Harley-Davidson Sportster S: comparison with Triumph, Indian, Honda

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Harley-Davidson Sportster S: comparison with Triumph, Indian, Honda

Harley-Davidson Sportster S: comparison with Triumph, Indian, Honda
Patrick Lang / manufacturer

Harley-Davidson Sportster S: comparison with Triumph, Indian, Honda

Harley-Davidson Sportster S: comparison with Triumph, Indian, Honda

Harley-Davidson Sportster S: comparison with Triumph, Indian, Honda

Harley-Davidson Sportster S: comparison with Triumph, Indian, Honda

12th pictures

Harley-Davidson Sportster S: comparison with Triumph, Indian, Honda
Harley-Davidson

1/12
Harley gives the new Sportster S clear features of a bobber and a flat tracker.

Harley-Davidson Sportster S: comparison with Triumph, Indian, Honda
Harley-Davidson

2/12
The tire choice is clearly Bobber: 18ee0 at the rear and 160 at the front.

Harley-Davidson Sportster S: comparison with Triumph, Indian, Honda
Harley-Davidson

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The docked Storz tail and the raised exhaust system, on the other hand, are clear insignia of the flat trackers.

Harley-Davidson Sportster S: comparison with Triumph, Indian, Honda
Triumph Motorcycles

4/12
The Triumph already has the focus on the genre in its name and consistently implements the Bobber.

Harley-Davidson Sportster S: comparison with Triumph, Indian, Honda
Triumph Motorcycles

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The thick, short fork at the front and the squat front are the defining features of the style.

Harley-Davidson Sportster S: comparison with Triumph, Indian, Honda
Triumph Motorcycles

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Instead of 160 at the front, it carries an MT90 130/90 on 16 inches. Seen in this light, it is a little less bobber than the Sportster.

Harley-Davidson Sportster S: comparison with Triumph, Indian, Honda
Honda

7/12
The Honda Rebel does not want to be a bobber or a tracker, it perfectly embodies the history of Japanese soft choppers.

Harley-Davidson Sportster S: comparison with Triumph, Indian, Honda
Honda

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They are the only ones in the range to be optionally available with a DCT gearbox.

Harley-Davidson Sportster S: comparison with Triumph, Indian, Honda
Honda

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The tire choice is the most conservative with 18 inches at the front and 130 width.

Harley-Davidson Sportster S: comparison with Triumph, Indian, Honda
Indian

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As a counterpoint to the Bobber in the Sporty, the Indian FTR is supposed to tickle the tracker part of the Harley.

Harley-Davidson Sportster S: comparison with Triumph, Indian, Honda
Flash Art

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Like the other three, the FTR has a large arsenal of comfort electronics.

Harley-Davidson Sportster S: comparison with Triumph, Indian, Honda
Jens Kratschmar

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17-inch tires and powerful brakes at the front underline the sporty approach of the concept. The Harley can’t keep up with that.

motorcycles

Harley-Davidson Sportster S: comparison with Triumph, Indian, Honda

Harley-Davidson Sportster S in comparison
Bobber or Tracker versus Indian, Triumph, Honda?

With the new Sportster S, Harley is filling the unique niche that it has created and left behind. Opponents are therefore not that easy to find. But how does the hermaphrodite compare against Indian FTR, Triumph Bobber and Honda Rebel?


Jens Kratschmar

07/15/2021

In this article:

  • After all, all twin
  • Bare numbers
  • What cushions and springs
  • Always nice and slow
  • Length runs
  • What’s in it and how much does it weigh?
  • What does the fun cost?
  • Conclusion

If you want to compare the new Harley with products from market co-creators, you first have to determine in which segment the traditional US manufacturer has actually settled. But it’s not that easy to recognize: knobbly tires, beefy appearance, short rear end: the new one Harley-Davidson Sportster S. follows the bobber trend. Short seat, Storz style, raised exhaust system, sporty nimbus: the new one Harley-Davidson Sporster S is a flat tracker. Sounds like the Sportster S is sitting between the Segments chairs. A look at the performance data does not reveal any trend.

But Harley manages to split the last unambiguous drawer of the old Sportster into countless compartments, like in a Kallax shelf, without fraying. Since H-D cannot give the answer himself, we simply browse the market in a genre-flexible manner and form the lineup for the first sparring of the new Harley-Davidson Sporster S: Triumph Bobber, Indian FTR and the Honda CMX 1100 Rebel. Who gets a bloody nose from whom or even knocks out on paper, the comparisons of engine, chassis, equipment and the prices show.

