I will show that sporster a thing or two with this beast!!
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Hardly Ableson times:
Sportster 1200 - 12.93 cycleworld
Sportster 883 - 15.69 motorcycleusa test

Just saying... R3R ran 11.48 in 2011, so that'd be the restricted 1-3 gear model in case you missed that part.
 
I wasn't comparing bikes of the same style or built for the same purpose. Just what I have found to be fact with the crowd I usually ride with. On most rides around here on the open road you can only ride about 20kph over the posted speedlimit for fear of losing your licence. Any modern bike is capable of that. There aren't many red lights out in the country so the Rocket loose's that advantage. That only leaves the mountains, and even if you start in front that sportster will take you on the outside in the first corner that puts you in 1st or 2nd gear.
 
I'd own a Harley if i had the coin and the place to keep it, the more cycles in my garage the better , i'd also buy another VMX1200 as they offer their own unique brand of fun.
 
Sadly there is no way to settle sportster vs rocket on the interwebs. I know locally though all the sporties are ridden slow and lazy.
 
I was once driving a 883 on the streets of south Bali, it was really nice to ride and I loved it. Great rumble, they don't care about mufflers much there, anyway ... and a nice overall experience.
But they have these tiny little Ninja 250's (about 30hp) there, and fact is that they were much quicker.

It depends on the type of street and the rider of course, but IMHO an 883 is just not a bike to compare or mess with a Rocket. It is best when one rides it at low speeds, like maybe 40-80 kph.
A 1200 kit alone will not change that, one would have to completely mod the bike and exchange most of the critical parts, basically turn the whole machine into something else.

But why do that? A Sportster is nice, being just what it is. I'd love to rumble along the beach with it, again. Cannot bring the Rocket anyway, if I go there...
 
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