I'm looking into purchasing a used Iron 883, but can't decide between the 2. What is the better/safer buy?

I have an opportunity to buy either a 2016 with 600 miles on it purchased last May and only really ridden last summer and has been garaged since, was winterized and taken out a couple weeks ago. Only service it's really had was when it was purchased from Harley. Price is $6500

Or a 2017 with 4450 miles on it, has passed all inspections and just had the 5k service performed on it by Harley. Price is $7000

 

Sounds like a tossup to me. I would probably go with the '16 with almost 4000 miles less and put the extra $500 into goodies for the bike and/or a full service (actually, I would buy a service manual and do the service myself if it was me). The two bikes are virtually identical other than model year, so you're not gaining anything either way from a functional standpoint.

 

Yea, I'm leaning toward the 2016 to save the $500 and put toward a vance and hines exhaust. Only thing I like about the 2017 is the fact that it has a service record and was just checked over by Harley, which has documents showing what was checked over/performed.

The 2016 wasn't ridden much, which could be good or bad

 

So not sure if it's worth rolling the dice, just to save $500

 

Rolling what dice? $500 is $500 and 4000 miles is 4000 miles. Just because the '16 hasn't had a service yet doesn't mean anything from a reliability standpoint. The first service is normally at 1000 miles, so it isn't even due for it yet. Spending the money for a service or having to do it oneself relatively soon is the only issue here....

 

Gotcha, alright

 

600 miles isn't even broken in. So if you go with that one, make sure to just change all the fluids (even the brake fluid).

Are they dealers or private sellers? Price seems a little high to me, but it may be a regional thing.

I wouldn't be concerned about the mileage with either one tho. Sounds like it's an apples to apples comparison. Just see if either one has any tangibles that stand out for you, i.e. Paint, intake, exhaust, bars or anything like that. Those sorts of things can save you some up front cash.

Do you have links to either of the sale posts or anything?

 

They're private sales. Both bikes are bone stock. Yea, I've been shopping around and from what I see in my area the pricing is on point AND I talked them down

 

Should be able to haggle better with a private seller.

I would ask the 2017 to come down $500. Tell him you've narrowed it down to him and another. Then if he does, you've got the best of both worlds.

If he won't budge, go with the cheaper one.

 

2017 was asking 7500, already got him down to 7000

2016 was asking 7020 and got them down to 6500