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warrior vs sportster

33K views 106 replies 50 participants last post by  christok  
#1 ·
One of my friends from work was talking to his buddy about motorcycles the other day and mentioned that i had a bought an 09 warrior this past summer. His friend just got a 2011 sportster 1200 and i guess immediately starting talking **** about how he wanted to race, saying that he was gonna smoke me. So i started reading posts on here, most were from a few years back, about warriors vs. sportsters and obvi there was mixed opinions. There are a lot of different factors (skill of rider, weight of rider) but i was curious about the comparison if it was a stock 09 warrior vs a stock 2011 sportster. Anyone raced those two bikes?
I'm not sure how skilled of a rider his friend is and it really wouldnt bother me even if i lost, i've only been riding for about 18 months total.
 
#3 ·
All brand loyalty aside that race is a no contest win for the Warrior stock vs. stock. If you know how to shift, and launch without spinning the rear tire it is a simple win.

With people who talk trash first I simply show some cash, ask them to put up the same and lets see what happens. It ALWAYS weeds out the chicken sh!ts. I've only lost once out of 6 times to a nicely built Harley bagger (sight unseen). Fuckin' thing was fast lol!!
 
#5 ·
I have very little experience actually trying to "race" my bike but i'm still not worried about it, i don't know if i will even race him. he doesnt really even know me but seems like one of those guys who wants to talk crap simply because he has a HD and my bike is a yamaha. I like harleys too and many other friends who have them that dont act like that.
His sportster is apparently stock and my warrior isnt (bak, v&h big radius, fuelpak) so even if we did race he would already have an excuse if i won. Still have a few months until spring here in NY and when i get my bike back it will have the pr 110 kit and pr stage 2 headwork installed as well and at that point its not a fair race, i would cry if he beat me
 
#7 ·
With a 110 kit vs stock 1200 sporty; probably nothing to worry about. But by the time spring gets here, his may not be stock either. I think the 883 is the girls bike but i recall the 1200 is a machine to be aware of. A 110 ci kit, 31T pulley and a 1/8th mile race, you should be golden. Stack the odds.
 
#12 ·
I own both a 2005 stock engine warrior and a stock 2003 sporty 1200. From seat of the pants and just knowing how hard you have to hang on to the warrior when you crank the throttle I would have to say that the Warrior would probably take the sporty. With this said however before I owned the warrior I had a Harley Low rider custom (FXLR) and a sporty 1200. I always teased my friends who owned sporties saying, like some of the fellow members here, that the sportster was a girls bike but in reality the sportsetr would take my "real Harley " any day and my Harley was cammed and had a few other performance goodies on it. The sportster is a small nimble bike and there are a lot of sportster owners who would not go to their larger brothers because they love the performance and with a little work these can be made to be real sleepers. Still they are no match for that ground shaking torque we get from the Warrior. Also with the stock tire and wheel configuration, from my hands on experience I think the Warrior would take the Sporty in the curves as well. IMHO. If you trust your friend after he has driven his sportser for a while, let him try your warrior and if he is honest instead of asking you to race he will be asking if you want to trade bikes.
 
#13 · (Edited)
Never have rode a stock Warrior mine was hoped up when i got it but it is faster than the sportster that Christo has:D he can tell ya both his are close to stock.the 1200 sportster is no slouch it will go fast,not all that quick but fast. It's just when you get there your scared to death:eek: it vibrates like crazy at speed. you can feal every crack or patch in the road.I run across a slight dip in the road that just about tossed me over the bars at 100mph. my Warrior doesn't even flinch at 120+ :cool:

just had to add...you take that sportster and do some tweaking AKA..XR bye bye Warrior...
 
#15 ·
I wasn't trying to start any arguments by posting this thread, I was just curious about the matchup. I've seen in some previous threads people have got pretty angry defending the Harley's and I wasnt trying to make an attack, like I said I like Harley's too.
I have another friend with a sportster who would probably let me take it for a spin and compare. another long time friend has a 2009 cvo fat bob with the screaming eagle 110 that said he would let me take it for a ride sometime. I've rode with him a couple times and he said when we have both gotten on the throttle that they seemed pretty evenly matched but I don't exactly how hard he was pushing it. Him and I weigh about the same but the cvo is probably 100 pounds heavier than the warrior plus he has fairly large saddle bags on it which I'm sure create drag
 
#16 ·
don't think anyone is arguing just trying to give accounts of our personal experience. My warrior now has a 260 in the back and the harley has a 140. when I put the two bikes side by side the sportster looks like Volkswagen beetle sitting beside a Hummer (size wise). My Warrior is now also lowered and has 6 degree trees. Now if we were to talk seating comfort then my Sportster with its stock seat beats the Warrior hands down. I drove the sportser back from Georgia 1700 miles in a little over 4 days and never had an issue with my arse. I have a reconfigured stock saddle on the warrior and my arse is sore after an hour or so.
 
