Buell Vin Number Decoder
Hello all, first post here. Just a couple questions for all of you more experienced riders. A little background: 24 year old male turning 25 this year. I have rode a few bikes in the past, nothing very serious though, so I will be taking the safety course and getting my license here in about a month or so. I originally wanted a sport bike, either an R1 or R6, but after much debating with myself decided there are better ways for me to die, plus I have my sled for when I wanna go fast. Add to that, insurance quotes were ridiculous.
I am also 6'3' 215 Lbs so being comfortable is key. I turned my attention to the sportsters due to them being in my budget($6000 max) I liked the way they look, and from the research I've done, they lack the top end speed that would get me into trouble So some questions, are these good 'starter' bikes for someone who hasnt ridden in a long time? Anyone else around my size that could give a comparison as to the ride experience? Are these considered 'girl' bikes?
Production figures for this feature were supplied by the Buell Motorcycle Company, Milwaukee, in March 2010. Model and volume histo. When buying a Harley Davidson, you need to check the VIN of the bike, and make sure it matches then engine and title. If not, there may be something wrong with the paperwork, bike or a replaced engine. Buyer beware. VIN Decoder: Frame ID Numbers - 1981 and Later Example: 1HD1AAK11BYO13478. LG Dishwasher shows E1 error code, what does e1 mean? I have a 2 year old LG dishwasher. It has recently been showing the E1 error fault code. Can you tell me what.
All my crotch rocket buddies are ragging me for even thinking about buying one, not be disrespectful. I'm looking at the 883's, what is the average fuel mileage? Anyone else that can compare the difference between riding a rocket and a sportster? Thanks for any help and input. I want to give my input here. With over 20 yrs experience riding. First you should know that for a first bike a Harley is expensive.
Anytime you drop or lay the bike down will be very expensive. That said, Cover your options. The 883 is a nice bike but with your size and if you want to ride 2 up, you might try a 1200 or maybe a dyna.
You should be able to find a used good dyna within your price range with low miles. A sportster is a great bike, riding around town but it has little room for packing for a trip although it can be done and we do it all of the time. Good luck with whatever you choose and be sure to check back with us from time to time. The only Harley bike style that i find appealing is the Sportster family. The 883 is not a toy and has plenty of power for 2uping although the crap stock suspension makes it a bit rough which you can fix if you desire by upgrading the suspension. I'm old enough to remember when the biggest bike you could buy was a 1100cc and the average bike was a 650-750 cc motor.
Alot of the older inline 650's would blow away any of our beloved Harley bikes in acceleration and top end today. As to your buddies crotch rockets and laughing you will get way more chick looks then they on there rice burners will. Bottom line is you will have to sit on/ride one to see if fits yours liking. If i wasn't riding a Sportster i would probably choose another brand tbh. Sportsers are great first bikes.
At your height I would ride one then check out a Dyna or Softail. You may like the extra leg room. If you are not concerned with it being new, you should have alot of options with your budget. I really like my Sportster and get alot of comments on how cool it is. The only people who called it a girl bike either didn't ride or wanted to do wheelies. I have a dirt bike, so got that covered.
What ever you choose don't let our opnions affect your choice. It's what ever bike fits you. If you do choose a Sportster though, I would check out the 12oo Custom.
It comes stock with forward controls, nice comfy seat, and has a little more travel on the rear shocks. All make for a little smoother ride. Here's my take. The 883 is going to be a great bike for you to get your feet wet for a number of reasons:.
Insurance costs - My insurance rates are based on engine size. The 883 is the smallest displacement Harley makes.
With your age this may be even more important. Learning curve - I'm 6'1' and 225.
The 883 was pleanty powerful to get me into trouble while allowing me some room for mistakes. Flexibility - There are a TON of things you can do to/with a Sportster and the differences between the 883 and 1200 are slight (other than the huge power increase and gearing). Now that said, here are some things to consider:. Fuel Ecconomy - Believe it or not, my experiance was that the 1200 got BETTER fuel milage than the 883 when it came to highway riding. The only reason I can see is that with my weight whenever I had to go uphill I had to give the 883 a substantial bit of gas to maintain speed. With the 1200, and with the exact same gearing, I did not need to give it hardly any gas to maintain speed on all but the largest of hills.
Your size - No matter what you're going to want forward controls. At 6'1' I felt somewhat 'big' on the Sportster even with Forward Controls. If you're looking at a Sportie with mid controls, factor in another $200-$300 for a set of forwards or you'll be steering with your knees. Of course, this may also be something I consider a personal preference because I have forwards on my Dyna now too. Your weight - A Sportster's stock suspension is adequate.if you are under about 180 lbs.
Above that, or 2-up riding, you're going to feel how poor those rear shocks are and the 'lower' the stock suspension the worse it becomes. With them set to full preload, I still bottomed out routinely solo and constantly when 2-up.
