Trends can be interesting things to watch especially in the world of motorcycling. With the explosion of everything “custom chopper” in the middle and late 2000′s and the proliferation of high end custom bike builders it looked as though the main stream media driven segment of the biker world was leaning towards “flash and show” over “guts and go.” Throw in the whirlwind of bike building based television shows such as Jesse James, Billy Lane, the guys at Orange County Choppers and more, and many riders began to worry that the world of motorcycling was being flipped on its’ ear. Even with the immense popularity of the Harley Davidson Motor Company over the years they, of course, have their detractors. Those riders who feel that their bike is unique because of the work they have done to it got a bit irked with Harley. With the introduction of such bikes as the Crossbones, the V-Rod, the Custom Vehicle Operations (CVO) division and others many felt that the Motor Company was caving to the current trends and not sticking with it roots. “Just give me a solid well running bike and leave the rest to me!” was a common sentiment. Love it or hate it the Sportster line up of Harley bikes has been wildly popular and long lived.

First introduced in 1957 this model line has enjoyed over 50 years of continuous production and many, many revisions and upgrades. Interestingly as the trend for bigger, faster, flashier chopper style machines seemed to be hitting its peak Harley introduced the most basic looking version of the Sportster – the Iron 883. The look of this bike screams “back to basics” and in a good way. It’s simple, understated and ready for anything a rider may want to do to it. With a price tag of under $8000 it’s cheap and comes with everything you need right off the showroom floor. The 3.3 gallon tank, drag bars and mid-mounted foot pegs come standard. The true stand apart feature on this model is that pretty much everything on this machine is blacked out. About the only chrome you’ll find on this are the pipes and the forks. When choosing the Black Denim paint option (the other is “Brilliant Sliver”) you’ve got a blacked out machine with great looks. If you’re looking for an affordable ride without all the chrome and flash of the current trend take a look at the Iron 883. You might just find something you like, a lot.

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