Harley-Davidson FXSTS Springer Softail reviews

I have had this bike about a year and it is one of the best riding harleys that I have been on,and is one of the best looking harleys that I have seen. Show less

I dropped my bike! I recently turned sixty. Not so old....I am forty years younger than Harley-Davidson! I hadn't owned a Harley since 1964, and I decided I was going to treat myself to one since the weather here in Guadalajara, Mexico (where I moved recently from northern California) is so perfect for biking and I was still in pretty good shape. I bought a new 2003 Sportster 883. I loved riding it and just sitting there looking at it while wiping every speck of road crap off its beautiful body. Then the other day I did something stupid. I forgot something I had learned long ago. I pulled into the parking lot of a store and turned to park in the stall so I could go out head first. But..... I turned hard right instead of left. Since I had my right foot down for support on the turn, I instinctively hit the front brake on the right handle to stop. In a flash, it was "Man overboard!" I had no time to do anything but bail-out. My sweet new 883 headed for the concrete on its right side (just missing my leg) and at the same time I shouted, "Oh, #@*k!" There she was flat on her right-side, engine dead, and I could see the right mirror arm was cockeyed. I knew my face was as red as the rear fender side reflector. In a flash I hoisted my poor 883 up. Thank God , lifting weights, and adrenilin....she was back on her feet in a sec! I cranked her over, and instead of the one crank of the starter, I counted six. I did not like that. I straightened the right mirror (the glass was not broken) and I headed home which is about a mile away. I cursed myself all the way there. I parked my poor 883 and went into the house without ever looking at the right side of the bike since before it went down. I did not want to see it now! I needed a drink. A stiff one! How could I have done that? The last time I did that was back in '78 when I learned the lesson mentioned above. I had a new Yamaha 650, because that was all I could afford and it looked a little bit like a Harley. I broke or bent a bunch of its right side when I dropped it. Later, I put a lawn chair right square at my Sportster's right side. And I swear, I could not focus my eye on the bike for quite some time. I am glad my wife did not come out and see me sitting there, my head bouncing around right and left, drinking, and smoking a cigarette like some lunatic. Finally, I got the courage to face the music. I could not believe what I saw! Nothing! No broken casings. No dents in the chrome or paint. Come on, this isn't real! Where in hell is the damage? On closer examination I found a light burnish on the steel tip which protrudes slightly out from the rubber inside the stock foot rest. I remembered having to put it back down as it popped-up as it should do on impact. I also found a burnish through the chrome on the rounded extreme end of the right brake handle. That is it! I don't know why the mirror had no marks. I tightned the mirror back up, but not a mark on any part of the chrome! How those two contact areas took all of that impact is beyond me. I want to thank Harley-Davidson for their one hundred years of building the greatest motorcylce on earth. If you ain't riding a Harley.....you must be delivering pizzas on another bike! Show less

I have a FXSTSI "white" on order due in Febuary or March. I own a Sporster 883 now. You can always get a after market front brake caliper with 4, or up to 6 pistons. I'm getting a chrome 4 piston on mine. Chrome is a good thing... :) Show less

Have had a 'luxury blue pearl' 2003 Springer Softail for a couple of months, which I have mildly customised (bars, pegs, chrome bits, fat boy seat etc etc). Best looking bike in the Harley range! Performs well, although single caliper front brakes are very average. Show less

Got a 100 yr. bike so far no problems, handles real nice, eng. has lots of power and torque. I heard springers handle bad but don't believe any of it. also got EFI . its working just fine no hard starts, no choke. just push button and she comes to life. vance & hines pipes also sound good. the forks might be a little more work as far as polishing and cleaning but chrome is a good thing..we don't see alot of springers around here too which is nice. Show less