1997Harley-Davidson Sportster 883 Hugger

26 fields on record

The 1997 Harley-Davidson Sportster 883 Hugger is a lowered Sportster for shorter riders. Its air-cooled 883cc V-twin makes 50 hp and 61 Nm through a five-speed gearbox and belt drive, for a top speed of about 150 km/h. A very low 687 mm seat and 12.5-litre tank keep it compact.

Capacity: 883.0 ccm
Engine: V-Twin, four-stroke
Gearbox: 5-speed
Dry weight: 220.0 kg
Seat height: 687 mm
Power: 50.0 HP (36.8 kW)

⇄ Compare with another bike ＋ Add to garage All model years

Other years 1997 1999 2001

How it rides

Editorial estimate from the spec sheet - not lab tested

Off-road & trail5%

Cornering35%

City riding60%

Daily riding55%

Touring30%

Two-up35%

Track10%

Best for: It's built for relaxed, low-speed cruising and short rides rather than performance or long-distance touring.
Built for: A classic, stripped-down small-displacement Harley with laid-back V-twin character and easygoing, unhurried demeanor.
Not ideal for: This isn't the bike for riders wanting strong highway passing power, sport-bike cornering ability, or serious off-road capability.

Scores are derived from the spec sheet using the same model across every bike, so they compare like for like.

Will it fit you?

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Your height

Inseam (optional)

Units

At 687mm, a rider of 68.9" with a 31" (estimated) inseam will reach the ground with both feet flat on the 1997 Harley-Davidson Sportster 883 Hugger, with a moderate knee angle of around 110 degrees and an upright riding position.

Assumes about 30mm of suspension sag once seated. This is an approximation from category-typical geometry, not a measurement of this bike or of you - sit on one before you buy.

More bikes at 750 mm or under — Short Kings →

Find bikes that fit your height →

Reliability & safety

Bike Reliability score, safety recalls and owner complaints

Bike Reliability

How the score works →

out of 100Average

The Harley-Davidson Sportster 883 Hugger passed its annual roadworthiness test first time 83.9% of the time, 0.8 points above expected for bikes of the same age and mileage. That beats 51% of models.

This covers every year of the model.

Test records don't say which version a bike is, so this covers Harley-Davidson 883 Sportster Standard / Harley-Davidson Sportster 883 Hugger together.

83.9%Passed first time

7.5%Failed outright

8.6%Fixed during test

11,000Typical miles

641Tests

Pass rate by miles ridden

0-10k

85%

10-20k

80.6%

20-30k

83.3%

30-40k

94.1%

All years of this model.

Against its rivals · ranks 5 of 6

#	Model (all years)	Score	Tests
1	Harley-Davidson XLH Sportster 883 Standard	81 Excellent	155
2	Harley-Davidson XLH Sportster 883 Hugger	81 Excellent	155
3	Kawasaki VN 800 Vulcan	66 Good	6,084
4	Harley-Davidson Sportster 883	62 Good	939
5	Harley-Davidson Sportster 883 Hugger	51 Average	641
6	Suzuki VS 800 Intruder	48 Average	1,753

Rivals are the most-viewed bikes on MotorcycleDB in the same category and engine size, from within three years of this model.

From British annual roadworthiness tests, 2005-2025. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0 (DVSA MOT test data, Great Britain). How Bike Reliability works.