What makes the Iron 883 special?

Sportsters have been around since 1957 and produced continuously in a huge variety of flavors from Sporty sport through laid-back custom. Without going into a history lesson here, there are a few things which make the Iron 883 (XL883n 2010) an interesting bike.

Ok the obvious part, this bike looks the business. It turns heads everywhere with it's Low-tech, dark and dirty looks. The minimal chopped-down trend they started with the Nightster seemed to catch the imagination of Harley and non-Harley owners alike making this one of the best selling Harleys in history. Some of the finer details include the Denim paint which is a sort of matt / satin finish that is a big step up from the typical flat paint job. Other minimal styling cues include the chopped rear fender, blacked our engine components, rubber gaitors, single speedo unit and solo seat.

Iron 883 Sportster - First Ride

Following on from the first post - while I've ridden plenty of sportsters before, this was the first ride on the Iron. I didn't even try it before I bought it. I figured it wouldn't be worse than it's predecessors and all those improvements must make it worth it.

Riding a brand new 2003 X 883R years ago made me appreciate the 2004+ rubber-mounted sportster. I'm sure there are plenty of pre-2004 riders out there who love them, but I just couldn't live with the vibration. Actually, I'm sure we can get used to just about anything, but should we really need to?

Buying a brand New Harley Iron 883 Sportster

The day had come where looking at the pictures of the Iron 883 were traded for the real thing.

I have liked the sportster for many years now, and not because it is the cheapest Harley - I think it's the most fun. Me and my mates have tried the entire HD line up and while they are all awesome bikes, there was something about the sportster that made us want to get back on it. Maybe it was the primitive simplicity, maybe the size and shape. Whatever it was, the Sportster bug never left. Looks wise, the sportster has received plenty of variations, but it wasn't until I saw the Nightster (not a fan of the name), that I really wanted to buy one. They just looked cool. Simple as that. I went and tried one but almost spat out half my front teeth as the shocks were terrible. The thought of buying one left me that day along with my teeth. Perhaps it was just that particular example, but I've heard from a few Nightster owners that the suspension is almost non-existent.

About 2 years later I see this matt (denim) black beat in the magazine with a familiar shape - yet somehow cooler. Not long after I was at Fraser Motorcycles getting parts for my Ducati monster and I walked out with an order for the Iron 883. I was taken upstairs to check it out and after I worked out the repayments I was sold. Spontaneous maybe but certainly not the dumbest thing (by far) that I've done this year. Fast forward to now - the time of the pics below.