Dearest Leather-bound friends. Here's a list of mods, parts and ideas I have.  Would love your feedback, opinion and assistence in helping make my little XL883N my own. 

Also, let me know what you think of the prices and stockists for parts. 

1. New shocks. I think anyone who has seen this wicked video from Delboy is keen (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Nn9zFfzyzQ)
   http://www.progressivesuspension.com/hd/412series/index.html
   269 from customcruising
2. Smoked front lenses. PN 69208-09 $45
   
3. 2 Up Seat. Danny Gray Short Hop (Also considering a HD badlander) 
   Seems to be as slick as they come. http://www.cruisercustomizing.com/short-hop-2-up-seat-flame-xl-sportster-with-33-gal-tank-04-and-newer/part/DAN-20-609F ($377)
4. Foot pegs for passenger. 50203-04 - $126
5. SE Heavy Breather (29080) $378 
6. Pro-tuner kit (been told this is mandatory following SE) (32109-08) $580.00
7. Luggage: http://plunderdog.com/plforyosp.html 419.00

My biggest Q's

• Does lowering the bike affect a 2-up ride? I'm thinking 11 or 11.5s 
• Any links or tips on how to blacken the rear turn signals? 
• Is this seat any good? I just read bad reports about HD seats. And this one looks mean. 
• Any alternative passenger pegs? 
• Do I need the pro-tuner kit? It's very exe. 

$1775 + 419 for bags + Labour. 

 

 

 

 

q1. yes, the lower you go, the worse it gets. Anything is better than stock shocks though.
q2. VHT nightshades from supercheap, one coat will take that "holy fuck" brightness off them when unlit, without affecting the look when lit.
q3. dunno
q4. pass. pegs fit best if std hd.
q5. if you've only done the heavy breather, with stock pipes, no you dont need it. But as soon as you do ac and pipes, you will need one. I prefer the Powervision. Cheaper, and flashes the ecm, but doesn't stay on the bike. Fuelmoto as well as powervision will have base maps for you to load, then you can self tune, or dyno from there.

hope this helps

I put the badlander on mine, love it. Had a few comment on how much better it looks over the stock Iron seat and I am inclined to agree.


I have the stock shocks, been to radelaide on em and back no issues for me.
With a mate on the back around 80kgs, I did scrape the bottom muffler on a hard corner. I do ride the bike hard so I got over the scrape pretty quick

In regards to the passenger pegs, I got these : http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Hotop-Drag-Custom-Rubber-Black-Footpeg-Foot-Pegs-Set-/230649210350?pt=Motorcycles_Parts_Accessories&hash=item35b3c3a5ee

They fit great and better then the $hit Harley sell...shipped from the u.s, as with the badlander, I saved heaps then buying from Harley Aus. I will not be raped price wise here from the company, after market or ebay for me...

 

Shocks: If buying the progressive 412's maybe have a look at the heavy duty type for carrying passengers, if yr mainly riding solo & a lightweight then maybe not. Bear in mind the lower you go your cornering clearance will suffer a bit too. I scrape my pipe/pegs with stock shocks.

Smoked lenses: Your part number is right but a quick Google has Sy's listing them at $25.15 which is what I paid.

Seat: I have the HD Badlander seat as a back-up, only takes a minute to swap over. Took a 95kg mate out & he said it would def benefit from a backrest esp when the big bore kit goes in, he kept sliding back (I could have done with those h/duty shocks too!). Ok for local riding though, I haven't really noticed a comfort difference between it & my stock solo seat. If you look at the Badlander make sure you buy the right one for the 3.3gal tank (51747-07).

Heavy breather: There are plenty of cheaper & sharp looking alternatives for the heavy breather. Search under "sportster air cleaner" on eBay.

Tuner: SEPST (32109-08B) is great, others rave on about the TTS. I have the SEPST with cables & software, haven't gone further than check my map but there's heaps you can do with it. Fuelpak is a cheaper option amongst others, or even the Nightrider Xied leads (liar wire) which richen your A/F mixture & are hell cheap about $100, you can buy adjustable ones too. I had these before the SE tuner & had no problems. SEPST is expensive here in Aust though - U.S eBay used to be your friend.

If yr not in a hurry keep an eye on Gumtree & eBay etc. Patience can be rewarding, I scored my Badlander & rear peg kit as new for $150.

Slap.

I put a a hd sidekick on my 48 ,wife hates hit too hard , I was considering the Danny gray option with the gel , was same price from the us and$100 for shipping . oh well on goes the single seat again !!
As for lenses ,a mate used the VHt nightshades from super cheap on the back , looked awesome till they wore a bit then had hassles getting the shit off. But each to their own
Hd do a two up shocks for $260 in black which were adjustable , which they recommended fot two up riding not sure on quality thou ,
Good luck

I had the Badlander from day one. My bum likes it way more than the stock seat. You can move around on it a bit and sit back and stretch out the legs (got the the forward controls). Misses likes the seat OK for around town but not longer than half an hour touring.

For the cool look and driving solo I'm using the 48 seat. The stock seat is not getting on at all anymore.

 Guys, thaks so much for your input - so valuable to have some wise heads around. 

