This is what sportsters were originally designed for. I am running that Duro tire on my 1998 XL1200S with good results. I contacted Shinko and I believe they will be making the 805 and 705 series tires for 16" wheels. Like the videos!
I love this video, is the second time seeing it, thanks for creating this videos, you and other youtubers gave me confidence to be off road on a heavy bike.
I have 15.75" Progressive rear shocks AND a 1" Bung King swingarm lift kit on my 2005 Sportster. Makes it much more comfortable for me at 6'3" (190cm) and it handles amazing in the canyons. Definitely recommend.
Nice, I'm thinking of doing the same thing. I would recommend a quite baffle, it helps with some low end torque and probably helps with not having a tune and air cleaner upgrade. On my dyna Fatbob I found a used tuner, pipes, sissy bar, and bags for under 1000...13yrs ago. Deals are just harder to come by now though. Harley has a screaming eagle filter for the stock air cleaner that breathes a little better without changing the whole thing.I had the RSD air cleaner with a rain and dust cover (like a UNI pre-filter) which would be great for this.
As someone that is NOT a Harley guy, which Sportster models have mid controls versus forward controls? I can't see riding on dirt roads with my feet out in front of me...
Nope the RSD High Pipe deletes the passenger pegs. They do not use the peg location to attach but they are in the way on the pipe side so you can't use the pegs. RSD has discontinued all exhausts at this time. Bought mine on discount for $269.
I dont know if it's for me but your bike is badass! I ride dual sport but I've never had a Harley Davidson. I'm in the market for a iron bobber I think.
Very cool man! I've got a 2012 Switchback and considered building a Sportster scrambler too, but ended up with a CRF250L. So cool to see how well it works! I still want to build one.
I like it a lot, the only complaint is it feels a bit under-powered on the highway, but in town/off-road it's perfect for me. It does have the 6th gear that helps, as does swapping the counter sprocket to 13t from 14. It'll hold 60-65 all day though and has been ultra-reliable. Fuel injection, 6th gear and liquid cooled is why I picked it over most of the other bikes in the category. I've had it a little over a year and ride it more than my SB.
16" front and rear wheels made it difficult to find tires for my old model ninja 250 scrambler. The rear was easy enough I had 4 or 5 options and went with he bridgestone battlax ax41. Finding an actual front tire, I had to search, but came up the the 3.25x16 heidenau k41. It's great although the rear does give up traction a little too easily on the road if you try to corner aggressively. It's really at home in the dirt however.
@@dagooglenet if you can afford it 😂 to rich for my blood. I found the 650 dual sports fit me well after lowering the pegs and raising the bars. ADV bikes fit decent too but they're more expensive.
This is a HUGE UNTAPPED MARKET just waiting for HD to exploit. The goofy "Pan America" is NOT the answer. The Sportster is a PERFECT platform for a RETRO looking enduro trail bike. For a fraction of the $ they put into that Pan America TURD, why not offer an on-off road version of the Sportster that wouldn't require a lot of modification for HD to mass produce - a bit stiffer suspension with more travel, on-off road wheels-tires, longer forks-shocks and different fenders. Market it by appealing to the nostalgic heritage of the Sportster's scrambler-trials, dirt track history and reflect that in the bike's aesthetics / looks and it's off road capabilities. Do a limited run and see how it sells. If it does well, then start offering more options such as a hard core off road version with a lower geared transmission. If it keeps selling well, then offer even more options such as a lighter smaller version for kids. They would make a FORTUNE off of this thing...
Buy the 1250cc Big Bore kit by S&S and get a 6 speed transmission. Best upgrade u can get for a sporty. After I put the tranny and kit in my bike. My top speed went up by about 15mph. More importantly I got up to my top speed far faster. It's a good investment
I haven't seen this bike sense you installed the exhaust and immediately was inspired to build my own. And I DID buy an XL. BUT I wound up getting my car stolen and became massively bankrupt trying to recover. Sadly had to sell my sporty... So I'm here just drooling over what could have been.
Thanks for this Dan. I have been considering doing a similar project bike for a while and I'm glad I came across your video. Any recommendations for a good year/model Sportster for this? I would be buying a bike to work on and I'm in no rush since I already have a Super Glide Custom and a Multistrada. This would be more of a hobby project to work on over the winter. This would give me time to watch the market to find something that fits this project well for a good price. Thanks
Hey Dan, great video very informative. I have a 2014 sportster iron that I am converting into a scrambler. you got the 13.5" shocks. the stock shocks on my bike are 11" and it looks pretty low. I was thinking of getting the progressive 15" shocks, do you advise against making that big of a jump in height? any issues with going to 15"?
