Issue link: https://cp.revolio.com/i/1490466
WheelsOfGrace.com | Volume 14 Issue 1 | 11 WheelsOfGrace.com | Volume 13 Issue 6 | 11 T H E E V O S P O R T S T E R A F T E R 65 Y E A R S! T H E E V O S P O R T S T E R A F T E R 65 Y E A R S! The engine was mounted directly to the frame from 1957 through the 2003 model year. While this system allows the bike to be somewhat lighter with more precise handling, it also transmits engine vibration directly to the rider. In 2003, Harley Davidson produced a limited number of 100th anniversary model sportsters. They are identified by the 100th anniversary paint schemes and plaques attached to the Sheetmetal, speedometer housing, and engine. Sportsters released in 2004 and later use rubber isolation mounts and tie links to limit engine movement to a single plane, which greatly reduces vibration felt by the rider. Buell motorcycles built with variants of the Sportster engine have used a rubber mount system since 1987. The Model K, from which the Sportster evolved, was the first civilian motorcycle produced by Harley-Davidson with hydraulic shock absorbers on both wheels. Common usage calls this a K Model. The Evo Sportsters got a five-speed transmission and belt final drive in the 1990s and fuel injection and rubber mounting for the engine in the 2000s. Many versions were produced by the factory, from an XL1200C Custom with 21-inch front wheel and cruiser style to the XL1200S Sport with upgraded suspension. There were SuperLow versions, Roadster versions, and Anniversary editions. And that's just what came out of the factory. The real variety started exploding when Sportsters got into owners' hands. You can easily modify a Sportster because it's been around so long and has huge aftermarket support… That versatility was one attribute that made the Sportster so popular with some of the most knowledgeable Harley fans in the industry, such as Buzz Kanter, who was at the helm of American Iron magazine for three decades. "Harley's Evo Sportster must be the most versatile motorcycle in the MOCO's long and varied history," Kanter said, following the news of the final Evo. "An Evo Sportster could be modified by most owners as a dragracer, sport bike, chopper, café racer, tourer, or even a dual-sport machine. Whatever parts Harley did not offer, the expansive aftermarket did to customize it to almost any tastes. "I have personally modified, raced, and ridden a number of Evo Sportsters over the years. I am sure I will not be the only enthusiast to miss this versatile machine." Another Sportster fan with extensive experience is Common Tread's own Patrick Garvin, who wrote an essay at J&P Cycles asserting that the Sportster is the best Harley- Davidson ever made. Granted, his undying love for Evo Sportsters is focused on the 2003 and earlier models, before the engine was rubber-mounted in 2004 and the Sportsters began gaining weight, adding features that didn't fit with the tradition of simplicity and sturdiness, and focusing on styling licks. "So why would anyone spend $9,000 and up on a brand new Sportster when you can scoop up an Evo Sportster on Facebook Marketplace for $3,500, throw another $2,000 to $3,000 at it, and have a bit**in' customized ride that's tailored to your style and will outperform the ones on the showroom floor?" Patrick asked in an article from two years ago. And it's not $9,000 anymore, either. That last Iron 883 that rolled off the assembly line lists for $11,249. "I will profess my love of the Evo Sportster until my dying day, but I feel like the Sportster's epic run may be over," Patrick wrote in that piece from 2020, and it now appears he was only a little ahead of his time. Of course, plenty of people didn't like the Evo Sportster, too. Some Evo Big Twin riders sneeringly called the Sportster the "girl's bike" in Harley-Davidson's lineup, even in the years when an XL1200 was the fastest Harley in the quarter mile in stock form. They said you couldn't ride long distances on a Sportster even after people finished the Iron Butt Rally on one. They said you needed to buy a "big" bike. Uncounted thousands of riders — I was an Evo Sportster owner myself for about seven years and 35,000 miles — ignored that and enjoyed their Evo Sportsters in almost every way you can enjoy a motorcycle, short of trials or motocross. Harley has a new, more modern Sportster S and Nightster to sell you now, and no doubt other Sportster models are coming with the new Revolution Max engine. But given the number of Evo Sportsters still rolling around and the huge aftermarket support available to keep them going, the Evo Sportster era isn't ending, exactly. It's just starting the next chapter, which will be written by riders, not the manufacturer. By Lance Oliver and Peter Kaye T H E E V O S P O R T S T E R A F T E R 65 Y E A R S! WheelsOfGrace.com | Volume 14 Issue 1 | 11