Let's talk... Ironhead Sportsters

Thanks for the responses guys... so i'm trying to make comparisons in my head to cars, I know it's not very accurate but it sounds like old Harleys aren't the kind of beefy over-engineered vehicles like our old Mopars? I was hoping it would be possible to "bulletproof" an Ironhead; I know once I replaced the original worn-out drivetrain in my Duster it was reliable enough to drive anywhere and most any work I did on the car was tuning or upgrades. Sounds like an old Sportster won't work like that?

Big twins don't really interest me, even the new Sportsters are frickin heavy and FAT! Really didn't like the way I had to muscle those bikes just to get them upright off the kickstand. I'm not sure how much long- distance riding i'll be doing either, i'll have to think about that some more.

If I did get one i'm leaning towards something incomplete that I could modify into more of a "tracker" style bike I could take off-road a bit.