Well, it's been almost a year and 5,000 miles since I picked up my '13 Iron and I thought it might be time for an update / mini review on some of the mods I've done. I bought this bike to be a "project," not a project in the sense that it needed to be fixed, but it was something to tinker with. And, oh yeah, when I'm not jerkin around with stuff I know nothing about--I go out and ride .

Badlander Seat
I wanted more of a cafe style seat, but this one's lines flow pretty nicely with the rear fender. *** gets numb after an hour or so.
Looks 7/10
Comfort 5/10

Forward Controls
Never rode the bike with the stock mid-set pegs, the forwards are pretty comfortable to me, will probably change the foot pegs / gear shift soon.
Overall 8/10

Smoked turn signals / brake lights
Easy install, blacked the bike out a little more, very happy.
Overall 9/10

Biltwell Z Bars
Love the look, not the most comfortable bars for me. Back starts to give out after a while. For trips less than an hour, the riding position is pretty good, feels "aggressive."
Overall 7/10

Black Leather Fork Wraps
Easy install, blacked the bike out a little more, very happy.
Overall 9/10

DK Customs Tank Lift, Ignition / Coil Relocation
Awesome piece of kit. Cleaned up the lines of the bike, changed the whole stance. Really happy with how it turned out.
Overall 9/10

Cycle Shack Slip-ons
Pretty good alone, not great. Paired with the Xied's and 587 Intake, they are top notch in terms of tone, and pretty good performance gain (says the butt dyno).
Alone 7/10
Xieds & Intake 9/10

Xieds
Budget "tuner" (fuel enrichment device), seems to keep the bike happy, improved throttle response, lower idle, etc. What else is there to say?
Overall 7/10

DK Customs Outlaw 587 Intake
Super easy install, had to fiddle with the gaskets a bit to get them lined up. Love the look, sound and performance. Paired with the Xied's and slip-ons the bike feels happy on the highway and on the surface streets. Power on demand, less stumbling, hesitation, etc.
Overall 8/10

Front Fender Delete
Honestly, it sucks in the rain. Even with my high tech bandanna mod on the fork gaiters, you're going to get a constant rooster tail of dirty-*** road-grimey water in your face. But, I dig the looks. FWIW, without the bandanna mod, the amount of water in your face doubles.
Looks 8/10
Performance in the rain 1/10

Walmart Blue Paisley Bandanna
It's a bandanna.
Overall 10/10



Let me know what you think, what your mileage has been, if you have any suggestions, criticism, or thoughts unrelated.

And, finally, a big thank you to everyone on here. Almost everything I've done to the bike I've learned at least a little bit about from good folks on this forum.

-Wildcat

 

Looks great! I'm sure you have, but given any thought to a speedo relocation?

 

Thanks! Yes, speedo relocation is on the "wanted" list of mods. Trying to figure out if I'm going to stick with the Z bars before I go messing with the speedo...

-Wildcat

 

The speedo actually seems in a great place with the Z bars sticking up to either side of it. Doesn't look abnormally tall like mine does!

 

Looks Good! DK customs relocation kit and tank lift is my next project, i have 8" Z bars and i like them, but i didn't wire them internally so it looks crowded up front. I also did the 12" street glide shocks which so far is my best mod. Did you go with a 1.5" or 2" tank lift? I plan replacing my bars with Zombie Performance bars, they have great lines.

 

The tank lift is either 2" or 2.5" I can't remember which one. Pretty sure it's the 2.5". If I had to do it again, I think I'd go with the full 3" lift so that the tank mirrors the top line of the frame. As it sits now, it is slightly lower in the front than it "should" be to my eye.

This was the one mod that took some time, especially ripping out all the plastic and locating all the zip ties holding it on. Eventually you get to the point where there are just plastic "bolts" holding it together and you have to kind of tear it off. There's probably a better way to do it, but, I just got in there and started pulling it apart slowly.

 

Yeah the Biltwell Z's frame the speedo pretty well which is one reason I've held off doing the relocation. With the stock bars you have the speedo popping up out of nowhere and it looks a little out of place IMO.

 

looks good nice little review of the changes !

 

Nice bike! And nice read

 

bike is looking really good. i like the bars with the tank lift.