After all, all twin

The four opponents show themselves to be uniform when it comes to engine construction. All rely on the power of the two pistons. Indian and Harley as V2, Europe and Asia as in-line engines. Triumph and Honda run in a 90-degree offset, Indian as “real” V2 with an ignition interval of 60 degrees and Harley fakes the 60 degrees in order to then make a 90 degree twin with a further 30 degree crank pin offset. Regardless of the design, all engines pour in full when it comes to displacement. Honda is most likely to hold back with 1,084 cubic meters. Triumph relies exactly on the prestigious 1,200 cubic meters and the Indian donates an extra shot glass with 1,203 cubic meters. The Harley draws its power from state-owned 1,252 cubic meters, the engine is donated by the new Pan America.

Harley-Davidson Sportster S: comparison with Triumph, Indian, Honda

Enduro


Harley-Davidson Pan America in the driving report

Clearly clears all cliches in terms of driving dynamics

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Bare numbers

The second most important criterion in this motorcycle class: torque. First the bare numbers: Honda 98 Nm at 4,750 revolutions, Triumph 106 Nm at 4,000 rpm, Indian 120 Nm at 6,000 tours and Harley 125 Nm at 6,000 tours. In addition to the clear differences in pressure, the basic motor concept can be seen: The two Americans balance their power on the shaft at high speeds, which reveals a short-stroke ratio of the two motors. Triumph and Honda rely on the longer stroke, which delivers power at lower speeds and the reader rightly asks: weren’t the Americans even the ones with the long stroke? Right, different story. Torque times speed equals power. High torque and high speeds crown the Indian: 125 HP at 8,250 revolutions were recently still values ​​of street sports machines. With 121 hp, the Sportster S stays within striking distance of only 7,500 tours. Almost the same performance at significantly lower speed should earn points to Milwaukee in everyday life. With 87 hp at 7,000 revolutions and 78 hp at 6,100 rpm, the Honda CMX 1100 Rebel and the Triumph Bobber hold back here, in keeping with the genre.

Conclusion engine:

On paper and in the bare numbers, the new Sportster lives up to its name. 121 PS and 125 Nm are official cornerstones and clearly set them apart from the real Bobber from Triumph and the soft chopper revival Honda CMX 1100 Rebel. She is at eye level with the consciously sporty FTR. 1-0 for the flat tracker in the Harley.

Harley-Davidson Sportster S: comparison with Triumph, Indian, Honda

Naked bike


Indian FTR 1200 S in the top test

Just retro chic or really good?

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What cushions and springs

The new Sportster S represents the bobber primarily with the exotic choice of tire dimensions. The 180/70 R16 at the rear still looks familiar, the fat skin in the fork with 160/70 TR 17 leaves question marks. The Triumph Bobber is much narrower on an MT 90 B16, i.e. 130/90 to 16 inches at the front and a 150/80 R16 at the rear. The Honda keeps the Rebel in the width of 130 at the front and 180 at the back, complements the 16-inch wheel at the rear with 18 inches at the front and writes “Cruiser” greatest in the context of tires. There remains the Indian who never wanted to be a bobber. In 2020 it still drove to 19 inches at the front and 18 inches at the rear, for 2021 the FTR was driven towards driving dynamics: 120/70 ZR17 at the front, 180/55 ZR 17 at the rear are clear street sport dimensions. This is where the Indian stands out from the other three. The FTR is overtaken by the new Sportster S: Both can come up with a fully adjustable USD fork and an equally extensively adjustable shock absorber. The preload in the rear of the Harley even by hydraulics. The suspension of the Honda can only be adjusted in the preload, Triumph trusts in the good factory set-up according to experience and does not offer any adjustment of the suspension. Very important in this context: At 92 millimeters at the front and 52 millimeters at the rear, the spring travel of the new Sportster S is puny by comparison. The Indian offers 120 millimeters each, Honda springs 122 forwards and 98.5 at the rear and Triumph is close to the Harley with 90 and 77 millimeters.

Always nice and slow

A look at the deceleration systems of the four test subjects also reveals major differences. Indian and Triumph rely on the power of the two discs at the front, each bitten by a Brembo saddle. Triumph mounts the disc firmly and combines floating saddles, Indian complements the semi-floating discs with radially screwed saddles. The Harley, which relies on a brake disc at the front, also has one of these Brembo calipers. The great rebel from Honda draws on the same brakes as the Sportster S: Single disc with radial caliper – not from Brembo.

