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The only time a Harley will be faster than a sport bike is right off the line. Harleis have a lot of low end torque that allows them to get off the line pretty quick. But, in about 30 yards or so, the sportbike will overtake the Harley. Even a 600cc sportbike will eat a Harley.
My brther in law has a 1200 Sportster and he weighs about 120 lbs. Occasionaly, he wants to race me on my GSXR1000. He pulls me off the line every time. His sporty has tons of lw end. But once he gets up around 4000 RPM his bike falls on it face and I blow by him like he is standing still.
I had the oppertunity to go up against one of th faster Harlies in the area when I had my GSXR750. The harley was a mid 90s dyna, bored, stroked, lots of head work, and it was on the bottle. They guy that built it knows his stuff and he and his son hold many 1/ 4 mile records. When the light turned green, I got a hell of a launch. When I shifted into 3rd, he was a small spec in my mirror. My bone stock $9000 gsxr completely destroyed a custome built $25000+ Harley.
When it comes to the twisties, the Harleys dont even compare to sportbikes. THe emphasis on cruisers is cruising. Almost none of them can take a turn like a sport bike. The suspension on most Harleys is weak. The forks and shocks are designed to offer a good ride for cruising, they are not meant for taking turns. On my sport bikes, there are turns that I can take at 130, but on my Dyna, 90 is about the limit. Even at 90, it is quite scary. The sad thing is that most aftermarket suspension parts for cruisers are weak. I have yet to see any aftermarket stuff that even comes close to the OEM suspension on sportbikes.
Then there are the brakes.... Almost any sport bike has top notch brakes. The rear brake on sport bikes is almost useless. The only time I really use it is when I am hauling a passenger. The front brakes are capable of flipping the bike foreward if you get on the too hard. The brakes on Harleys are starting to improve. But, they are still about a decade behind. But, that is alright because most Harley riders dont really ride too agresively, so they dont need tremendous stopping power.
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