10 Things You Didn’t Know about the Harley Davidson Iron 883
The Harley Davidson Iron 883 is pioneering a new world of motorcycles without endless chrome like most of them. It’s sheer raw power with amazing stripped-down and blacked-out style. You no longer have to spend endless hours shining your machine. Instead, you can simply climb aboard and start tearing up the streets. In addition to its innovative color scheme, the Harley Davidson Iron 883 has some other features that have tongues wagging among Harley fans and here are ten of them:
1. Part Retro/Part Cruiser
Besides being stripped down to basic black, which Harley calls Black Denim, it looks just plain mean and nasty. In fact, the Harley Davidson Iron 883 is one part retro-sports-bike. And, the other half? That’s one part cruiser and all in one traditional motorcycle.
2. Black Denim & Air-Cooled
Chrome is just about non-existent on the new Black Denim paint scheme, that’s a given. But, what the Harley Davidson Iron 883 really boils down to is a bare-bones chassis with one air-cooled classic V-twin motor. The engine is the Air-cooled Evolution®.
3. Updated Suspension
Harley-Davidson recently updated the suspension on the Iron 883. This gives it cartridge forks and emulsion shocks. It also brings about some major improvements in the overall ride of the Harley Davidson Iron 883.
4. 30-Degree Rake
The suspension isn’t even a little bit harsh but it is quite firm. Because of this, the Iron 883 happily makes its way into steep canyons with a sense of confidence that’s truly admirable. It also sports 30 degrees of rake, which is actually fairly modest.
5. Enjoyable Ride
With its rather narrow profile and torque, the Iron 883 offers an enjoyable ride through any and all urban environments. It can easily handle lane splitting, too. In addition, it’s also being capable of handily pulling ahead of all of its competitors when those traffic lights are turning green.
6. Lean With Confidence
You can take the Iron 883 to the peg feelers with the utmost of confidence thanks to its Michelin Scorcher 31 rubber. If you’re a bit of a less aggressive rider, that might happen rarely even with its limited lean angle of one degree less on the right and 28 on the left. But, let’s face it, the lean angle really isn’t very important since you surely won’t be throwing the Iron 883 around as if it was a lightweight sports bike. It weighs in at 562 lbs, which is mostly carried low, and all-in-all it’s really all about confidence and calculated performance.
7. Predictable Turning
OK, the 19-inch front wheel combined with 16-inch in the rear may not be the most balanced in the field of motorcycles. However, when you add to that the 100 in the front and the 150 in the rear, their widths seem to be quite successful at holding it all together. When you initiate a turn, you’ll need to apply a certain amount of well-measured body English to get your Iron 883 to respond in a way that you’ll soon find to be quite predictable. Once you get her locked into a corner, she’ll hold her line. Switchbacks? No problem. Simply dialing in a little more weight transfer will reward you with a decisive change of direction.
8. Correct Springing and Damping
You might think that the 39mm forks on the Iron 883 would be too skinny for handling rough pavement. That’s not true, however, since Harley-Davidson has the springing and damping done right and the preloaded rear spring is the only major adjustment that they had to make. That’s why the Iron 883 is capable of completing those corners with relative ease.
9. Exiting Corners
The Iron 883 offers smooth acceleration that lives up to your expectations from an engine with ample flywheel. It’s not going to unexpectedly launch you forward. It’ll simply build up consistent speeds that you’re sure to find quite satisfying.
10. Electric and Gauges
Electric includes ABS (if equipped), engine diagnostics, indicator lamps 8-high-beams, low battery, low fuel warning, low oil pressure, neutral, turn signals, and security system (if equipped). Gauges include an electronic speedometer that is handlebar-mounted along with a dual trip meter, an engine diagnostics readout, LED indicator lights, low fuel warning, and low oil pressure lights, odometer, and a time-of-day clock.
Specs
- Dimensions
- Length: 86 inches
- Ground Clearance: 5.5 inches
- Rake: (steering head) 30 degrees
- Trail: 4.6 inches
- Wheelbase: 59.6 inches
- Tires- Front Specs: 100/90B19 57H
- Tires-Rear Specs: 150/80B16 77H
- Fuel Capacity: 3.3 gallons
- Oil Capacity: (with filter) 2.8 quarts
Performance
- Lean Angle (right 27 degrees
- Lean Angle (left) 28 degrees
- Fuel Economy: 51 mpg
- Testing Method: Estimated City/Hwy
Engine
- Engine- Air-cooled, Evolution®
- Engine Torque: 53.8 ft-lb
- Engine Torque Test Method: J1349
- Engine Torque: 3,750 rpm
- Weight: (as shipped) 545 pounds
- Weight: (in running order) 564 lb.
- Seat Height: 25.7 inches
- Bore: 3 inches
- Stroke: 3.811 in.
- Displacement: 883 cc (53.9 cu in)
- Compression Ratio: 9:01
- Fuel System: 3 Electronic Sequential Port Fuel Injection (ESPFI)
- Exhaust: Black exhaust headers & black mufflers
Drivetrain
- Primary Drive Chain: 34/57 ratio
- Gear Ratios (overall) 1st- 10.41
- Gear Ratios (overall) 2nd- 7.436
- Gear Ratios (overall) 3rd- 5.531
- Gear Ratios (overall) 4th- 4.584
- Gear Ratios (overall) 5th- 3.931
- Chassis
- Wheels: Front- Type 9 Black 9 Spoke with Machined Highlights
- Wheels: Rear- Type Black 9 Spoke with Machined Highlights
- Brakes: Caliper Type- Dual-piston front/Dual-piston rear
All in all, the tuck-and-roll seat, bobbed fenders, machined highlights, side-mount license plate, and what appears to be a massive engine all do an excellent job on the Harley-Davidson Iron 388 toward instilling great pride of ownership. And, in all of its matte glory, the Black Denim looks great. So, why not check it out and see for yourself?