Harley’s 883R Much more of a motorcycle...

The entry point into Harley-Davidson ownership is the 883 Sportster. Around since 1986 (earlier than that if you include the XLCH 900 which arrived back in the 1960s!), it comes in a bewildering variety of guises.

The one we got to take out is – to my eyes – the one you want to aim for: a 2015 XL883R Roadster, the one that comes with twin-discs up front (more on those later).

Give me some spec

An 838cc, four-stroke 45º twin puts out 69bhp/50.2kW at 4400rpm, with torque of 73Nm/53.8lb-ft at 4100rpm, transmitting power to the rear wheel via belt drive. This is housed in a mild steel twin cradle frame with a mild steel swingarm, weighing in at a hefty 260kg/573lb. Stopping this bulk are (on this model) twin 292mm, twin-piston front discs with a 292mm twin-piston rear.

So what’s it like to ride?

Wave the keyless fob, press start and the shorty exhausts put out a low rumble that soon settles into that familiar Harley ‘potato-potato’. Pulling away, I let out the light clutch – Harley reduced the ‘lever effort’ by 8% – and the 883R immediately wants to pull hard.

Out on the road, the low-rise bars sit at just the right height and combined with the mid-mounted pegs make for a relaxed riding position. An easy mistake is to let the engine chug at low revs. Do that and it can run lumpy. Give the bike it’s head and experiment to find the sweet spot and the 883R runs silky smooth. At 70mph in top, it just hummed along.

Cornering? Not a problem. Those mid-mounted pegs allow for 32º of lean... or more than enough to hustle the 883R round with clearance to spare. Stopping? Traditionally a Harley weak point, not on the 883R. The twin front discs give plenty of stopping power, more than enough feedback... and again don’t need much lever effort. The gearbox is solid and appreciates accuracy, the clock is simple but gives instant feedback at a flick of the eyes.

Inevitable niggles?

Just two. Harley’s ‘self-cancelling’ indicators. Left turns are fine but I got sick of accelerating when I wanted to indicate for right turns (you get the hang of it). And for such a robustly-built bike, why does the side-stand feel so flimsy?

But throw those preconceptions out of the window. The XL883R goes, turns, stops... and doesn’t need much effort to do any of them.

What nick is it in?

With just 1573 miles under it’s belt, the Roadster is pristine.

What’s it worth?

The dealer wants £5999 for a 2015 model with just 1573 miles logged, with 10 months’ Harley warranty still remaining. With the model in existence for 30 years there are quite a few at dealers, so I limited my search to 20142016. This still threw up 50, mostly the single front-disc models with prices ranging from a 2016 XL883L at £4999 with 5020 miles recorded to a 2016 XL883N with 400 miles under the belt for £7995. The closest bike I found to our test model was a 2014 XL883R with 1160 miles logged for £6450.