Jef,
HD had problems back in the AMF days. Once they bought back the company and went public things started improving right away. Within a few years, quality was back up there (where it should be) and the bikes were selling like hotcakes. Why else would the jap bike makers rip off so much of HD's designs??
The only thing to sounds exactly like a Harley, is a Harley. They might be close, but to me, nothing else is the same. Also, the fit and finish on a Harley beats all, hands down. There is also the reliability issues, which Harley doesn't have.
Once you own a Harley, you can't imagine getting anything else. I know that has happened to me already.
As for the 883 (Sportster), dude, that's a girl's motorcycle 😀. It might be fine to start with, but not for any length of time. All Harleys are reliable machines. Follow the routine maintenance, and you will get many, many, many years of riding out of them (and tons of miles too, like over 100,000). The final drive belt alone is rated to last around 85,000 miles on the Harley. You also can't swing a dead cat without hitting a dozen companies that make parts/accessories for Harley's.