HI! very interesting, but I've just a question: I see you have still belt drive and moreover without guards. Is it not a problem if a rock goes inside the pulley? Why not convert to chain drive? Thanks
I hesitate the exhaust is good for off-road. The front pipe is too close to the cylinders than the stock so it seems to contribute an overheating at low speed. Maybe do you know the point of view of HD? Also the exhaus blocks an access to lifters if need to replace.
I’m thinking about doing a scrambler build with my shadow but it has the factory forward controls. I feel a bit uncomfortable/weird standing with them. Is this something I can just overcome with practice, or do I just lose that ability? I don’t need to trail ride or anything, I just want it to be better in gravel and dirt so I can camp easier on it.
Don't know if you'll see this, but I wouldn't choose a shadow for a dual sport style bike the sportster has a lot of aftermarket for "offroad" style parts. I understand if that's your only bike but for true offroading you need ground clearance and suspension upgrades, which are gonna be hard unless you're able to work on you're bike and machine or build some parts yourself or retrofit parts. If you do ride your bike offroad, buy or make some mid pegs for your bike, (look up how to on here) standing on forward controls is gonna get you hurt, they're not at the right position for standing on and are made for comfort while highway riding. Be safe out there!
Rusty Shackleford Thanks! All my “off-roading” with it will be is some gravel roads to get to campsites and on the backroads around home. I won’t be doing any trails or anything like he does. But I am still think about trying to just get something different for my wants.
Please please please answer I’m short afffff But I felt more comfortable on a Ducati scrambler I have an 883 (could not pass the deal up) So I’m 5’1 I need to lower the bike front and back by one inch the least would concerting to a cafe make things more difficult for me ?
@@DanDanTheFireman The reason I have a sporty is the belt I hate the chain maintenance. The belts pretty tough they test them by hanging a bike up with it. Spose if it goes change to chain.
DANDAN I have same idea with my 2011 883 but wondering whether its worth it on an 883. also to change to spoke wheels, less gear for narrow glide rubber mount stuff. Do you think the oil cooler upgrade is needed also the strengthening of the casing around the pegs? Cheers
Why can’t Harley come out with a factory 883 scrambler? I’d buy one of those in a second! The pan america is a step in the adventure direction anyway, wouldn’t be that hard to do.
Can you recommend a conversion kit for the flat seat to frame with the continious looping tail end so I can mount a universal thriumph scrambler two up off road seat?
Hi Dani how are you? I have a question, is that I want to change my rear suspension and the tire too, for the same ones that you bring on your motorcycle, only that I measure 5.6 "and I do not know if I can reach the floor, my question is how much do you measure? calculate approximately the height, my motorcycle is a sportster xl883c 2005, thanks
Hi Dan, nice bike, I have a harley davidson sportster xl883c custom and I want to make it a scrambler, but I don't know what size of rim are you using for the fitting the tires? My size of tires are front Mh90-21 and rear 150 80b16, can you give me any advice for the tires?
Wait, so if I click your link to amazon, then navigate to another page and just buy whatever I want (Like say you link to a footpeg, but I just navigate away and buy like a toilet brush or whatever), you still get a kickback without it charging me any extra? Because if so, fuck it, I'll buy all the stuff I want through one of those links, I like this channel.
DanDanTheFireman Thanks. I have an iron 1200. Not doing a dual sport build or anything, but improving the suspension overall is high on my priority list! Thanks for the videos, they're great!!
Hi guys, i don’t know if you are still searching or not one year after but for the street you can go for basically the same mods thant this video thats that easy and even the Street is more of a « flat » bike so it would be even better as a scrambler in my opinion. But i sold my street 750 for a sportster 883 because i’m in love with the style and looking forward to making it more « scrambler looking » but to use it on my everyday life as we don’t have wonderful off road tracks like those on the video
It just looks way cooler than a duel sport or a cruiser.
This is what sportsters were originally designed for. I am running that Duro tire on my 1998 XL1200S with good results. I contacted Shinko and I believe they will be making the 805 and 705 series tires for 16" wheels. Like the videos!
Sportsters were made to scramble??
I was afraid I had to sell my Sportster, now I can just convert it to off road. Thanks.
I love this video, is the second time seeing it, thanks for creating this videos, you and other youtubers gave me confidence to be off road on a heavy bike.
I have 15.75" Progressive rear shocks AND a 1" Bung King swingarm lift kit on my 2005 Sportster. Makes it much more comfortable for me at 6'3" (190cm) and it handles amazing in the canyons. Definitely recommend.