 

1. Passenger is a tiny 45kg lady, and I'm only 80kg at 5'9".  So I just ensure they're heavy duty and I will be okay? (http://www.mandmcycles.com/detail.aspx?ProductNo=MM000933) 
2. VHT Nightshades: Great! thanks so much. I'll be sure to do a test. 
3. @Shotgunhemi: Wow! Thanks for those. Great look.  Did you install? Or get a workshop to do so?  
4. Can someone post a profile photo of the Iron with a badlander? I want to see the way it affects the design. (And cheers for the tip, Slapster on the 3.3)
5. @Slapster: THank you! I was actually keen for an alternative. 
6. Do I need the tuner if I already have SE pipes? And am just changing the airfilter? 
7. Danny Gray: jury still out then I guess. 
8. @Wildkatze69: How tall are you? I'm only 5'9" - will I still be okay?

Filters: 
X-Flow? http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/XLFLOW-C-BILLET-AIR-CLEANER-K-N-FILTER-HARLEY-SPORTSTER-NIGHTSTER-XL-04-AND-UP-/251074655520?pt=Motorcycles_Parts_Accessories&hash=item3a75373520#ht_2387wt_1345

 

Arlen Ness (I like this look!) 

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Arlen-Ness-Big-Sucker-Stage-Billet-Air-Cleaner-1988-2012-Harley-Sportster-XL-B-/251053537185?pt=Motorcycles_Parts_Accessories&hash=item3a73f4f7a1#ht_1157wt_1111

 

investment dropping too! Which is good. Though I wish plunder dogs were a little cheaper. but the build quality looks EPIC. 

Jye pickn up a badlander on my way home from work next week will post up pick my mate has one on his looks the goods and comfy was ok

Regards Dave

Jye, install was easy. Use a small pin or edge of a blade to pop out the factoy plastic caps in the mounting holes. Then find the correct size allen key. From memory I used a cut down allen key for the one behind the top muffler, this may be difficult to get to depending on your exhaust. I dont pay anyone to work on my bike.

 Here is mine, bike is filthy cbf washing it just yet. 

 

 

Looks nice and low. Thanks so much for that. And the pegs are very discreet too. Did the Hotop Drag Customs come with the mounting bracket like the HD kit? V hard to install?

From memory no, search through his items. As I said, easy install but id you dont feel confident get someone to do it for you.

Oh another tip. If you get the Badlander make sure to pad the metal underneath to make sure the fender does not get scratched. I used some neoprene (old mouse pad) stuck with double sided tape. And could not be bothered with the grab strap.

From Downloads

Would the fender bib by plunder dogs do? http://plunderdog.com/fenderbib.html

PlunderDog paint protection - expensive taste jye!

Hey from memory the heavy duty shocks are for 95kg+ or carrying pillions.

And with pipes & high-flow air filter its usually recommended you get a tuner or Xied leads as your bike will run too lean.

Slap.

Air cleaners IMO definitely come down to personal choice, I'm not a big fan of the forward facers, probably cos every man & his dog has an SE heavy breather, but that's my opinion (still a nice looking air cleaner though). Similarly I'm not a fan of air cleaners with internal breathers as I don't like the idea of oily gases going back through the combustion process. Having said that you can get breather bolts or crankcase breather kits to adapt most air cleaners to external breathing. The choices are huge with air cleaners, from fairly cheap to bloody expensive. From what I've read most half decent air cleaners will perform similarly on the 883, if yr looking at a 1200/1250 kit + cams/headwork etc down the track then start looking at it from the performance angle as well.

If you like the Arlen Ness you may also like this one - http://www.sscycle.com/feature/featureview.php?s_id=54 - it's on eBay for about $128 + freight. Many options for faceplates with this type of a/c.

My 2c.

Slap.

FYI: Been doing lots of research into Progressive 412s Standard VS Heavy Duty. Decided to go for Standard based on a couple of forums. I'll be 2-up less than 10%.

Forums here if anyone is searching.
http://www.hdforums.com/forum/dyna-glide-models/567706-progressive-suspension-412-question.html
http://xlforum.net/vbportal/forums/showthread.php?t=4079
http://www.hdforums.com/forum/dyna-glide-models/693152-11-prog-412-hds-vs-std-what-a-difference.html
http://www.vtxoa.com/forums/showthread.php?70047-Progressive-412-Standard-or-Heavy-Duty

I have the 11" Progressive 412's Heavy Duty on my 48. I will rarely ride with a passenger but am about 110 kg's so went with the HD's. To be honest they did feel a bit stiff initially but after having a play with the preload settings and after riding with them on now for about 700 km's I like em'.  Definately not a plush ride but no bottoming out and handling feels solid.

.

 Hey LuckyT, I have some Freedom Performance Independence Shorty pipes for sale in the parts for sale section of the forum, they will fit XL Sportsters 04 and up.  They give out a great sound and look the goods. PM me if you are keen.

I've just ordered 11.5" Progressive 412s in standard duty (not heavy duty) in black. Very excited.

I'm also about to throw on the Arlen Ness big suck. As long as I can grab the stainless steel colour filter and a satin finish cover. The joker filters look good too though. Bit pricier, but nice and chunky.