Hi I just picked up a new to me 08 roadster that had 5k miles for a decent deal and was wondering if any roadsters came with the bobtail fender or if someone put it on there . the guy I got it from said it was rare. I was hoping someone here with more knowledge might be able to help . it also has a graphic on the tank I haven't seen before . thanks for any info

 

All Roadsters came with the same standard rear fender with the big ugly taillight sticking up on the back.
I chopped mine off and got rid of the taillight, the other way to clean up the back is what the PO of your bike did which was to add an aftermarket rear fender that they liked, that's the beauty of a Sportster...you can make it look any way you like it.

 

That probably is a very rare fender.
I put one on my OL's previous 2004, around November of 2003. I got it through Harley's Custom Paint Shop, so it matched her factory Vivid Black/Smokey Gold two-tone paint, with a maroon pinstripe. The fender, with an install kit, was about 400 bucks. The fender for a 2004-2006, is different than one for a 2007-2009. In 2012, we sold her 2004, but I removed the bobtail fender, replacing it with the original, full, factory fender I had stashed away. I was going to paint it all black and put it on my 2005 Sportster, but a forum member asked about it, so I sold it to him for a trike project he was putting together that wouldn't accept the factory full fender. The height of the bobtail rear permitted more clearance for the trike's differential, or something like that, and the black/gold matched his bike. Anyway, I still wanted a bobtail fender for my Sportster. In 2013, I managed to find the last, Harley, new-in-the-box bobtail fender in the USA, that was sitting on a dealership's shelf, by using some contacts at my local dealership. Another dealership, had an install kit sitting around. I've been hoarding those parts for goin' on 5 years. I reckon they pop up on Ebay, occasionally.
The Harley Custom Paint Shop faded away, in 2009. In 2010 and 2011, the bobtail Sportster fender was only available in primer or Vivid Black for 2004-2006 and 2007-2009 models. It went obsolete, and was not listed in the 2012 P&A Catalog, IIRC. I guess the chopped fenders came into vogue, rather than the bobtail. I have a collection of old P&A Catalogs, so I was able to verify the listings in 2009, 2010 and 2011 catalogs.
I really like the bobtail style, my Softail has one, but I've grown fond of the full rear fender on my 2005 Sportster. It's a classic. I haven't totally given up on the bobtail fender idea for my Sportster, though.

My OL's previous 2004 XL1200C (taken about the Summer of 2004):

 

i usually scoff at those tails but, that works well. classic looking.

 

Is that a flap underneath the bobtail?

 

Thanks for the kind comment.
Not bad for a girl's bike, huh? She ripped on that scooter. It fit her 5' 3"-ish frame, pretty well. Lowered, before Progressive Suspension came out with shocks for '04 and up. The handlebars came from the V-Rod line and finding a metric banjo-bolt for the front brake, took a little effort. In 2004, these were a new breed.

Kinda. It's included in the install kit. The license plate/tail light mount.

 

08 roadster