autoevolution
 

Harley-Davidson Iron Red Grows a Giant Red Mole on Its Back. No, Wait, That’s the Tank

If you’re in the market for a “blacked-out and stripped-down" bike "with a legendary profile,” as Harley-Davidson likes to call it, then the Iron 883 is the one for you. The cruiser is a short and nasty-looking machine that seems to pack a serious punch from its 883cc Evolution engine.
Harley-Davidson Iron Red 9 photos
Photo: Lord Drake
Harley-Davidson Iron RedHarley-Davidson Iron RedHarley-Davidson Iron RedHarley-Davidson Iron RedHarley-Davidson Iron RedHarley-Davidson Iron RedHarley-Davidson Iron RedHarley-Davidson Iron Red
And that’s only in stock form, because when modified, most of the time, the Iron turns into an even more aggressive beast. True, we don’t get to see modified bikes from this family all that often, but when we do, such projects are bound to stick with us, at least for a while.

And here’s an Iron now. It’s not a 2022 model year, but one made back in 2019. And despite its makers, the guys over at Spanish shop Lord Drake, saying this is “one of the simplest custom motorcycle modifications that we have made,” it looks so out of place and weird to a stock Iron that it made us cringe.

The main reason for that is the fuel tank. We’re not talking about some convoluted piece of hardware made from scratch, or some piece found in some junkyard and slapped in there. It’s the stock one, and because of that it’s weird not in design, but in the way it was positioned on the bike, and how it relates to the other elements.

You see, the stock Iron 883 has a solid image because of all the elements that go into making it flow one into another and fit great together. The Lord Drake custom ride, simply called Iron Red, is a bulky, muscular build that holds together just right only until the bike is viewed from the side.

The reasons for this are the modifications made to the tank itself, but also to the rear end. The tank, still retaining the candy red paint it came with, was raised by an undisclosed distance, making it look like it did not come with this particular motorcycle, but was hastily slapped onto the frame from elsewhere.

There’s nothing wrong with it per se, but the shop trimmed everything that comes aft of the tank to such a degree that there’s now a huge disconnect when it comes to visual coherence.

The seat was replaced with a Biltwell piece (the same crew supplied the grips), a move made possible as a result of a subframe trimming, and the original fender was replaced with a tiny one. These elements fit the rest of the bike nicely, but they do tend to make the fuel tank stick out like some huge red mole on its back.

Aside from the changes mentioned above, the Iron received a Rough Crafts air filter, a side license plate holder, massaged front fender, and front indicators located inside the drag bar handlebar’s cones. The engine is still the stock one, remapped to undisclosed levels of performance and spinning the stock wheels.

The price of this weird conversion is not known. For reference, a 2022 Iron 883 sells new and unchanged for $11,249.
If you liked the article, please follow us:  Google News icon Google News Youtube Instagram X (Twitter)
About the author: Daniel Patrascu
Daniel Patrascu profile photo

Daniel loves writing (or so he claims), and he uses this skill to offer readers a "behind the scenes" look at the automotive industry. He also enjoys talking about space exploration and robots, because in his view the only way forward for humanity is away from this planet, in metal bodies.
Full profile

 

Would you like AUTOEVOLUTION to send you notifications?

You will only receive our top stories