Jose Torres what's the swing arm lift kit
@@AlanTrades Addon lift brackets
Thanks Buddy-been kicking around the idea of a sporty scrambler to add to the garage. They just look way too cool to not at least think about it.
Nice, I'm thinking of doing the same thing. I would recommend a quite baffle, it helps with some low end torque and probably helps with not having a tune and air cleaner upgrade. On my dyna Fatbob I found a used tuner, pipes, sissy bar, and bags for under 1000...13yrs ago. Deals are just harder to come by now though. Harley has a screaming eagle filter for the stock air cleaner that breathes a little better without changing the whole thing.I had the RSD air cleaner with a rain and dust cover (like a UNI pre-filter) which would be great for this.
Great video . When you consider that you can pick up a low mileage sportster for $2000 it’s really a no brainer . 👍🏻👍🏻
This build is equivalent to a saying “Jack of all trades,master of none”
or hey I got a loud KLR!!
“But still better than a master of one.”
@@corison2058 nobody says the full quote, which completely contradicts the point people think it is making
I'm pretty sure it's a master of badassery.
My shocks are 17" EMC. Went with KTM 505 forks
Sissy Bar makes it so much easier to pick up...gonna happen. Cool
As someone that is NOT a Harley guy, which Sportster models have mid controls versus forward controls? I can't see riding on dirt roads with my feet out in front of me...
If I'm doing lower speeds and heavy modification, it would be better to do it on an 883. They're cheaper and share parts with 48's.
Nope the RSD High Pipe deletes the passenger pegs. They do not use the peg location to attach but they are in the way on the pipe side so you can't use the pegs. RSD has discontinued all exhausts at this time. Bought mine on discount for $269.
This is exactly what I want my bike to look like
Sick bike dude I want a Sportster now looks great with da knobbys
I know this is a budget build but I would want to do a chain conversion. TC Bros has them for a decent price.
I know this is 2yo but why would you convert? May do my own project and just gathering ideas.
It's easier to fix a chain on the trail. Amongst other things, but that is my main reason.
That was a very helpful video! I will be starting a 2002 883 enduro conversion soon and I am looking for all kinds of advice. It's going to be fun!
I dont know if it's for me but your bike is badass! I ride dual sport but I've never had a Harley Davidson. I'm in the market for a iron bobber I think.
1200 or greater.
I’d love a Sportster based scrambler.
The only thing I would say is get an oiled foam air cleaner vice those ribbed style ones, especially for those with carburated sportsters
Very cool man! I've got a 2012 Switchback and considered building a Sportster scrambler too, but ended up with a CRF250L. So cool to see how well it works! I still want to build one.
I like it a lot, the only complaint is it feels a bit under-powered on the highway, but in town/off-road it's perfect for me. It does have the 6th gear that helps, as does swapping the counter sprocket to 13t from 14. It'll hold 60-65 all day though and has been ultra-reliable. Fuel injection, 6th gear and liquid cooled is why I picked it over most of the other bikes in the category. I've had it a little over a year and ride it more than my SB.
The suspension on those CRF250 is so soft. Great for comfort, and rolls over stuff well going slow, but not great for fast rough riding.
loved this and featured it on the Front Page of Moto Amino!!
Your lists are great Dan, hopefully will be doing something inspired from this.
Nice ride!!! What about front suspension? Any upgrades?
16" front and rear wheels made it difficult to find tires for my old model ninja 250 scrambler. The rear was easy enough I had 4 or 5 options and went with he bridgestone battlax ax41. Finding an actual front tire, I had to search, but came up the the 3.25x16 heidenau k41. It's great although the rear does give up traction a little too easily on the road if you try to corner aggressively. It's really at home in the dirt however.
I want to do this to my 99! I’m in az too
Man I wish I wasn't so giant. I look like a dragonfly riding a flea when I sit on a Sportster
How tall are you? :)
@@dagooglenet 6'4
@@PracticalTacticalSheepDog me too :) I guess BMW GS1200 will suit me better
@@dagooglenet if you can afford it 😂 to rich for my blood. I found the 650 dual sports fit me well after lowering the pegs and raising the bars. ADV bikes fit decent too but they're more expensive.
This is a HUGE UNTAPPED MARKET just waiting for HD to exploit. The goofy "Pan America" is NOT the answer. The Sportster is a PERFECT platform for a RETRO looking enduro trail bike. For a fraction of the $ they put into that Pan America TURD, why not offer an on-off road version of the Sportster that wouldn't require a lot of modification for HD to mass produce - a bit stiffer suspension with more travel, on-off road wheels-tires, longer forks-shocks and different fenders. Market it by appealing to the nostalgic heritage of the Sportster's scrambler-trials, dirt track history and reflect that in the bike's aesthetics / looks and it's off road capabilities. Do a limited run and see how it sells. If it does well, then start offering more options such as a hard core off road version with a lower geared transmission. If it keeps selling well, then offer even more options such as a lighter smaller version for kids. They would make a FORTUNE off of this thing...
