By Harley Davidson’s definition, the SPORTster is not a cruiser. 
I edited that wink, lol.
Probably could have been less dogmatic.
It’s HD’s sport bike. I’ve thought most people considered it a “road bike” or a sport standard and not a cruiser.
Has HD ever put the word “cruiser” into any Sportster marketing?
(Now that I think of it, maybe back in the 90’s they had a Sportser model with the word “Cruiser” in it’s model name?)
It handles better than a cruiser through the twisties and it’s tall with a “standard” like foot peg placement.
Doesn’t entertain the forward controls or floor boards of a cruiser.
Gearing is un-cruiser like.
It’s got a taller seat height than any cruiser.
Heck, Buell used the 1200 engine in their’ sport bikes for years.
Evil jumped busses on the damn thing. Try that with a Suzuki C50. Lol!
