Reviewed: Harley-Davidson Sportster 1250 S

It's a completely fresh design with an all-new, liquid-cooled engine producing 120bhp (for reference, the old 883 produced around 50bhp and the 1200 put out 70) and also has modern electronics, cycle parts and more. As a result it’s a quantum leap forward in terms of performance and tech, making it more likely to appeal to modern buyers, but it’s not perfect. Its ride and delivery are still a little raw, although traditionalists will bemoan the lack of character and the big price hike over the old air-cooled version.

At the new Sportster’s heart is Harley-Davidson’s 1252cc 60-degree ‘Revolution Max’ V-twin, which also forms the basis (in retuned form) of the American brand’s Pan America adventure bike. In further modified (and reduced capacity) form, it also powers the 975cc Nightster and Nightster Special. As such, its 120bhp is a quantum leap beyond the old Sportsters’ now obsolete, air-cooled, pushrod 45-degree V-twins. There are three switchable riding modes (Sport, Street and Rain), cruise control and more stuff which would have been unimaginable on previous generations of Sportster. Sport is the sharpest and, when revved hard, it is impressively lively reminding of, say, Indian’s FTR1200. But mid and bottom end delivery is a little disappointing and erratic, even in Street mode, which was a surprise as it’s so good in its Pan America incarnation. 

Handling-wise, its fat-tyred, low-slung, ‘bobber’ posture shows. The Sportster S also has minimal suspension travel (just 37mm at the rear) and ultimately it this defines the riding experience. The suspension is decent quality Showa and fully adjustable but the ride can be jarring. That said, on better surfaces, handling is decent. The stumpy dimensions and low CoG make it fairly nimble and involving (although those big balloon tyres make steering more of an effort than it would be otherwise) and there are no real complaints with its braking, with the single, 320mm big front disc grasped effectively by a four-pot Brembo radial caliper with ABS assistance. Considering the price, though, a second disc would have been welcome.

For a 1250cc, fat-tyred cruiser the Sportster S is surprisingly small – arguably too small for some riders. With its ‘bobber’, hot rod gait, the riding position is fairly upright, but it has an easy enough reach to fairly flat, wide ‘bars. It’s also worth pointing out here that, although the bike’s on the small side overall and the ‘bars are not that wide, the addition of ‘fashion victim’ bar-end mirrors make it so wide it’s tricky to wiggle through traffic. Footpegs are placed slightly forward in true cruiser style and there’s a single, quite thinly padded seat (although, again, a pillion pad and pegs are available as extras). For short hops it’s adequately comfortable, but for longer rides, with most of your weight on that thin seat, discomfort creeps in – and there’s a total lack of weather protection.