I'd buy it instantly
I really want make a custom bike like this but I'm 6'3 . But Sportsters look silly when I'm on them cause the so small. Maybe try an DYNA or FXR?.
I was looking at going a different direction with my 04 XL 1200 R and Scrambler is going to be it.
Buy the 1250cc Big Bore kit by S&S and get a 6 speed transmission. Best upgrade u can get for a sporty. After I put the tranny and kit in my bike. My top speed went up by about 15mph. More importantly I got up to my top speed far faster. It's a good investment
Dan my man! I want to build this. I bought a gsxr 600. Now my wife let me buy a Harley. Maybe someday 😂
I haven't seen this bike sense you installed the exhaust and immediately was inspired to build my own. And I DID buy an XL. BUT I wound up getting my car stolen and became massively bankrupt trying to recover. Sadly had to sell my sporty... So I'm here just drooling over what could have been.
That looks just like my hometown of Yuma... is that where you do your riding
I have a roadster and I would recommend different rear suspension
I'm late to the party, but great video man!
Where are you filming? I'm in socal. Looked like socal to me. I want to start a HD offroad endurance racing team.
He's Arizonan baby.
Did you do anything to the belt tension after rasing the rear suspention?
Such a sic bike bro
Did you change to a chain drive
that looks like yuma az
Definitely does
Looks very good.
Nice build
Thanks for this Dan. I have been considering doing a similar project bike for a while and I'm glad I came across your video. Any recommendations for a good year/model Sportster for this? I would be buying a bike to work on and I'm in no rush since I already have a Super Glide Custom and a Multistrada. This would be more of a hobby project to work on over the winter. This would give me time to watch the market to find something that fits this project well for a good price. Thanks
I have a 1991 Sportster 883 I want to turn into a scrambler. Any 2 to 1 Exhaust recommendations?
Hey Dan, great video very informative.
I have a 2014 sportster iron that I am converting into a scrambler. you got the 13.5" shocks. the stock shocks on my bike are 11" and it looks pretty low. I was thinking of getting the progressive 15" shocks, do you advise against making that big of a jump in height? any issues with going to 15"?
I have a 2007 sportster I am having trouble finding mid controls that work . Any advice?
HI! very interesting, but I've just a question: I see you have still belt drive and moreover without guards. Is it not a problem if a rock goes inside the pulley? Why not convert to chain drive? Thanks
Harley belts are made from Kevlar. They’re almost impossible to destroy
I hesitate the exhaust is good for off-road. The front pipe is too close to the cylinders than the stock so it seems to contribute an overheating at low speed. Maybe do you know the point of view of HD? Also the exhaus blocks an access to lifters if need to replace.
the 19" front...does the OEM fender need to come off for the knobby..have a 2007 XL
I have a ninja 650r I wanna do trails .. I wonder what mods I would neeed
I want one. Not sure if I’m gonna go 883 or 1200
You think a 1200xr works better for this build?
I’m thinking about doing a scrambler build with my shadow but it has the factory forward controls. I feel a bit uncomfortable/weird standing with them. Is this something I can just overcome with practice, or do I just lose that ability? I don’t need to trail ride or anything, I just want it to be better in gravel and dirt so I can camp easier on it.
Don't know if you'll see this, but I wouldn't choose a shadow for a dual sport style bike the sportster has a lot of aftermarket for "offroad" style parts. I understand if that's your only bike but for true offroading you need ground clearance and suspension upgrades, which are gonna be hard unless you're able to work on you're bike and machine or build some parts yourself or retrofit parts. If you do ride your bike offroad, buy or make some mid pegs for your bike, (look up how to on here) standing on forward controls is gonna get you hurt, they're not at the right position for standing on and are made for comfort while highway riding. Be safe out there!
Rusty Shackleford
Thanks! All my “off-roading” with it will be is some gravel roads to get to campsites and on the backroads around home. I won’t be doing any trails or anything like he does. But I am still think about trying to just get something different for my wants.
I got the burly brand bars, they said I wouldn't need a cable kit. Ended up needing a new break cable
What if I'm 360 pounds and 6'7 is this doable ? I'm looking into making an offroad worthy Harley but I'm afraid size is an issue.
Cool video! But do you need to modify the front suspension to get more travel and a better ride?
Awesome video man! Did you have to do anything for the front forks?
DanDanTheFireman I got the the '16 48, think those would do without changing?
