Hello all! Sorry for the wall-of-text but your opinions will be greatly appreciated.
First, a little about me and my situation: I won a 125cc scooter in a competition a couple of years ago and have used that as my daily-driver since then, my first "riding" experience as a regular form of transport. Being in North Queensland, we tend to get rained on for about 4 or 5 months of the year (off and on) and thus have experienced the joys of getting to work in the morning soaking wet and arriving home soaking wet, I'm not too bright sometimes so spending a few dollars on wet-weather gear was never seriously considered as "its just a scooter mate".
My little scootie has done extemely well considering where I live and travel to and from work makes her spend the majority of the ride at 80-90km/hr, her top speed is 90km/hr but can get to almost 95km/hr going downhill with the wind at my back. Surely enough, this has not done so well for the poor little thing and 25k km's on her odometer and a wierd grinding noise from the transmission from time to time tells me it is time to upgrade. Another factor to upgrade is that the poor little scootie was not made for the climate I live in, it was designed and made in Italy which is the complete polar opposite to the punnishment she has sustained up here.
Now my wife was always against motorcycles - the usual sayings about "death traps" etc but she has seen the light and has decided that I'm ok to ride bikes from now on. Yay for me!! It took a little bit of negotiations but she has actually agreed to let me live my dream of buying a Harley in the next couple of months so here I am seeking the advice and opinions of you guys/gals out there.
I've been reading these threads for the past few weeks and seen many awesome answers to my un-asked questions and some great opinions as to what I can get and what I may want to get for my bike once I take the plunge. I have spent weeks talking to all kinda of Harley owners and "cruiser" bike riders to get a feel for what it is I'm stepping into and whether my ideas and dreams are realistic which is why I have signed up here to ask you lot for some advice and opinions.
Here goes...
I have decided to go for the Iron 883. Damn fine bike from what I've been reading and would probably suit me perfectly for style, shape, power and especially cost. I'm thinking of simply keeping it mostly stock standard (for now) with a simple exhaust upgrade to get that VROOOooomm noise the way it should be.
If you can help answer some concerns of mine:
1. How well do Harleys keep when parked during the day in the blistering sun or driving rain and humidity? My bike will live alot of its life in a car park with no cover as I will use to to go to work and be stuck in a building during the daytimes. How do the controls and stuff like being kept outdoors alot? We don't get cold here (tho I'm having to wear a shirt of the evenings lately and next month I will have to wear a shirt with longsleeves as it will be well and truly winter by then) but we do get humid and sticky. My little scootie had some kind of cheap vinyl covered seat which cracked and split within the first year and has been held together with gaffa tape since, the indicator switch went within the first 6months from water getting inside it.
2. How well will the Harley last if I'm putting about 300-400km's a week (at least) using it as my regular vehicle? I'm intending on keeping it regularly serviced (prolly at the "stealers" as they seem to know what they're doing) and I intend on keeping it going for many years as I will have to finance this with a personal loan so I want it to last the term of the loan.
3. I've heard people up here complain that chrome tends to rust on ANYTHING so how well do the blackened pipes go over time? I'm wanting to drop a few bucks on the exhaust so is the black pipes worth it or just for show?
4. Saddlebags: I am going to miss being able to stash a 6pack under the seat of my scootie and sticking a carton of tinnies on the footrest-thingy on the way home from work. Are there good ideas for a pair of saddlebags which will last with the way the bike is going to be living outdoors alot? Will the leather be ok or will I ruin them and need to constantly replace them every few years? What sort of rough cost are they?
5. Running costs and service costs. I see many different costs for services here and there but generally, are the service costs for a Harley comparable to a car? Are they more expensive to keep or less expensive to keep? On average I guess, I see how they fluctuate from "not much" to "bloody heaps" so a vague generalisation would be nice.
6. Exhausts. I see millions of different bikes around the place and read all this technical crap about excessive noise and what-not but really the pipes from the factory only seem to vaguely resemble a "Harley sound". If I get a dealer-fitted pipe upgrade of sorts, will I be constantly hassled by coppers or enviro-freaks and have to take them off therefore wasting my money? I'm not about to be a wanker and scream around my suburban neighbourhood at 5am reving the crap out of it, just mostly going to and from work and on weekend rides up the coast.
