's a good common-denominator effort.

The rear suspension, in a word, sucks. This bike suffers the same rear suspension woes that my Sportster does. The shocks are harsh, softly sprung, overdamped and just generally crap. I've got progressive 412s on my Sportster and I don't like them at all. Something with more adjustability is in order and so it is with the XR as well. On a smooth road the rear suspension is fine, but you can quickly find less-than-perfect roads nearly everywhere you go.

There has got to be a better aftermarket solution. But the swing arm is bulky and probably carries more heft than other bikes you're likely to be interested in if the XR tickles your fancy. I don't know that this bike will ever be able to handle (at the rear end) quite as well as nearly any other sport-oriented motorcycle. But that's its only real weakness. It handles better than my Sportster and mine handles better than *any* other Harley I've ever ridden previous to the XR and as well as any japanese built standard. I spent lots of time and the right money getting mine to handle that well. The XR beats it out of the box.


Conclusions:
The XR1200 delivers monster amounts of torque at every operable RPM. It shifts sure and true. The bike delivers that power through a competent suspension that isn't perfect, but far better than "good enough" for this class of bike. It meets the street on typically-sized 17" sport bike tires covering light-weight sport bike rims. It provides comfort enough for day tours and multi-day riding, but offers very little in excessive features. I'm not a fan of the styling of the factory-available soft luggage, but it works, it does its job and it is made to fit the bike perfectly; something that many aftermarket solutions could be far, far better at.

The bike is fast, yet well mannered in all riding situations. It doesn't deliver its power in a "peaky" fashion like many smaller I4 engines, nor does it lumber like big-bore twins. It's spritely... it wants to rev and it wants to breath - let it. Twist it up and enjoy the extra length your arms will get over time.

The bike's closest functional competitor is likely the Suzuki SV-650 or perhaps the little Ducati Monster, and of course its cousin, the Buell. This bike is best suited for those who want a Harley-Davidson branded motorcycle, yet also want a bike that is fast, handles well and is a real competitor for sport-oriented riders. It isn't the best available in its class, but yeah... it's serious and it's well worth a look.

Given the non-adjustable suspension that is good enough but needs work for enthusiasts, the ride comfort, features and aftermarket support - if I had to buy a twin-powered naked, I would opt for the Buell (for similar money), or the smaller Ducati (for less money) and forego this bike, simply on price and its lack of better suspension. But hey... it's a Harley! And that is not an insignificant point of fact. It ooozes Harley sexiness while still being something of a new breed. It's a good bike. Period. This is what the Sportster Sport should have been 10+ years ago. But the Buell is probably the better buy for serious sport-oriented riders who don't care so much about branding but still want the iconic twin in a sport chassis.