Iron 883 Sportster 2010 Review
Nov 17, 2010
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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.
Great Reading: Harley-Davidson Sportster Performance Handbook, 3rd Edition
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.
As expected, there was quite a wait for the Black Denim Harley Iron 883. Possibly just bullshit sales talk, but it was said to me that it was the fastest selling bike in the country at the time. There were plenty of the Silver denim, but no one seems to want them. Let’s face it, black looks cooler. Actually the day I made the order I was offered the silver version, but no cigar.
As expected, there was quite a wait for the Black Denim Harley Iron 883. Possibly just bullshit sales talk, but it was said to me that it was the fastest selling bike in the country at the time. There were plenty of the Silver denim, but no one seems to want them. Let’s face it, black looks cooler. Actually the day I made the order I was offered the silver version, but no cigar.
Picking up the bike was quite a ceremony – as it should be! Credit to the guys at frasers for making it feel special even though they do it every day. I recall my experience at Northside motorcycles years ago buying a Ducati. Let’s just say I receive better service when buying socks at K-mart.Picking up the Harley was fun, then was promptly shown to the garage where the 883 was prepped and ready to go. A brief rundown on the new bits and pieces was covered by a Harley technician. Hard to concentrate on what he’s saying when all you want to do is get on and ride the thing. Good things I did as there are a few new things, like the immobilizer and auto-arming alarm. Hazard lights, manually disarming the alarm via cod was also a useful tip.
With all the formalities out of the way, time to throw a leg over and take my baby home. It’s always an odd thing when you get a new bike, or borrow one – you get off then just look at it and realise the best thing to do with it is to ride it. Start it, ride it, park, then do it all over.
How does it ride? Read the next post!
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?
Starting a brand new Iron 883 is not what you expect. Everyone expect every Harley to break windows and scare little children. Legal requirements and state laws required new bikes (Harley’s included) to run pretty quite and consequently has your new Iron sounding like a sewing machine. Ok, fair enough – it’s not so bad… but it leaves you instantly wanting a louder exhaust for a few reasons. Firstly, a Harley needs to sound like one so you can impress your mates, then there’s the safety factor of keeping driver from accidently running you over. Last but not least – you need to piss the neighbors off when you start your bike in the morning to get them back for all the years of their kids screaming at 6 am. So overall the stick Iron 883 has a nice idle and roll on, but needs beefing up.
Sportster Book: The Harley Davidson Sportster
Sound covered. Get on the Iron and unless you’re long in the leg, the seating position is upright and comfortable. I’ll get into aesthetic details later. Pulling off the lot was easy and generally everyone says the 883 is real easy to ride. I’ve heard that comment from mates who ride nothing but Japanese sport-bikes. Being a Ducati Monster owner, this seating position was about as close as I could find on a Harley.
The engine is really smooth and tractable. As expected, not much in the revs, but shift up quickly and there’s plenty of meat in the torque. Harley have done a good job with keeping the “heart” of the Sportster while smoothing out rough edges. For example, on idle at the lights the bike has a fair bit of shake which gives you that raw chopper feel but then smoothes out in the revs which works great for me.
Despite being the ‘smaller’ Harley, this is by no means a small bike and weighs over 250kg. At 100kg more than my Ducati, it wasn’t something that went noticed. Not that it worried me. It gives the Iron a solid stable feel on straights and isn’t twitchy with a passenger.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.
The rear brake light / indicator combo adds to the minimal theme keeping the arse-end very tidy indeed. Sadly here in Australia the side mounted number plates are illegal so this bike doesn’t look as cool as the Harley designers intended. The bike yellow plate pretty much wrecks this idea but I’ll do something about that very soon.
One thing to consider is that this bike looks awesome right out of the crate, and depending on your tastes, could be considered custom. But, as with most bikes, most people still want to make it their own and I’m no exception with my ‘extras’ already into three figures.
I’ve owned a few bikes and regardless of cost, the Iron 883 turns more heads than any other I’ve owned.
Technical upgrades:
Unless you’ve been following Sportsters for a while, you’d miss some big improvements on this series. Like I’ve mentioned in a previous post, I just couldn’t own a pre-2004 Sportster because of all the rough edges. But this is a completelty different beast altogether. Kept all the good, improved or replaced the bad.
A bit of evolution here:
2004 All-new frame including rubber-mounted engine for decreased vibration. Elimination of the transmission trap door.
2005 Enlarged rear axle to 1″ for increased stability.
2006 Helical cut transmission gears in all models reduces gear whine.
The XR1200 is the first Harley-Davidson to utilize Down Draft DDFI II fuel injection. To be released as a late 2008 model.
2007 Fuel injection replaces carburetion on all models.
The 2010 Sports all get a immobilizer and auto-arming alarm, fatter rear tire, tear shape oil tank, cast wheels, integrated brake light /indicators in one unit, rubber mounted motor, fuel injection.
Of all of these innovations (aside from styling) the rubber mounted power-plants and electronic fuel injection have to be the biggest.
Oh, one more big thing I forgot to mention – the Price! To ride away on a brand new Harley Davidson for 13k AUD was unthinkable a few years back. Paying 30k+ for a Motorcycle just isn’t in the league many people would consider spending on a Hobby.
Rolling away from the dealer was a bit of a mixed experience. Super happy to have this new beast I’d been waiting months for but felt a little undernourished on the power end. For a moment I thought there was something not quite right on it and was considering turning back. Blasphemy-I know! I stuck with it and got used to the way this thing made power and knew it would only be a day or two before I take a spanner to it.
Suspension is so much improved over any other sportster I’ve ridden previously. Not to say it can’t be improved but has come a long way. Unless pushed hard, it won’t wallow in the corner and isn’t harsh over regular bumps. Stock setup is made for a single rider, so if you’re looking to ride two up frequently, you’ll do well to consider upgrading front and rear shocks.
Overall though, even out of the crate, the 2010 Iron 883 is a fine motorcycle, and boy does it turn heads. Attracts young girls and bald old men alike!
I also had this bike. A few thoughts of the bike for the year that I owned it. The Iron looks cool there is no doubt – everyone except die-hard sportbike riders liked the look of it. Also sounded great with a decent set of pipes.
Ultimately I sold the bike because I like to ride far and fast. While the sportster is the nibles of the harley, it still isn’t a nible bike by any means. At 260kg, it is heavier than any sporty bike you’ll find. At that weight, the brakes are very ordinary. Shocks are also under done with a doughy front fork and ok rear.
The 883 is fine for a slow / medium paced cruise, but if you ride fast, the sport or any harley makes a pretty hair ride. Forget long rides and forget two people on it.
Otherwise for the money it is a fair amount of metal and a lot of fun.