Motorcycle Safety & Driveability: 883 Sportster - too much bike?, beginner bike, power delivery

Question
Hi William,

I'm a 23 year old rider from India. I'm presently holidaying in Australia, and am thinking of hiring a bike for a day. I have 5 years and 20,000 miles riding experience, with a 160cc (yeah, it's small!) Honda....

I was wondering if I'd be able to manage an 883 Sportster.....I'm 5'8", 62 kgs....the biggest bike I've ridden so far weighs 160 kgs.

If you think I can manage, what tips would you be able to offer?

That's it for now. Ride Safe
Anil  

Answer
Nice to hear from you again, Anil.

For a rider with your experience, I don't think the 883 would be too much for you to handle. In fact, you'll probably give your confidence a real boost when you learn that it's not much more difficult than your 160!

The additional power will be easy to handle, as the 883 is not that strong (considering its weight). Where you'll really notice the difference is in the way it wants to turn in corners or tip when stopped.

Cornering will require a much greater effort: more input into the handlebars and it will take longer to settle into the corner. On the positive side, the throttle will be smoother and easy to manage to give the rear tire nice power delivery throughout the turn. But the bike will want to keep leaning over, so once you countersteer it into the turn you'll have to keep countersteering to keep it on line. Not a big deal, but it takes some getting used to.

Another real difficulty you may have is coming to stops. If you're leaned over even a little bit, the bike will want to flop over on its side. Take care to have the handlebars squared off and the front tire pointed straight ahead, the bike straight up and down, when you come to a stop.

I am glad to hear riding so much. The 883 is not a good beginner bike, but a competent rider can handle it fine. Also, an 883 may be a handful in India, but in Australia, will you probably have a lot more space to ride it?

Regards,
Pat