I will be talking to the local Harley mob soon to get accurate costings but I don't want to go in there as a bubble-head and get blindsided by a glitzy salesman into getting either crap I dont want or not getting the crap I do want. I work in sales myself so I know how these buggers work! My idea is to get it before the end of June and maybe snap up a bargain on some accessories for the "End of Financial Year" sales figures.
Thanks for taking the time to read through this crap, I appreciate all and any opinions as it helps me learn what other people think and feel about the whole idea.
Oh yeh, there will be other questions hehehe
Highly recommend a cover as your new bike will rust quite quickly if left in the rain too often. Don't forget to let the bike cool before sticking the cover on, it's common sense but people do it all the time. If you ride home in the rain dry your bike off if possible, especially the spokes & where water pools. I use one of these dryers when I wash my bike: http://www.motorcycledryer.com/air-force-blaster-sidekick-model-sk-1 it will make it a 5 minute job for you. Hd sells it for about $200, but you can get for half the price online.
You can't get a more dependable engine than Harley IMO so 3-400kms a week is nothing.
Good quality triple plated chome should not rust easily, but if you like black pipes go for it.
Don't know how leather will put up with years rain & sun, but when checking out saddlebags make sure they are water tight if you keep any paperwork in there since you'll be riding wet alot.
Services are cheaper than cars (but are overpriced considering what needs to be done), but get a few quotes as they do vary.
Get what ever exhaust tickles your fancy and the chances of getting booked for excessive noise is quite rare. If you are unlucky enough to get ticketed, just stick your stock exhaust back on for the EPA test, then you're good to go again. Just a hassle of swapping the exahust back and forth, but it's easily done in an hour & like I said, that's if you're ever booked.
And yeah, like everyone's been saying get some free stuff thrown in with the deal, don't pay RRP and walk out with nothing. The dealers will hit you with HARLEY sets the price world wide and we can not discount, that's total BS as forcing a dealer to a set price is restriction of trade.
Have fun & once you get the Harley feeling I bet you'll be upgrade to a Big Twin real soon!
Welcome Shred. Awesome first post man - total essay. The answers above are spot on, and all you need. Get a cover, leather treatment, service costs are OK, cheaper than a car, engine will last forever etc etc. One other thing with the Iron 883. If you are going to be subjecting it to the harsh weather a lot, it may be best to go for the 'traditional' type of paint - clear over base. The denim black paint will weather and may start to look shabby if you leave it in the sun all day every day. Only trouble is that the denim black is the best colour for the Iron in my opinion, and the other colour (chrome yellow) looks a bit, well, mardi-gras. Anyway, buy it and enjoy, you will not be sorry.
Hey thanx for your replies! Some great feedback there.
I will probably get a bike cover but I just know that it will be used for the first couple of months and then the excuses to not use it will come into play - too hard, too lazy, need to show off the bike etc. I'm looking around for places near work which are covered to park it instead but if necessary then I'll get me a cover. At home it will be garaged so I'm ok there.
I'm glad you have all put my mind to rest about how long the bike will last, it makes alot of sense and I'm looking forward to it alot.
I'll probably hassle the dealer to throw in a set of S/E slip-ons with the deal if I can work it, they seem to be good all-round noise makers. Are they considered expensive as such? I'm looking to get them with the bike so they'll probably start out as standard chrome but I dont want to spend too much on it if I'm planning to replace the pipes with short black ones later.
As for saddlebags, I will definately use leather care stuff on it, the Mrs is into horses and has tons of leather care stuff for her saddles so I'll pinch some of that when I need it. Also with saddlebags, are they removable or once they're on there then they stay on there? I'm sure there are thousands of different types but it would be cool if I could easily pull them off when I'm not needing them.
