2009 Harley-Davidson Nightster by Reviews

2009 Harley-Davidson Nightster

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First Reviewed August 12, 2009 Found in Harley-Davidson Motorcycle Reviews, Sportster

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If you love aggressive, minimalist design, then take a second look at Harley-Davidson's 2009 Nightster. This dark iteration of the Sportster family carries the more powerful 1200cc Evolutions Engine which means that you get a lot of bike in a small, less-expensive, package. Ready to wheel its way through the alleyways and backstreets, the Nightster takes the Sportster legend in a dark direction with dead-on, rat-rod styling. Black finishes cover wheel rims and hubs, forks and handlebar, hand and foot controls.

The air-cooled 73.4 cubic-inch engine incorporates Electronic Fuel Injection and cranks out 79 ft-lbs of torque at 4,000 rpm. While the performance is higher than the 883 line, at 57 highway/42 city, the difference in fuel efficiency is almost not noticeable.

The 2009 Nightster is the kind of bike that can get your blood pumping on looks alone. Bar knuckle styling is what you get here and people are lavish with their praise whenever a clean Nightster shows up on the scene. Everything about this bike screams 'chill out', you just cruise along surrounded by the most blissful engine notes without a care in the world.

The shadowy exterior styling features include a low-profile, chopped front fender, a chopped rear fender, chrome slash-cut exhaust, black body headlamp and visor, a one-piece solo seat, and black low-rise handlebars. Old school style fork gaiters and a bullet-hole belt guard emphasize the original look. A low suspension puts the rider at seat height of just 25.3 inches. The new smaller front and rear fenders show more of the black laced steel wheels. The soulful 1200 Evolution engine growls through a Chrome Slash-Cut Staggered exhaust.

Where performance is concerned, the '09 Harley-Davidson Nightster is made to please most riders out of the gate in its stock configuration. It has a real crisp throttle response especially in the first 3 gears. The stock pipes may be a little on the quite site but there is no shortage of aftermarket kits to choose from if you want to change up the sound.

The lowered suspension and 2.5" of travel can make for slightly rougher riding at cruising speed. The Nightster was made to be nimble around the corners but the footpegs have a propensity to drag if you lean into a corner hard. The same can be said for the pipes you are really aggressive in the turns. Sportster reviews have again and again resounded with complaints about how the Harley-Davidson Sportster is develops an irritating vibration at speeds above 60 mph, however, the 2009 Nightster is known to ride as smooth as velvet all the way up to80 mph. Add on a windshield and you have a motorcycle that is perfect for freeway riding. Add on some forward controls and a sissy bar and you have a great, low cost, sport touring bike.

Reviews of the 2009 Harley-Davidson Nightster can be found below with the newest reviews at the bottom of the page. Please write a review of your own if you've had a chance to ride this bike yourself. Be sure to add your review to the proper review set each of the other members of the 2009 Sportster lineup have their own respective review sets. If you email a picture of your motorcycle to pictures@hdreviewspot.net we'll be sure to add it to the '09 Nightster Photo Gallery.