Originally Posted by Mr_Taipan

Bloater, last night I was riding home from Central London last night and I took the route of going out through the back roads of Tilbury, Chadwell ST Mary, Mucking and finally Corringham etc. The sound those V&H pipes make bouncing off the trees through the lanes is mesmerising.

Originally Posted by DrewBone

Welcome to the forum! Nice looking bike, I wish you well with it!

In regards to the rear shocks...before you go off and change them due to what your first impressions are and what other people say about them, you do know that they are adjustable, yes? It may just be a simple case of adjustment and they'll be fine. Remember, the Sportster is a flickable and responsive bike, so the suspension tends to be a little harsh, and not like that of a bagger with a cup holder, LOL. You simply can't expect to have Cadillac plush and Lambo tightness on the same vehicle, so use your legs as suspension when the time arrises.

A story; back in 2012 I purchased a used '09 Iron, and became a member here to gleen information about the bike and enjoy the camaraderie of like minded individuals. One of the very first things that was mentioned by the masses here was that the factory seat on the Iron was "miserable" and that before too long I would be hankering for a Mustang or other aftermarket seat. The next thing I heard about was how the rear shocks were terrible and that before long I would be hankering for a set of Progressive's. Then I read that you had to replace the stock mufflers with the cheapest ones you could find because nobody ever had the money to spend on something decent, but somehow always managed to find the money for shiney bLiNg that did nothing to improve performance, which, when combining the cost of these non performance parts together, it amounted to more than the cost of the performance parts anyway[?!].Then on that same note, seeing as nobody ever has any money or had "limited funds", and still insisted on the "...best for their $$", you always go the cheapest route, ie., buy Xied's instead of an actual "tuner".

But after reading all that jazz and much more, a funny thing happened...even at my weight of 218 lbs. I found the Iron seat comfortable and it still resides on the bike. I found the adjustment on the rear shocks to be perfectly set the way the previous owner had them configured. After investigating their baffle design I opted for the more expensive Khrome Werks slip ons, and they sound deeper and throatier than anything I have heard to date. Then, not happy knowing my stock configured engine was running lean and hence producing higher engine and exhaust temperatures unnecessarily and therefore also robbing me of some performance due to the lack of proper air/fuel ratio, I investigated tuners for their abilities, ease of function, and user votes, made a decision, then saved up my money for a Power Vision tuner, and from the instant I took it out of the box to the 15 minutes later when the bike was rumbling away, I was as happy as a lark, for it had given my lowly '883 the little set of ***** it was intended to have, running quicker and very smoothly throughout the gears, with absolutely no deceleration pop whatsoever for my exhaust/intake (K&N AirCharger #63-1126) combination.

So if there is one thing that I have gleened from this site, it is that it appears that some here, those inparticular who "suggest" changing out most everything on your factory stock bike for tons of aftermarket crap, must work for the manufacturers of these items, because my own personal experience says that they are full of it! The seat is fine, the shocks are fine, cheap exhaust systems are well, cheap, and there is no replacement for an actual tuner (who wouldn't want their bike to be running at its optimum ability w/peak performance, even though they "...never want to race it"?).

What all this means is...don't drink the Kool-Aid! Don't take people's word for things, and for the Lord's sake, be patient!! There is no motorcycle part on the planet that you can't live without for a week or two! If you take the time to investigate and get learned about each and every of them for yourself, when the time DOES comes to pull the trigger on a purchase, you can make an actual informed decision, and not one based on how much $$ is in your pocket at the time or what the guy with over 10,000 posts had to say on some discussion board. Oh, and before I forget, get yourself an HD factory service manual for your year and model bike, so even if you're already into wrenching, you'll have at your fingertips THE source for all the correct information regarding your bike, instead of taking the word of the scruffy looking bloke who works down at "Jonesy's Motorcycle and Garage Door Repair Shop" 'down the corner.



Ride safe!

=8^)

Originally Posted by Mr_Taipan

The seat on my Iron is okay but I did notice after an hour i was getting uncomfortable. I love the look of the RSD Cafe style one.

I think the chrome shocks look out of place on my black Iron. I even checked them over to see if they were aftermarket as i assumed they'd been put on rather than oem.

I have more of a problem with the front end tbh. It is dire imo, and i have intiminators ready to drop in if i ever get any free time.

Performance mods aside, for me there is nothing better than a bike with well set up, compliant suspension. It makes saddle time so much more enjoyable.

For me its not about chucking money at something for the sake of it, its more if you like the bike and can pay for some improvements, you put your own stamp on the bike. I've always held on to bikes that I've done things to longer than ones I've rode as is. YMMV...