Daily Slideshow: 883 Sportster By Burly Brand Becomes Dirt Scooter

Scramblers are en vogue

David Zemla of Burly Brand built this Scrambler right in his garage from a pretty humdrum run of the mill 883. From that pedestrian looking bike, he created a bike that has vintage flair but can still bomb down roads. The process was not an easy one as there were days when things went right, others where things took a not so hot turn and others where things hit a dead end. If you aren't sure what a Scrambler is David provides this explanation: “A Scrambler is a unique hybrid of asphalt and dirt initiated in the 60’s and 70’s to address a market that was hacking up their street bikes to tolerate fire road bombing. The more popular iterations came with a Honda or BSA badge and in recent years this style has been resurrected by the folks at Triumph.”

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No more fancy crap

Before Zemla got his hands on the 2006 XL the bike had a pretty mundane life providing transportation to and from the tennis courts for a retired teacher. However, once the bike entered Burly Brand it was promptly stripped down to the motor and frame with a focus being on turning the bike into a real deal Scrambler. The suspension of the bike was reworked with the front dropped two inches via a Burly higher-rate fork spring kit, and raising the rear by four inches using 15" Burly stiletto shocks. 

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Trial and error

A pair of Monster Craftsman ribbed fenders and a NOS Six-Pack rack come right from eBay. David handcrafted the seat pan to lay over the revised tail section and had a local upholstery shop cover it.  “I really wanted a flat seat and it took several tries to get it to look right on the Sportster,” explained Zemla. The headlight grill meant to go on a moped and the turn signals are Kuryakyn. More mods came in the way of Biltwell grips, a hand fabricated skid plate, Vance and Hines air filter and an RSD low pipe. 

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Less weight and more power

The performance was upgraded from a Vance and Hines air intake and an RSD Slant 2 into 1 Carbon Ops exhaust. David ground the chassis down at the rear and welded on a pre-bent hoop from Dime City Cycles. The Continental TKC80 tires only come in 17 inches for the rear so the OEM rims got updated with Ride Wright. The stock 19" in the front was still there and both ends received four-piston Performance Machine calipers. 

>>Join the conversation about this Scrambler Sportster from Burly Brands right here in HDForums.

Sorting it out in the dirt

Once the bike was finished it took David took it out for its first run in the Cleveland National Forest with a group of KTM dual sport folks.  “They dragged me through a few dirt roads and a bit of single track, and the bike handled it really well,” says Zemla. “It’s definitely not a dirt bike and I’ll never air it out over a double—but it’ll rip up a fire road and take far off the beaten path. All the while knowing that my ride home is sorted.”

>>Join the conversation about this Scrambler Sportster from Burly Brands right here in HDForums.

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