BIKE TESTHARLEY-DAVIDSON XR1200 SPORTSTER: Harley's XR1200 Sportster is being sold only in Europe and, writes Tom Robert, it's getting very near biking perfection
IF YOU'RE sitting on one of these at traffic lights, and you get mugged by a man from Milwaukee, don't say I didn't warn you.
After all, he's just angry that he's from the city where they make Harleys, but he can't get his hands on yours.
You see, with sales flagging at home, Harley has turned its attention to Europe, with a bike designed for European roads, European speeds and European corners.
The XR1200 is that bike, and Harley is expecting it to sell so well on this side of the pond that it's not available in the US. Hence Mr Angry from Milwaukee; although in truth, he has every right to be angry, for the XR1200 is great.
It's based on the Sportster Evolution, the cut-price Harley which stunned the motorcycling world almost as much in 1986 as the V-Rod had in 2001.
That Sportster started life with an 883cc engine, later beefed up to a 1200, and the XR is a logical progression of that process, with power up to 90bhp at 7,000rpm, around 25bhp more than a standard 1200 Sportster.
What that means on the road we'll get to in a moment, but let's just start by walking up to the bike and taking in the lean, stripped-down look and the fact that the engineers at Milwaukee have gone as far as dumping the airbox on the right side to give you a nice clean view of the V-twin.
Sadly, they've then gone and ruined the other side by sticking an ugly oil cooler on the side of the frame, but after you've ridden the bike, you'll forgive them that.
As you will also find yourself forgiving them for powder-coating the engine in a disturbingly dull shade of grey, since you can't see it once you've sat on the bike and felt not only instantly comfortable, but instantly cool, which is far more important, with a low seating position and wide, low handlebars which just get better as the miles go on.
Fire up the V-twin, twist the grip, and there is a deeply satisfying whoosh from the hefty, air-intake system counterpointed perfectly by a thunder at the other end, which shows that since this is a bike for the European market, Harley has been able to ignore the American emission laws which normally reduce their factory pipes to all the impact of a gagged gerbil.
On the road, it becomes apparent very quickly that this is one very fine hunk of motorcycle.
Those extra 20 horses under the tank make acceleration a blast, particularly accompanied by the rhythmic crescendos of that engine making its way through seamless gearchanges with the help of a clutch and a box which is light years away from the clunky agricultural affairs of Harleys even five years ago.
The only rare problem with the gearbox was an occasional reluctance to abandon neutral for first, but that may have just been bedding in on the new test bike.
Twin discs at the front dispatch speed with unruffled efficiency, and the only complaint is that slightly underdamped suspension has the bike bouncing around a bit on rough roads.
The best, however, is yet to come, for this a bike whose handlebars, low mass and smooth power delivery are so well married that cornering is bliss, from full-lock hairpins at walking pace to swinging through A-roads and lapping up the song of that soaring V-twin.
So much bliss, in fact, that I found myself going back to roundabouts for the sheer pleasure of going around them.
That may sound very sad, but I've found that staying on the move is the only way to avoid being mugged by a man from Milwaukee.
FACT FILE
Engine:45-degree V-twin 1202cc, fuel-injected, air-cooled four-stroke, four valves, 90bhp at 7,000rpm, 74lb ft of torque at 3,700rpm. Five-speed gearbox, inverted tooth belt final drive
Performance:top speed 120mph, average fuel economy 40mpg
Price:Price in the Republic: €12,995. Dublin dealers Dublin Harley-Davidson, Ballymount, 01-464 2211, www.dublinharley-davidson.comUK price on the road £7,600
Test bike supplied by Provincewide Harley-Davidson, Antrim,
028-9446 6999, www.provincewide.com