#17 ·
I didnt think anyone was arguing either, I just wanted to throw that out there because I have seen threads seem like they ended up that way in the past.
I enjoy reading about everyone's personal experiences and I can't wait to get more of my own. as soon as its nice out in NY again I will be do some riding with the sportster and the cvo so I can get a personal feel for it.
I know that the sportsters engine revs higher than the warrior so that may make a difference as well. I would like to see a couple equally matched AMA riders face out with two stock bikes and see what happens, that might be the only way to get a true idea of the matchup. There are always so many variables that play into these situations that it's tough to tell what the actual case is. my lack of overall riding experience and even more so race experience would probably be the biggest factor, not my bike
 
#18 ·
The Sportster 1200 is one of the most underestimated bikes out there. It doesn't handle worth ****, pipes and stuff drag wayy too easy. But it's quick in a straight line, at least in comparison with Warriors. Plus, I have no doubts that a little time and money spent on a 1200 Sporty can make it chew up 110 Warriors as well. Stock for Stock the Warrior should win but a friend of mine has one, not sure the mods, and he can hang with my brother-in-law's VROD.
 
#19 ·
Just don't let the Sportster rider pick the course. You'll loose bad if he picks the dirt!

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We talk about how great the Warrior is for making it your own, lots of ways to mod. The Sportster has to be the ultimate cruiser when it comes to mods though. Toss some money at it and it will walk away from a Warrior. Or, like the pics above, you can make an Adventure bike out of it or justa nice dual sport. I have yet to see a Warrior with knobbies.
 
#20 ·
Dont get me wrong i love my warrior because riding it just feels bad*** but that's kind of depressing that a sporty will just walk away from it with a few mods. This winter i'm putting about 3k into the engine(pr 110kit, pr stage 2 headwork), and still getting smoked would be sad
 
#23 ·
It could happen, but I wouldn't worry too much about the Sportys, not many folks put that much time, effort and money into their wife's bike.:eek::D:D:p.

No matter how fast it goes in a straight line, it still looks like a chick bike, and still needs a pre-ride tightening of all the bolts that rattled loose on the last ride.
 
#22 ·
Yup, these HD vs Warrior threads are great. Oldman takes the cake with his last post, "knobbys on a Warrior"...I love it. Photos of the dirt bike Sporty are a crack up too.

Stock to stock, the Warrior wins in a straight line. In a twisty 30 mile run, with both riders of similar skill trying hard, the Warrior rider will be finishing his first beer when the Sporty rolls in to the bar at the end of the course.
 
#24 ·
This seems fairly well resolved but I can add my experiences. I rode along with a stock 1200 sportster for several days in Death Valley. I couldn't convince the guy to do a drag race but I did chase behind him on the highway at ~75 mph (outside Beatty). When passing cars, I would gain on him like crazy. So much so that I'd have to let off halfway through the pass. We were both in 5th gear and he admitted that he was full throttle. My bike has PR VBAK and a propipe but he was ~25 lbs lighter.
 
#27 · (Edited)
Well, now you're going a little extreme on us. What you want is nice, but unless you live in a small town, with only a few other bikes, that just ain't gonna happen. On the other side of town is a guy with a 800 pound bagger who is dropping in a built 120cu in engine this winter. This coming spring he'll be out, on his sleeper, just waiting to run into you. Count on it. No matter how fast someone thinks his bike is, there's almost always someone to prove him wrong. The worst thing you can do is under estimate the competition.

Almost forgot, if the other guy is riding a liquid cooled cruiser you could really be in trouble.
 
#28 ·
Yeah I guess I never thought about it like that, good point. maybe I should have taken the 20k(10k for the bike with the 5 year warranty, 10k in mods) and built a sleeper like that myself. Haha jk I love the warrior, but after I realized how much I really spent I did think about the other possibilities
 
#31 ·
If you don't want to lose to a souped up Harley, a M109, or any other high end muscle bike, then ride a crotch rocket. I like that I can beat the average Harley. I like that I can go through corners a little faster and the frame is lighter etc. But I'll never win against someone who's serious about biking. What I REALLY like though, is that my bike is different. A LOT different.

Plus, well dang it I just like how the Warrior looks. Love the tank. Love the huge rear fender. Love the big twin engine. Love the inverted forks and monoshock rear end. Just love the bike. If someone can outrace me or outride me, that's cool. Cuz I'll have fun doing it.

Just like I did today. Had a great ride. That's all that really matters at the end of the day...
 
#32 ·
Well said.

If you don't want to lose to a souped up Harley, a M109, or any other high end muscle bike, then ride a crotch rocket. I like that I can beat the average Harley. I like that I can go through corners a little faster and the frame is lighter etc. But I'll never win against someone who's serious about biking. What I REALLY like though, is that my bike is different. A LOT different.

Plus, well dang it I just like how the Warrior looks. Love the tank. Love the huge rear fender. Love the big twin engine. Love the inverted forks and monoshock rear end. Just love the bike. If someone can outrace me or outride me, that's cool. Cuz I'll have fun doing it.

Just like I did today. Had a great ride. That's all that really matters at the end of the day...
 
#34 ·
Lets cut the BS..
"ive seen a stage one(air cleaner upgrade, chip, and exhaust) 1200N run a 12.80. stock 1200s usually run low 13s. its all about the riders experience tho..."
A warrior with a learner rider can do a low 13, and as for water cooled cruisers, show me one that corners as well as a warrior, not to mention the brakes on most cruisers are crap. I like ridin with HD's, but every now and then one surprises me, but it aint stock thats for sure.
 
#35 ·
Update: i like ridin with HD's until i get to the twisties, then I go past most of em, last week only one could keep wih me , he had a 21" F wheel and extended forks and he was a capable rider.( no scraping in the corners) Further on after I pulled over and waited for the pack, a couple of guys got narky about me doin em in the bends and flew past me while I was cruisin and 160kph.