Harleydude, the 883 Sporty MAY be a little small for you, but then I am 5'6" 135 lbs and ride a Sporty 1200 find the weight of 600 lbs wet...eh..."substantial" even if the seat height is low. A 1000cc motorcycle is not a small motorcycle. If you are new to the motorcycling community ride solo and equipped with foward controls, it will suit you fine. Be careful, the showroom is pretty deceiving, the floor is flat, the emotions are high and the bike is stationary so most any bike will feel quite easy to roll off the stand and paddle walk, but at 600-900 lbs, parking lot maneuvers make most bikes cumbersome and not how they are used 99.9% of the time. If you have your license (you have completed an MSF riding course hopefully) and some motorcycle offroad or street riding experience or some on a Harley; participate in one of the HD Test Ride days and try different ones.
I might get a lot of flack here, but if you are new to motorcycling, buy a used Harley, one that's 3 or 4 years old, roost on it for a year and see if you really have found the bike that you can live on, or if not: you are not out a lot of dough, but have seat time and comfort in the knowledge that HD motorcycles hold their basic value well. With experience under your belt, having met and talked with your friends along with this Harley community you can set your priorities for new iron you wish to buy on your terms.
Do you have a two-up partner you want to share the experience with, do you need long term comfort or storage (bagger) or does it want you to expand the performance envelope (XR Sporty, V-Rod or Buell), do you like the low rider look or traditional classic look of (Road Glide, Heritage or Fat Boy), or all minimalist city street looks (Sporty, Nightster or Bob). These are just examples of how your riding style once established actually determine your riding preference...your height is a minor issue as an 800cc or larger displacment motorcycle is really not neccessarily "entry" level gear by most any stretch.
