My initial impressions of the XL1200R Roadster:

This bike has a much lighter gear change than the 883R, and the clutch is a little lighter too, although still on the heavy side. The handlebars are not quite as wide, which is perhaps why I'm leaning forwards very slightly on it. The ride and/or seat seems slightly firmer, but not by much, but I think the 883R might have been slightly more comfortable overall. The steering lock is not quite so good, so it takes slightly more manouevering pushing it in and out of my garage. Although it is a little heavier than the 883R it actually feels a little lighter to push on flat ground (I think the front brakes were dragging more on the 883R). The engine revs up much more quickly, and I only need to use a tiny amount of throttle movement at the moment (while running in). It seems to have a little less engine braking than the 883, perhaps due to the extra weight and higher gearing?

It shakes a little at low revs but seems mostly vibration free. I've only noticed a slight vibration once so far (no more than 3,500rpm while running in). I took the bike I road tested up to 100mph in top gear, which was about 4,500rpm, and I didn't notice any vibration, so the rubber mounted engine is a definite improvement over the solidly mounted older sporsters.

I've got the Screaming Eagle stage 1 kit - Screamin' Eagle free flow air filter and carburetter rejetting, and Screaming Eagle Pro II slip on silencers (which are the only non-standard sliencers available at the moment). It's the loudest bike I've owned so far, but it doesn't seem too loud while riding it (especially since I bought a new Roof helmet which blocks out more noise).

The fuel consumption seems to be similar to the 883R (52 - 58mpg). The performance is reaonably satisfying with top gear roll on taking about 5 seconds to accelerate from 70 - 90mph (identical to my old Suzuki SV650! The Honda X11 was the quickest bike I've had, that did 70 - 110mph in 5 seconds in top gear), and about 50 - 75 in 5 seconds.

I've done over 4,000 miles and the rear tyre looks barely worn, and I've never had to adjust or lube the belt drive! I like it!