And I agree, the yellow Iron looks... umm.... wierd. As far as the denim black, is there perhaps a coating I could get put in it to stand up to the weather more? Or is the denim paint supposed to be designed to fade in places and end up looking like stonewashed jeans?
have you looked at the 883 super low
Actually I hadn't seriously considered the Superlow but I've been looking at it closely and it will probably suit me alot better, I'm not the tallest bloke around and it does look pretty sweet. Using the money I save on it I could get some of the mods I want without blowing my budget too.
TONS of chrome there though, how do you keep it clean and shiny? It would also look alot better with a pair of bags than I think the iron would.
Also, some reviews I've read are bitching about the cornering height and scraping of the footpegs or pipes. I'm not one to be zipping around leaning heavily into corners (hell I'm from a scooter and if I did that I'd just slide out the side onto the road) but I do have about 10 roundabouts roughly 50-70m diameter on my regular ride to work and home. Do you think this is any issue really? Avg speed around the roundabouts is 40-60km/hr for cars or my little scootie. I have noticed that most Harleys up here tend to stick to the inside lane of the roundabouts where there is less lean so I could probably just try that.
Again, thanx for the comments and feedback!
Haven't you got some fun on the way! A good choice and sound advice from the other Forum members but being such a huge fan of the Iron myself I can't resist jumping in.
The stock pipes still sound pretty good but SE slip ons are great and won't offend anyone. That's the single best upgrade but you'll be able to live with stock for quite a while ifyou want to.
Contrary to what the specs say, the Iron is sightly lighter than other sporties so has a bit more zip. Don't forget too that the engine is going to keep loosening up for ages. If you reckon it's good new, wait until you get 10 or 20 thous ks on it.
Yes to the cover. Expect some rust around the foot pegs immediately but it's nothing to worry about. I guess a smear of silicon or grease would prevent that happening. The alloy wheels on the Iron are great, and pretty well zero maintenance (plus, unlike wire spokes you can do a temporary repair if you have a puncture).
The denim will definitely fade because it is meant to. I had black everything on mine and was disappointed that it didn't fade straight away - it is IMHO a very cool look. Sort of the anti-Harley. I saw one in the street a while ago that was stock, weathered and had clearly never been washed - it had dirt and dust all over it and looked great. This is a bike that looks just as good dirty as it does clean. Wash with dishwasher detergent (not too much) in water, so you don't put a shine on it as you will if you use a car cleaning product. To touch up (you get finger marks easily on the denim) just use Windex.
The one problem with the Iron is the footpegs have a lip on the end which catches your pants. Apart from fraying the heck out of your duds I've heard of people dropping their Iron because when they put their foot down they got hooked on the peg. I'd be asking the dealer to fit straight pegs.
The lowered rear means very little suspension travel so you'be be getting a good boot up the bum over every decent bump (one good reason to keep the mid pegs so you can brace for it). The new sporty low overcomes this a bit by fitting a low profile tyre on the back which I think allows about an extra half inch of suspension travel. If you intend carrying a passenger you'll definitely need to upgrade the rear suspension.
Yes, they raise sparks easily but you get used to moving off the seat a bit to stop it scraping on the bends. I have exactly the same problem with my lowered fat boy. All part of the fun.
Durability? You Iron will still be going strong 30 years after your mate's plastic Japanese bike has gone through the crusher.
Well I haven't yet read the article in the mag you mentioned, I'm still in love with the Iron. There's just something about it that grabs me more that the Superlow (possibly the fact that there aren't as many women-riders pictured in the images for the Iron compared to the Superlow; Google images ftw!). I maybe the average heigt for a woman without the childbearing hips and somewhat of a bulged-tummy but I still reckon the Iron looks more of what I want.
I've seen some pics of saddlebags on the iron and some look cool and some look completely retarded so it's a moment that I'll leave to the dealer to impress me otherwise I search for aftermarket stuffs and eventually find what works for me.
The trick for me is to work out what happens once I actually go to the dealer and sit on a ride and decide what actually works or not. The hard part being in FNQ is that we are almost on a separate planet as far as sample/test products go but I'm sure I can order what I want once I decide.
Thanx guys/gals, you've made a Harley convert out of me already and now its just a matter of decision making.
I used to be indecisive but now I'm just not so sure....
Cheers!!!
