Harley-Davidson Iron 883

Harley-Davidson Iron 883

Cool on the cheap

DON CANET

WHEN THE BOYS RETURNED HOME FROM FIGHTING WWII, many found themselves understandably restless. So they got busy! A boom in babies was one result, but the Greatest Generation also gave birth to the bobber custom motorcycle. Harley-Davidson has borrowed from that stripped-down, minimalistic approach in creating its rabble-rousing Iron 883.

This newest addition to the H-D Dark Custom family of models hopes to attract a younger audience, the grandkids o Boomers.

Actually, the Sportster 1200 Nightster, introduced as a late-2007 model, can be credited as having laid the ground work for the Iron. The two machines are essentially identi cal save bore diameter. Like its larger displacement sibling, the Iron drips with anti-chrome defiance and bad-ass atti tude driven by its black-powdercoated Evolution powertrain and muted Black or Silver Denim paint job. Additional styling cues carried over from the Nightster include black fork sliders topped with rubber gaiters, a chopped rear fender with combina tion stop/turn/taillights and a side-mounted, hinged license plate holder. Black 13-spoke cast aluminum wheels (the Nightster has wire spokes) provide the Iron a bit of its own visual identity.

The most notable difference, though, is the Iron's $7899 economic-stimulus sticker. That makes it one of the most affordable Harleys-and that's before factoring in H-D's tradi tional high resale value.

Price point isn't alone in making this baby bobber a viable entry-level platform from which to launch one's campaign against the spit-and-polish populous. Shorter folks and nov ices will appreciate the confident footing achieved at stops when settling into the comfortably dished solo saddle. Mid mount foot controls and a low-rise drag bar provide a natural riding posture and deliver an excellent sense of command. At 556 pounds without fuel, the Iron and its barebones treat ment has shed nearly 20 pounds compared to an 883 Low, while the "slammed" stature results in an unmatched ease of maneuverability, both in the garage and out on the road.

BARGAI N KE8

The Iron's moderate steering effort and steadfast stabil ity add up to sure-footed handling while working within its cornering-clearance limitations. Hard parts touch down in unison with the footpeg feelers-lower muffler in rights; sid estand in lefts-even after shock-spring preload, the only sus pension adjustment provided, has been ramped to full stiff.

Today's Sportster has reached a new level of refinement, thanks largely to a reduced-effort clutch and fuel-injection. There's no choke or high-idle knob to fuss with, making cold starts a snap. While the engine's power delivery is well-suited to the novice, even long-time riders will find it sufficient and pleasing. This motor is blessed with smooth throttle response, weighty flywheel effect and a broad spread of torque; there are no wrinkles in the Iron's ultra-fluid pro pulsion. Old-time Sportster pilots will marvel at the uncanny shifting bliss when working through the five-speed gearbox.

The characteristic 45-degree V-Twin rumble is present at idle and when lugging the engine under load, yet engine vibration never reaches an intrusive level-big thanks to the motor's rubber mounts. An especially silky sweet spot resides at 3000 rpm (we pinpointed this when running the bike on the dyno, as there's no onboard tachometer). Three thousand rpm translates to 40 mph in third gear and 55 mph in top gear; plus, there's a second freeway-smooth cruise speed at about 80 mph.

Sparse instrumentation features a dead-on accurate speedometer with an LCD readout offering odometer, dual trip meters and clock modes.

Larger individuals, say, more than 6 feet tall and weighing 200plus pounds, may find the Iron 883 either too cramped or too softly sprung. While a pair of

good attermarket dampers could improve the latter, there's not much hope, fit-wise, for the Shaquilles of the world. Another potential shortcoming is a somewhat limited fuel range afforded by the 3.3-gallon fuel tank. We found our selves visiting the pump every 125 miles or so.

With the current economic recession cruising ever so slowly down the road to recovery, it's clear that Harley Davidson has seen the light with this cool and affordable Dark Custom.

HARLEY-DAVIDSON IRON 883

Seat height Price $7889 Dry weight... Wheelbase... Fuel mileage. 0-60 mph 1/4-mile Horsepower... Torque Top speed $7899 556 lb. 59.6 in. .27.1 in. 41mpg 6.6 sec. .14.81 sec. @ 88.89 mph • . 46.1 hp @ 5950 rpm • .49.6 ft.-lbs. @ 3900 rpm mph

Mesa Grande torque plateau Quality fit-n-finish Self-canceling turnsignals r Abrupt clutch engagement Shockingly short rear sus pension travel Stubby mirror stalks limit rear view