Length runs

How a manufacturer classifies its own model is shown by a look at the relevant geometry values ​​of steering head angle, caster and wheelbase. Sporty first: At 60 degrees, the fork is flat in the frame and, together with a slightly longer wheelbase of 1,518 millimeters, results in a very chopper-like 148 millimeters caster. The Indian’s 64-degree steering head angle results in 48 millimeters less caster, but at 1,524 millimeters it offers a little more wheelbase, which indicates a longer, stabilizing swing arm. The – obacht – Triumph Bobber appears to be the most agile on paper: The shortest wheelbase (1,500 millimeters), steepest fork (64.6 degrees) and shortest caster (92 millimeters) theoretically make the bobber the cornering queen. Honda unobtrusively mixes the Rebel with the passengers with 1,520 millimeters, 62 degrees and 110 millimeters.

Harley-Davidson Sportster S: comparison with Triumph, Indian, Honda

Chopper / cruiser


Harley-Davidson Forty-Eight and Triumph Bobber put to the test

Single-seater bobber in comparison

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Conclusion chassis:

Tire bobber, hardware trackender bobber, frame chopper. An adjustable chassis with no spring deflection combined with really wide tires and enormous geometry values ​​make the bobber bigger than the tracker in the new Sportster S. The game is 1: 1: “Am I a bobber or a tracker?”.

What’s in it and how much does it weigh?

For some time now, Harley has been turning around towards the electronic age. ABS has been around for a long time, and banking-dependent systems only since the last generation of touring bikes. The new Sportster S reaps a nod of approval for standard cornering ABS and lean angle-sensitive traction control. Complemented by a cruise control, four driving modes, networkable TFT display with map navigation, a Harley raises the bar technically high. That alone is worth a story. Completely correct: Bobber, FTR and Rebel also offer riding modes, cruise control and traction controls, but the quality of the lean angle calculation clearly sets the Harley apart. Only the Honda offers one feature and that cannot be added to the others for money or at gunpoint: the optional DCT transmission from Honda. This increases the ready-to-drive weight of the Honda from 223 to 233 kilos, but still remains 18 kilos below the Triumph Bobber, which is specified at 251 kilos. And once again cleaning up old experiences: The US motorcycles are not the heaviest in comparison. At 228 kilograms, the new Sportster S is even slightly lighter than the FTR at 233 kilograms. In addition: The Americans are allowed to load the most with 190 and 197 kilos. Honda allows only 172 kilos and with the Bobber with a solo seat and swinging rear end, luggage is not a criterion.

Conclusion equipment:

Sorry Honda, Indian and Triumph. The Harley laps you here with its tilt-sensitive systems on paper. The battle for the true soul of the Harley is 2: 2.

What does the fun cost?

Let’s start at the bottom: Honda wants 10,620 euros for the 1100 Rebel, the DCT transmission costs 1,000 more. Indian has brushed the FTR 13,990 euros on the price tag and 14,300 euros is asking for triumph for the bobbers. And yes: The Harley is the most expensive in comparison at 15,495 euros.

Conclusion price:

The Harley is more expensive than the Bobber and the Tracker. There are no points to be awarded here. The package of the Harley is only subjectively – like the price – plumper than that of the Indian and Triumph. The Honda would still be a snap even with the DCT transmission.

opinion poll

Voted 3400 times

The new Harley-Davidson Sportster S is still a real Sportster?

Sure, the Sportster is dead, long live the Sportster.

Sorry, but it’s not my Sporty.

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Conclusion

It’s 2: 2 with the Harley and the question of whether it is more of a bobber or a flat tracker. The engine points in the direction of the tracker, the chassis wants to be a bobber. The design, which attractively combines both worlds, is of no help. It becomes clear when it comes to electronics: with ABS cornering, lean angle traction control, and a networked TFT display, the Harley says clearly: No matter what genre, I am a state-of-the-art motorcycle. Harley makes modern and that can bring the company a victory in the end, because the price of the new Sportster S is a comparison “cheap” Services.

The Triumph Bobber currently paints an excellent picture of this genre, the style and authenticity of which the Harley cannot match with the new Sportster S..

The FTR is a model tracker like from the drawing board, habit and style are closer to the Sandoval than to the tangled asphalt in the real world.

The Rebel CMX 1100 actually does it very cleverly and doesn’t want to be defined or defined. The King of Cool it is anyway with the optional DCT and the price is really good.

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