I had a chance to take a ride on the new 2009 Harley-Davidson XR1200 Sportster, so I jumped at the opportunity to ride this modern take on an American classic.

It's been a while since I've ridden a Sportster—I've been riding mostly sportbikes and sport-tourers lately, so I wasn't quite sure what to expect. I have to admit I was pleasantly surprised by the power, handling, appearance and overall quality of the XR1200.

Appearance

Whether you like the looks or not, the 2009 Harley-Davidson XR1200 Sportster is an amazing attention-getter. All along our ride people stopped to ask about the bike and other motorcyclists did quick U-turns to check out the bike and ask questions while we were shooting photos.

Fair warning: this bike isn't subtle, so you aren't very stealthy while tooling around town. You might want to keep that in mind before you do anything 'unexpected' with the XR1200.

Controls

The controls are pretty much where I expected to find them. The turn-signal controls were new to me and the manual- and self-canceling feature was not what I was accustomed to, but I grew familiar with them quickly enough. The XR1200 is equipped with simple, yet functional instrumentation.

The handlebars are wide compared to the bikes I usually ride, but it took only a few moments to get used to the setup. I've ridden many standard bikes in years past so this had a very natural, comfortable feel that evoked strong memories of past rides.

Riding impressions

I'd forgotten how narrow Sportsters are, and the XR1200 is no exception. The riding position felt very natural and the seat was comfortable during my short ride (I'm about 5'9" tall.)

The brakes worked well.  They hauled the XR1200 down from high speed in a big hurry, and the control seemed excellent. I didn't notice any significant fade in short tests; that will have to wait for our full road test.

Yeah, the engine is still a paint-shaker, but the isolation system makes it more of a curiosity than a major annoyance. The vibrations at the footpegs make the bike a foot massager at 2000 RPM and a 'foot tingler' at 4000 rpm. Vibration mostly disappears at higher RPMs thanks to the isolation system. The mirrors were remarkably usable considering the detectable vibration levels at some rpm ranges—not completely clear but definitely better than expected.

I must admit that I miss the ability to reach down and rest my hand on a naked bike's motor while cruising—there's something soothing about touching the motor through gloved hands, feeling the twin's power pulses more directly than usual. Brings back memories of my youth...

The bike runs like a scared rabbit. There's plenty of power on tap from just off idle to redline. The engine revs eagerly; I bounced off the redline in first and second more times that I want to admit (hey—I'm not looking at the tach—I'm watching the road!) I quickly learned to judge engine RPMs by sound, giving the rev limiter a well-deserved rest.

The stock exhaust really does a great job of quieting down the XR1200's engine. Too much, really... the bike is too quiet. I'd love to ride the XR1200 with a Storz BUB exhaust system or these cool-looking D&D XR1200 Slip-Ons installed.

What about the transmission? Shifting was crisp but not the cleanest I've tried—I thought it was a very decent gearbox. Clutch action was really nice and progressive, with a smooth engagement and action. There were times when it was hard to find neutral at idle, though. The transmission kept jumping straight from first to second or second to first—a slight blip of the throttle while hunting for neutral solved that problem, but I wonder why it should happen in the first place.

Handling

Handling was light and neutral. A bit slow-feeling at low speeds, but hey, this bike weighs about 600 lbs. dripping wet. The wide handlebars made for easy steering at low speeds, though. The XR1200 was very stable at speed, with neutral confidence-inspiring handling during my short back-country ride. The stock tires offered excellent road feel and grip, and there's ample ground clearance for all but the most aggressive riding styles. I managed to scrape the pegs once around a very tight right-hand turn but that was the only time.

Miscellaneous bits

I found the kickstand a bit touchy—it really wants to flip up with very little movement off the stand, so I had to be very careful to prevent a tip-over.

The throttle cable had far too much play for my tastes. I didn't have time to adjust it.

Conclusion

I thoroughly enjoyed my brief ride on the XR1200. In fact, I was grinning from ear to ear. I plan on spending more time on the Sportster soon, as part of an in-depth XR1200 road test and review. We'll keep you posted...

More photos

More 2009 XR1200 Sportster photos