Harley Davidson Sportster 1200S Walk around and Overview

[@johnfarrar7448]

My 2000 XL1200S is not for sale. Still love it after all these years!

[@georgecleary8171]

Bought a 1999 Sportster S today. I Like the dual front brakes. Paid the sellers asking price of 4K. Couldn’t pas it up. Dark Orange with 6,800 miles. Drove it around the block. It was nasty.. George

[@steelsporty]

I've had a '98 1200S since new. The heads are what's known as "Lightning" heads, but twin-plugged. With a smaller combustion chamber, it's these that bump the compression ratio up to 10:1, with flat-top pistons as used on other Sportsters of this era, and the barrels are also the same as on others, except for the blacked out coating with highlighted fins. "W" grind cams are a mild upgrade (for mid-range torque, rather than top end power) over the stock "D" grind. Ignition is twin-plugged, but single-fire (i.e. each pot fires on the compression stroke, with no wasted spark on the exhaust stroke). This effectively loses the Harley potatoes, so, if you like to adjust your tickover ridiculously low, this is possibly not the Sportster for you. The suspension (adjustable for spring preload, compression- and rebound damping) is possibly the best ever fitted to a Harley (certainly up to this era), if a little soft at the back, and the handling was impressive. The stock seat was reasonably comfortable for the rider, but torture for pillions. The single-piston brakes are ok for a Harley, but fade when pushed hard, and this was the first mod i made to mine (fitting Harrison 4-piston calipers). From 2000, i think it was, Harley fitted better twin-piston calipers to the S.

[@davewaver5911]

I have one ! Awsome ! 1999 screaming eagle everything ! Buckhorn bars , mustang seat , Hd hard bags , rack . one of a kind ! Versitile .LOUD & PROUD slash cut baloney cut pipes ! Burns rubber on take off ! All for about $3000. Can not beat it .

[@freebirdsgarage]

Sounds like a ripper!

[@jonnymac8925]

That bike is in incredible shape!!

[@freebirdsgarage]

yes it is!

[@BigSmittyRiding]

Man the Sportster is one of the most versatile bikes Harley ever made. Chop em, Bob em, bag em or whatever else you can imagine. Good stuff Jay!

[@freebirdsgarage]

Hell yeah it is, I want to do one of each on the channel. It would be sweet to see how each ride compares. I appreciate the support my friend!!

[@MadDog-65]

Just bought one of these. . Bloody brilliant and 100% original

[@jaredkish992]

I have a 2000 Harley 1200s and I constantly get how is your bike not a dyna and how is it 23 years old. My channel is about to blow up with my custom of of one build 😌🙏🏼

[@freebirdsgarage]

Right on! Good luck with the build

[@jeffsaxton716]

Mine is a 2000 Harley 1200S with a Screaming Eagle factory upgrade. It's Harley orange with the checkered logo. I have about 10 K miles on it. I'm currently getting it rideable after storage for 3 years. I'm 73, so might be open to sale soon.

[@danielherber9710]

I owned one in 1999. Awesome ride.

[@freebirdsgarage]

Yes it is!

[@stevepitbull]

Love mine. You forgot about the lighter flywheel.

[@freebirdsgarage]

You are right about that!

[@martinkeet8373]

Thanks, I bought one, my mate said buy it, buy it buy it!!! It is great, spent some getting it back to standard and I still need good shocks the originals don't last but looking forward to enjoying it😊👍

[@freebirdsgarage]

Congrats on the bike! 👊🏼 lots of choices out there and great ones to pick!

[@rgillies]

This was my first bike and I rode it for 20 years before selling it, a decision I now question, but I just didn't have room for two bikes. My new (to me) 2003 Anniversary Deuce, even with a big bore kit on the twin cam and high compression heads can't match the performance of the 1200S. It was not a comfortable bike for long rides with its "sit up and beg" posture and the considerable vibration of the solid mounted evo. I just wish I still had it for ripping around the city.

[@NVARider]

Sweet ride with some cool features. 🤘

[@freebirdsgarage]

Thank you sir! 👊🏼🤘🏼

[@specialse]

I run a 1998 1200S . Had it for years and love it . Have had a few XL.s before but this machine is a very Different animal . They smoothed out the tick over by fitting as standard single fire ignition . This bike also had different cams and 10-1 compression etc Good video . Dont mistake the XL1200 R as the same bike.....many do .

[@freebirdsgarage]

I agree, the XR1200R is completely different. This is what the top of the sportster game looked like during the time.

[@jamesguidry3995]

Great video and info ! Four or Five Speed transmission ? I believe the " SPORTSTER S " also came from the factory with a special Screaming Eagle CAMSHAFT and hi compression forged pistons .

[@freebirdsgarage]

Thank you! It has a 5 speed transmission

[@JIMBOBALOU]

There's a 2000 1200S for sale just an hour away from me for $2800. I wish I had the money for it. It's by far my favorite Sportster. It also came with 10:1 compression vs the 9:1 the other models had. They also came with a mild cam upgrade, that's the main reason for the HP and torque gain.

[@freebirdsgarage]

Yeah hard to pass up on a price like that. The come with so much for it’s time and some Sportster today

[@JIMBOBALOU]

@@freebirdsgarage For sure. They are easily the best Evo Sportster you can buy. I can't believe they didn't make those upgrades standard on the Sportster. It is their "sport" bike after all.

