Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1980's

With a solo seat, ' and a speedometer as the only instrumentation, simplicity is the styling motif. The BB3 is a purist's motorcycle. Timing cover , primary cover and the rocker boxes are all highly-polished aluminum; quality of the castings near flawless. clocked q uarter-m ile ti mes o f abo u t 13.5 seco nds a t 95 m ph. Our best ru n with th e new 883 Sportster was 14. 156 a t 92.21 mph. Co m paring that pe rform an ce to o the r cru iser-custo m Vtwins, th e Su zu ki 700 Int ruder tu rns quarter mi le times of abo ut 13.5 seconds , th e H onda 750 Shadow trips th e lights in a bo ut 13.2 seco nds, a nd Yama ha 's 750 Virago p osts tim es in the region of 13.6 seco nds - a nd a ll three mach in es ha ve engines sm aller tha n th e new Sportster's 883cc p o werplan t. Accord in g to H arl ey-D a vid son spe cifica tio ns . th e 883 en gine 's torque is a lso down a bo u t fi ve foot -p ound s fro m th e previo us IOOOcc engi ne . T he co m bi na tion of th e horsepow er a nd torque loss have cha nged th e pe rso n a li ty o f the Sportster , Wh ere th e o ld lOOOcc XL Sportster was never accused o f bein g a fa st m ot orcycl e, ro lling th e throttl e open direct ly transla ted into ch uggi ng forward motion with a spe cia l, elo nga ted exha ust n o te a nd th e feel of, well, p o wer. T he o ld Sportster would motor u p hi ll s with out downsh iftin g , a nd th e' engi ne went a bo u t its busi ness wi thout the urgent, ra zor 's-edg e feeling im pa rted by th e h igh -str u n g multi -cy li nder pow erp lan ts found in sport bikes . Though the actua l 883 Sportster's horsepow er d ifferen ce may be slight , th e feel wh en rid in g th e bik e is very diff eren t. The new engine lac ks th e old 's lazy, easy-going feel. O ne sta ffer co mmen ted that the bik e felt " Ja panese;" meaning tha t th e muffled exhaust no te a nd Iess-torquey powerp lant ma de the 883 un like mo torcycles typi cally assoc ia ted with Milwa ukee. Those rid ers w ho h ave p ut .miles on both th e old a nd new 883 Sportster felt tha t th e old cas t-iron XL Sportster wa s m ore satisfying a n d fu n to ride. T here wa s co nsi derab le specu la tion th a t th is new Sportster would be fit ted with a five-speed tra ns miss io n, but accordi ng to Harley-David son spokesmen , there were never any plans for re-engi n e,ri ng the gearbox - th e ne w Sportster was to use as ma n y o ffth e-sh elf pans as possible. All wh o ro de th e m ach in e co mmented th at it needed a five-sp eed transm ission, especially on th e freeway . A close loo k a t th e details of Harley's new Sports ter poses as many q uestio ns as it ans wers . T he swinga rm ha s been wid ened 0. 130-inc h to acco mmodate an o-ring chai n, though in the interest o f eco nomy. th e stock 883 does not have a n o-ri ng chain. The be lt drive now used on a ll I340cc Ha rleys is co ns p icuous by its a bsence . T he en gine p u lls h ard est at th e top of it s powerband, bu t a tac hometer has been o m itted . T h e solo sea t is marg in all y co mforta ble, a nd th ere's n o room for carr ying pa ckages, sadd lebags or o ther lu ggage. A reasona ble co ncl usion wo ul d be th a t the new 883 Evo lu tion Sports ter is th e first o f a n ew lin e o f Sportsters , ranging fro m th is first bare-bo nes ' mach in e . . . to some fut u re highperform ance motorcycle, or maybe a belt -driven ligh tweigh t touring bike. ••••• Riders and en th usiasts have become accustomed to the fact that new motorcycles ar e lighter . more powerful and faster than th e previ ous ma chines from th e same ma n ufa ctu rer. What Harley has ac hieved is to recreate the Sportster th a t the world has kn own for nearly three decades . . . and pa ckage it in a way th a t co n for ms to cu rrent govern mental reg u la tions. Unders ta nda bly, th at new package is not as fas t o r powerful as la st year 's 'Sp on ster - a fac t th at H arl ey-Da vid sq n a rtfu lly d isgu ised by ma king th e The rear brake is an immense 11.5-inch disc; the brake caliper levers against the box-section steel swingarm. ne w engi ne sma lle r. _ So it 's n ot a question o f wh eth er th e new Sportster is bett er th an th e o ld o ne - th e fact is tha t the Spor tster is still in production: so me thi ng that wo u ldn' t h ave been p ossibl e with the old powerpla nt. H ar ley's goa l was to u pda te th e Sportster: to p rod uce a motorcycle usin g as many existi ng Sportster pans a s poss ible, whi le incorporat ing tech no logy (as we ll as a few actua l pa n s) from their o th er Evol ution powerplant. The result is a ne w model in Harley-Da vid son's line-up: one th a t req ui res less ma inten a nce, is less expensive, is quieter, and is ch ea per for the ow ne r to insure than the prod uc t it rep laces. At firs t glance, the n ew 883 Sportster loses out when scrutinized for performan ce - but it mus t 'be re me mbered that th e 883 is in tended as a rel ia ble, in expensive, entry-level H ar ley-Davidson. For those bent on speed and power, Harl ey's pow erpl ant en gin eers are curre ntly developing high performance pa n s for th e new engine - an d if th e horsepow er ga ins p ossi ble approach th ose obtained wi th th e l340cc Evolution .engine, the Evo lu - tion Sportster m ay well send the Vtwin co m pe titio n back to the draw in g boards. O f co urse, there are o the r parameter s to performan ce. For o pe ners, n othing co m pares to th e deep, a mbling exha us t not e of a 45 degree Vtwin with a sin gle rod throw. The Sportster is a modern cla ssic; while immed ia tel y recogniza ble as a Sportster , it is a vastly im proved m ot orcycle that 's eas ier to own and m ain tain. O f co urse a ny m ot orcycle that wea rs th e name " Ha rley -Dav idso n " o n its gas ta n k has a read y-made market appea l tha t defies rational ana lysis. News o f the new 883 Evolution Sportster has been in print less th a n th ree weeks, and m any H arl ey-Da vidson deal er s have alrea dy receive d cas h orders for u n seen mot orcycles. T he fac t is, the world h as been wai ting for th e 883 Evolut io n Sports ter: it is a mach in e lo ng overd ue . Performance doesn 't m att er. Com fortand p ra ctica li ty don't m atter. Wi th a suggested reta il p rice o f o n ly $3995, th e 883 Sportster addresses pent-u p dem and fo r a more-economical , America n made motorcycle. • 3J,

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