Greetings from Bombay!

I’ve just booked my Iron 883 & am waiting for delivery. It takes a while here in India! Super stoked about the bike. Time had come to upgrade and finally ride the American Legend so with the most my wallet could stretch I’ve booked my first ever Harley.

I’ve been putting together my accessories wish list of sorts. I’ll have to do it nice and slow cause the prices here in India have a 200% import fee on it.
I’ve listed the first few essential accessories I’ve been thinking about and my queries about them. Any suggestions and advice about this or the bike in general will really be appreciated!

Passenger Seat & Back Rest Pad: I’ve been looking for a passenger seat that isn’t too bulky and goes with the flow of the bike. Any HD passenger seat that you would suggest?

Forward Control Kit: I’m about 6 feet tall and the dealership here told me that installing a forward control kit might be a good idea. It is a big expense but if it improves ride quality massively, I don’t mind adding it on.

Engine Guard: The engine guard seems to be the one accessory that everyone here has been telling me to get.

Handle Bar: When I test rode the bike at the dealership, I did find the handle bar not so awesome. I’m thinking of a Sportster Drag Bar with risers. Have attached images below of handlebar examples I found online. Does anyone know what bars and risers have been used here? New bars and risers would also mean new cables right?

Finally I want my machine to sound as mean as possible without burning a mean hole in my wallet. Any suggestion?

Thanks a ton.

Peace

 

Congrats on your purchase and welcome to the club! It is difficult to provide input on several of your questions though because the answer is "depends" on them.

What bars are comfy for you depends on your torso height, your arm length, and your riding style. Don't allow ANYONE here to suggest bars for you without them being nearly identical in measurement to your body as well. The bars that are comfy for me, at 5'5" will be totally different for a taller person.

Forward controls, however - go for it. Even at my height I love the extended reach of the forwards. It is COMFY. You do sacrifice a little bit in control but not enough to put you into a fence.

I see the engine guard as totally optional and personal preference. I've never dropped my bike (yet) so I don't really see the need for the guards, and if you have forward controls, then the leg stretch from the highway pegs you might put on your guards is minimized.

I don't remember which p-pad (passenger seat) I purchased but it sticks on with 8 suction cups. It works great. The backrest though - I'd go for the detachable sissy bar with backrest pad. My passengers loved it.

Enjoy your new ride!

 

Thanks so much for your reply! It’s really put some stuff in perspective about where I should start thinking!

I think the forward controls will probably be on my list and will look for this p-pad because it sounds very convenient.

Any advice on making my bike sound awesome?

 

Welcome to the club!

A lot of your choices will depend on personal preference and only what you like and feel comfortable with should end on your ride. I will give you my stats and opinions to weigh your options but in the end its all up to you.

I'm right at 6'0 190lbs. My Nightster has 28" drag bars with 4" pullback on the stock risers. I also have kept the mid controls on the bike instead of forwards.

I have always felt that mids make you "feel" more in control, but whether or not you actually do have more is probably debatable. My choice for keeping the mids was purely because it felt more like me.

With drags it comes down to how much you want to lean over. At 6'0 the stock risers give a pretty good lean and adding taller aftermarket risers will get you sitting up more giving your back a break.

Needing new cables will all depend on how tall the risers you decide on are, and sometimies you can get away with keeping the stock cables if they are not too tall.

As far as exhaust goes, if you don't want to spend too much you can look into going with slip-ons instead of a full system.

Just my thoughts.

 

Congrats on your new bike!

I am 5' 11" and I have forwards. To me, they are the perfect. Not too much of a stretch, but I am not cramped up.

I would recommend forwards, but you could also look into leaving the mid controls and adding an engine guard with highway pegs. This way when riding in the city you have your feet on the mids and then on the highway you can move your feet to the pegs on the crash bar.

No crash bar on my bike and I won't add one. Waste of money for me.

As far as changing out the bars, if you go to drag bars there is a good chance you will not have to change cables which will save you a lot of money. That really depends, though.

For pipes, I have Rush slip-ons and I love them. They are louder than stock, but no obnoxious.

 

Welcome to the Harley club. I just got my 883 a few months back. I am loving it!

As far as mid/forward controls go. I am also 6ft tall about 195lbs. I just bought a set of forward controls. Right now I am comfortable with the mid controls, but I want to be able to stretch out a bit. I actually am thinking about leaving the mid mounted pegs tho (if possible) so I can have them there for when I might have to get up on the bike to go over a bump or something.

Congrats on the bike!

 

Hey James, Dave & Jared,

Thanks so much for all your advice. Gathering from what all of you are saying, I’ve understood that all of my queries have a lot to do with personal preferences.

I’m linking the idea of leaving the mid controls and adding the engine guard with highway pegs. An engine guard/crash bar is something I’m definitely going to need in the chaotic traffic and cramped parking space in India.

Going to start checking out slip-ons online. I might have to ship it in from the states considering there are no HD aftermarket parts in India yet.

I think I’m gonna go ahead and check out drag bars with 6” risers so that I can sit upright more.

Peace

 

I tried to do just that tonight. The brake rod on the forward controls interferes with trying to mount the middle peg mount. I ended up using the mid controls and turning my forwards into highway pegs. I much prefer mid pegs for riding, but I like being able to kick my legs out over the forward pegs on the highway.

 

Congrats on your first HD!

Sound like you have a good list going.

I'm 5'11" and have forwards, very comfortable...with mids I feel very cramped up.

Cycle Shack and Rush Slip-ons are both good sounding.

For a better than stock sound (but not as good as some slip-ons) take a look at the video below...might save you a big hole in the wallet with the 200% import fees.

 

I put a highway bar on my Sporty and moved my forward pegs onto the bar, leaving the controls amidships. Unfortunately, I can't get the pegs just right on the highway bars. They are about an inch too far forward. Just keep in mind that with a highway bar, you may lose that perfect forward peg positioning. I like my highway bars, but I have half a mind to remove it and put the forward pegs back on because they were so comfy there. I suppose I could look for something that brings the pegs a little closer to me when remaining attached to the bar...