[@crackerjack8115]

What State?

[@JIMBOBALOU]

@@crackerjack8115 Minnesota, but it sold in about a week. I bought one in North Dakota for $1700 a couple weeks ago. It's a little rough and didn't run well. But I've already got it running great. Doing cosmetic upgrades now

[@jonnymac8925]

@@JIMBOBALOU the cams did become standard, and the newer style heads are better than the dual plug heads. The suspension wasn't anything to write home about but its definetly better than the other oem options.

[@paulfiore7083]

I just bought a 2001 Sportster S from original owner with 6,300 miles. I have a 96 Sportster S but it didn't have the twin plug heads

[@freebirdsgarage]

Correct, 1996-1997 standard heads. 1998 shared the same heads at the lighting Buell that came out.

[@stevenfugate4454]

I have a 99 they're very under estimated and almost no videos on KZbin thanks for the video the signal lights are aftermarket though

[@freebirdsgarage]

Absolutely man, thank you for watching! These bike are very underrated indeed

[@calebcoin2076]

What handlebars are you running? I have a 97 XL1200S and love the look of these.

[@freebirdsgarage]

I can't remember but I believe drag bars from Biltwell

[@tonycamaro67]

WISH I HAD MINE BACK

[@freebirdsgarage]

It is a true classic

[@DB71170]

The suspension is from Showa, and unfortunately, the rear gas cartridges can't be serviced. The upgraded cam was from Andrew's and believed to be the n24. Rev counter came as standard on the xl1200s but an option on most other sportsers at this time. With the screaming eagle ECU upgrade and stage 1 air filter, you'll be able to exceed 6000rpm & still pull ( I've got a tbr 2-1 on mine) It's definitely a sportser sleeper out of the box !

[@freebirdsgarage]

The research I've done, I didn't know a Andrews cam was added added and ECU upgraded to the screaming eagle exactly. I appreciate the comment and thanks for watching!

[@DB71170]

@Freebird’s Garage the upgraded ecu is not standard. The remark was included as that is what I have done too mine ( exhaust in brackets).

[@paulfiore7083]

I've got a 96 S. Has everything but the twin plug heads

[@freebirdsgarage]

Right on 💪

[@jamesguidry3995]

My understanding is that ( ALL ) S bikes came with the four spark plug heads which is what made them a Harley Sportster "S" BUELL !

[@benlebow1785]

Excuse me, is it possible to add a link to the #1 logo horn cover. Thank you very much

[@freebirdsgarage]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/foXVo3mdjt-Fnrc for the install or purchase?

[@benlebow1785]

The purchase!

[@OpAfAnx]

What can you tell me about the 2001 XL 1200 S ??

[@freebirdsgarage]

What do you need to know??

[@OpAfAnx]

​@@freebirdsgarage I recently bought the Sportster I mentioned previously, the guy that owned it before me put a aftermarket front end on it, triple tree 41 forks etc and it looks horrible, I'm currently in search of the OEM front end with the dual brakes and adjustable forks.

[@OpAfAnx]

​@@freebirdsgarageI've looked almost everywhere and tbh I probably will have to find everything and rebuild some

[@freebirdsgarage]

@@OpAfAnx Ah there are some really good resources for the parts now. Ebay, facebook marketplace, and even some dealers have them still on the shelf. If you want OEM

[@ukusagent]

Whats the gauges on the Bike ? As I have just bought a 99 S , I got it for a steal as the Guy didnt really know what He had , and its in Canary Yellow so super rare

[@freebirdsgarage]

The gauges are it are stock, haven’t see a yellow one yet

[@jamesguidry3995]

Evidently there are a lot of Sportster S knock-offs out there . Don't get scammed ! Check the numbers to be sure yours is a "REAL SPORTSTER S" !

[@ukusagent]

​@@jamesguidry3995 Well it has twin discs up front, twin plug heads fully adjustable suspension and it's a 99 model, The Sportster sports were the only models to have these features

[@chriscarmack1016]

When I got my 98 1200s everyone told me I struck gold.

[@freebirdsgarage]

Harley gold 💪🏼

[@MrIftown]

Just picked up a 2000 sporty 1200s guy was hard up for money super bad I paid 2k has 25,000 miles

[@freebirdsgarage]

Nice steal!

[@khanhhua8208]

own a 2000 1200s original royal purple.

[@freebirdsgarage]

Right on!!

[@davidhoward8951]

Where do you find one

[@freebirdsgarage]

Any market place that has one ready to go!

[@Moto_737]

I have a 2000 sv650 and a 2000 1200s the sportster has wayyy better suspension

[@geraldscott4302]

Not a fan of the blacked out look.

[@freebirdsgarage]

to each their own

[@jamesguidry3995]

I hate that blacked out look also , makes the bike look SUPER CHEAP ! Also not a fan of skull heads & bones BS . You cant beat chrome period .

[@steveleva9484]

Please run internal wires and or clean it up. That irked me

[@freebirdsgarage]

I agree but it's not my bike

[@jamesguidry3995]

Its hard to hide those hi-performance ignition coils , they are pretty big and show up on the left side of the bike but are hidden on the right side . That's the price we pay for the extra performance . LOL .