Good news is that for about $50-$100 you can pick up a set of Road King Air Shocks (12.5' for 'Stock' height and 11.5' for Sportsters that come from the factory with lowered suspension) that someone took off their stock Road King and bolt them up to your Sportster. The ride is night and day over the stock units!. Long Trips - The Sportster can tour just fine BUT you will need a better seat. The stock seat is fine for distances of around 100 miles but beyond that you're butt will get sore and you will probably want to take rests along the route. For a few hundred dollars you upgrade to a nice Mustang seat and that issue is gone. If you're not going long distances then the stock seat should serve you just fine. Power - Eventually you'll want more power if you were considering a Sportbike.
Now, the Sportster will NEVER be equal to a true Sportbike but the difference between the 1200 and 883 is HUGE. Good news is that if you decide to upgrade you can. For about $750 in parts you can go from 883 to 1250 (not a typo). For about $2000-$3000 you can do the 1250 upgrade, heads, cams, pipe, a/c, tuning, and look to push about 100hp out of that 1250 mill. The beautiful thing is that since the bike's VIN says it's an 883 your insurance rates shouldn't change.
(Check your ins. Mine allowed up to $3000 in upgrades to be covered under the standard policy.) So there are some arguments as to why the 883 may specifically work best for you and some things you're going to need to consider to see if a Sporty is right for you. Now, some may (and have) said that you should get a bigger bike.
I now ride a Dyna for two reasons. One, I did feel really big on the Sportster and I don't on the Dyna. Second, I was hit by a car on my Sportster and want to rebuild it so I got the Dyna as a SECOND bike while the Sportster undergoes repairs. The Dyna is more comfortable on long journeys and, honestly, I love the way my Wide Glide looks. THAT SAID, my Sportster would hand my Wide Glide it's azz on a twisty mountain road and do it at 1/3rd the cost!
(I had only about $5500 invested in the Sportster when I went down.) People call the Sportster a 'Girls Bike' yet it is probably one of the best handling and quickest (1200) bikes in Harley's line up. Also, the Sportster seems to be the 'customizers choice' these days.
At my local Harley dealer there are alwasy a bunch of bobber Sporties out front.and they belong to the parts and service guys who are under 35. So while, after a year, I did 'upgrade' to a Big Twin, a Sportster will always be in my garage. I will say this though, when I got my Sportster it was my first bike and I had never ridden before. I figured I'd lay it down a couple times but I couldn't afford, and didn't want, to buy a 'starter' bike then get a Harley. So I got my Sportster very cheap, very used, and very banged up that way when I banded it up worse I wasn't crying about tearing up a brand new or pristine bike. The bonus to this is that after I was comfortable riding, I got to modify it and customize it to my personal preferences AND got to learn how to wrench on it at the same time. Something to think about.
Chevy Vin Number Decoder
Ads by » » » » VIN decoder? « » Author Message Posted on Tuesday, February 06, 2007 - 07:58 pm: Does anyone know how to decode the VIN on a XB? Posted on Tuesday, February 06, 2007 - 08:10 pm: Was your bike built before or after may 2005? You should be able to find this info on yor frame above the vin #.
Buell Vin Number
Posted on Tuesday, February 06, 2007 - 08:15 pm: after. Posted on Tuesday, February 06, 2007 - 08:18 pm: I remember seeing it in the owner's manual (unless I'm mistaken and it's in the shop manual.) But I would check their first. Posted on Tuesday, February 06, 2007 - 08:49 pm: It is in fact in the owners manual, if you do not have one avail. The first three characters are the WMI code, fourth and fifth are the model(KP-BLAST/AX-F.BOLT/KX-CITYX/SX-LIGHT./WX-SCG /JX-LONG/DX-ULY), sixth and seventh are eng. Code(01-492cc/02-984cc/03-1203cc),eighth is market config.(A-AUSTR./L-CALIF/N-CANADA/D-DOMESTIC/E-ENG LAND/R-EURO/J-JAPAN) ninth is vin check digit, tenth is model year(6-2006), eleventh is assy plant, twelve is model(0-BLAST/1-9R/2-9SX/3-12R/4-12S/5-12SCG/6-12S S/7-12X) and the last five are the sequential #.
Dodge Vin Number Decoder
Hope this helps. Obviously I would have just scanned the page, but alas my scanner is recently departed. Posted on Tuesday, February 06, 2007 - 09:14 pm: Cool.thanks for the info Posted on Wednesday, February 07, 2007 - 05:50 am: There is a mathematical formula that gives every letter a numerical value and when processed with the other numerals gives a check digit value this is one way for the authorites to check the correctness of a VIN as changing a digit in the eng number section also changes the value of the check digit and I am told that the vin number is also inside the crankcases.Just a piece of trivia. Posted on Sunday, February 11, 2007 - 11:34 am: VIN deconstructions are always located in the FSM, and will explain the digits and their function as part of the VIN. The VIN is not stamped inside the cases, however and abbreviated VIN is etched on the side of the crank case.