***** cool, thanks bro!
Hello, I would like to put the 2 to 1 roland sands tracker on my 2016 roadster, but I would like to keep the passenger peg. Could do it?
That bike looks so nice. What year bike?
hmm i wonder if i can do this to a honda rebel 500 2017
Where can I find out more about the bike that you used as a reference for the high pipe exhaust - the one with the brown leather seat?
What about forks off a dirt bike? A lot more ground clearance and a 21" wheel..
Please please please answer
I’m short afffff
But I felt more comfortable on a Ducati scrambler
I have an 883 (could not pass the deal up)
So I’m 5’1 I need to lower the bike front and back by one inch the least would concerting to a cafe make things more difficult for me ?
whats that helmet, im in love😍😍😍
That's a BELL Bullitt.
How does the belt stand to gravels ?
Still running good. I got lucky I guess
@@DanDanTheFireman The reason I have a sporty is the belt I hate the chain maintenance. The belts pretty tough they test them by hanging a bike up with it. Spose if it goes change to chain.
Where did you get those spoked wheels? My Iron 883 came stock with cast alloy wheels
DANDAN I have same idea with my 2011 883 but wondering whether its worth it on an 883. also to change to spoke wheels, less gear for narrow glide rubber mount stuff. Do you think the oil cooler upgrade is needed also the strengthening of the casing around the pegs? Cheers
Why can’t Harley come out with a factory 883 scrambler? I’d buy one of those in a second! The pan america is a step in the adventure direction anyway, wouldn’t be that hard to do.
What helmet is he wearing? Looks nice!
Was wondering where you got your spoke wheels and if you have a link been looking for some for a bit
I find the front shocks pretty awful. have you not done any work on them?
Wich harley-davidson is the best model to go off-road?
I reckon the Sportster.
Electra Glide obviously
Dude...what brand is that helmet from? Looks awesome!
Its a griffen
Will the burly bars not work with the stock cables?
Can you recommend a conversion kit for the flat seat to frame with the continious looping tail end so I can mount a universal thriumph scrambler two up off road seat?
Where did you get your helmet? It’s pretty awesome!
BELL Bullitt
Hi Dani how are you? I have a question, is that I want to change my rear suspension and the tire too, for the same ones that you bring on your motorcycle, only that I measure 5.6 "and I do not know if I can reach the floor, my question is how much do you measure? calculate approximately the height, my motorcycle is a sportster xl883c 2005, thanks
I love your videos and your bike! You do a very good work :D V
Are the tires easy to install?
Hi Dan, nice bike, I have a harley davidson sportster xl883c custom and I want to make it a scrambler, but I don't know what size of rim are you using for the fitting the tires? My size of tires are front Mh90-21 and rear 150 80b16, can you give me any advice for the tires?
DanDanTheFireman thanks so much bro😎🤙
thanx bro.
What jacket do you have ?
Wait, so if I click your link to amazon, then navigate to another page and just buy whatever I want (Like say you link to a footpeg, but I just navigate away and buy like a toilet brush or whatever), you still get a kickback without it charging me any extra? Because if so, fuck it, I'll buy all the stuff I want through one of those links, I like this channel.
What wheels do you have? Can't find it listed
i have that exhaust
Good stuff!
That phone mount really holds ur phone when off-road?
what helmet is that
Is this an 883?
How much total?
Whatever it was worth to him.
If your exhaust is rolsnd then why does it say vance
No front end suspension changes?
I didnt do any, but I recommend you do. It's a rough ride!
DanDanTheFireman Thanks. I have an iron 1200. Not doing a dual sport build or anything, but improving the suspension overall is high on my priority list!
Thanks for the videos, they're great!!
so riding on a 2 lane graded road is off road??
Fire Road and mild offroad only for sure. The weight of the Sportster or even a Bonnie Scrambler is too much for full offroad use.
@@exexpat11 only a hundred pounds more than a KLR650
hey i want some help i want to convert my harley street 500 ..any help??
I'd like to do the same with my Street 500.
Sell it.
Hi guys, i don’t know if you are still searching or not one year after but for the street you can go for basically the same mods thant this video thats that easy and even the Street is more of a « flat » bike so it would be even better as a scrambler in my opinion. But i sold my street 750 for a sportster 883 because i’m in love with the style and looking forward to making it more « scrambler looking » but to use it on my everyday life as we don’t have wonderful off road tracks like those on the video
you haven't found out that a belt drive won't last offroad yet huh? lol...
harley is gunna steel your idea lol
Gentleman Hooligan i hope they do. Start making legit scramblers again.
WRONG
Nerd
Just buy a dualsport and be done.