2014 Harley-Davidson

Sportster Iron 883

53.9 cubic inch (883cc) OHV air-cooled V-twin  

...and Sportster Iron weaknesses

Weight: 540lb is a lot of iron for the modest 883cc power.

Harley scene: It ain't for everyone. But it ain't compulsory.

Theft: Put another lock on the garage. Fit a Datatag system.

Poseur: Folk will think you bought it only to impress.

Centre stand: Harley doesn't believe in them. It's a nuisance.

Cornering: Not as bad as it was. But still pretty pedestrian.

Handling: See "cornering", above...

Weather: Dirt magnet scrubs up well, but lacquers peel.

Constant trade ups: You'll eventually want more power.

Pillion: Rear seat ruins the looks, and the pedestrian handling.

Suspension: Basic. A little too soft for many. Needs work.

▲ The 2014 Harley-Davidson Sportster Iron as viewed on HD's online brochure. From any angle, the Sportster looks pretty good. But these "classic" rear three-quarter shots do it for most folk, and Milwaukee knows it. So is this bike a solo ride? Pretty much, we figure. So buy a BMW or a Honda if you ride two-up.

▲ The 2009 Harley-Davidson Sportster Iron.  Buy one of these and you're in the black. You're old school. You're aggressive. You're up for a spot of urban brawling, or so Milwaukee's marketing men would have us believe. We don't know if anyone actually takes that kind of talk seriously anymore. And we wonder if Harley is pulling our peckers. But the macho crap keeps coming.

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Harley-Davidson, in more ways than one, has a tricky balancing act to maintain. On the one hand, competition in the motorcycle market place is fierce. Rival manufacturers have for decades been serving up some pretty compelling arguments for their own products; arguments that have been underpinned by both price and performance. And tens of thousands of international riders have listened to those arguments and have been convinced.

Then again, "A Harley is always a Harley", and that alone is enough to persuade a small army of motorcyclists that the only badge they want on their petrol tanks is one bearing the initials H-hyphen-D.

But these largely closet conservative riders (small "c") are not writing blank cheques for Harley-Davidson. They want to see product improvement year on year. They want to see advancement. They want a new sales hook or two every year to keep them safely in the HD net.

Sportster upgrades

For Harley's part, the firm knows that there's a lot it could do to improve its product, and not in a piecemeal way, but all at once.

But that alone won't keep the tills/registers ringing. You can't fire off all your ammunition at once, not if you want to win the next battle and the next and so on. So you eke it out. A little here. A tweak there. A trinket here, and maybe a slightly more significant upgrade there. Never too much, and never too little.

And so it is with the 2014 Sportster Iron. It's not a great leap forward. Instead, it's more of the same work-in-progress that's rolled just a little further down the Harley highway.

This 883cc Hog has the same 45-degree, air-cooled, two-valves-per-cylinder Evolution engine as its predecessor. It's got the same fuel injection system, the same ignition, the same frame, forks, tank, and it's got most of the same ancillaries.

Closed loop exhaust

But it's also got a new closed loop exhaust system. Closed loop? Don't panic. It's just a term that means the on-board computer gizmo that monitors ignition and fuel injection can (via sensors) also monitor the exhaust gases.

Conversely, an open loop system is operating blind. Or half blind. It knows what fuel-air mixture is going into the engine, and it knows what kind of spark is being delivered, but it doesn't know exactly the condition of the exhaust gases as they rush down the pipes.

And that exhaust gas content can change due to a variety of things, including modified engine components or ambient air temperature, or a different grade of fuel, or altitude, or the will of God, or all of the above.

All Harleys have had a closed loop system since 2007. This is simply a revised design.

Anti-lock braking and rubber mounted engine

But ABS (anti-lock braking) is is a new option. It's discreet, and it works, but some criticise it for taking away much of the feel and control. But it's your money, and you can choose.

The Sportster Iron also has a revised wiring harness, new hand controls and a new voltage regulator.

But most of that is besides the point. The real sales features for 2014 are the looks. Black powder-coated engine with chrome pushrods. Black oil tank cover, black handlebars, black belt-guard and black cast wheels.

Whatever else you might feel about the Sporty, there's no denying that the platform has improved hugely over the past ten or twenty years.

Five speed transmissions. Rubber mounted engines. Belt final drive. Greatly improved braking. And the familiar Sportster profile, which was always satisfying on the eyes.

Would we buy one?

We're looking.

Links

Evo Sportster 883 & 1100

XLCR Sportster cafe racer