883R. Definitely the 883R! The difference between these bikes is that the 883R has longer suspension, better ground clearance, twin front discs and is IMHO a better starting point. AND you have spare cash to make it look the way you want it.

 

My Vote is for the R .. With the extra money can do lots with it, including the 1200-1250 Big Bore .. Prefer a Carb myself but guess thats because never had an EFI until 2008 and Been Riding Harleys for 40+ Years ..

 

Another vote on the Iron. As stated, take a look at the Nightsters. You can find them used for a decent price. I paid $5800 for my girl's 2007 with less than 3000 miles and about $1,500 in add ons.

 

I would pass on both and find a 1200 for the same price range or a Dyna. lol

 

I'm still a bit torn, but lately I've been leaning with this route.
I can swap out the dual tank for a sporster tank, so that makes me happy.
Painting the tank and fenders won't be expensive. Putting a different exhaust won't be too much. I should have plenty of cash left over for the 1200 modification and other goodies like seat, bars, shocks (or struts!), etc...

 

I went with an 883, so i could learn and so insurance will be cheaper. then when i want more power, I can bore it to 1200. A bored 883 will smoke a stock 1200. different gearing.

You may get the 883r and realize a sportster isnt what you really want. If thats the case you wont have as much money in the hole and you can sell a lower priced bike faster

 

I'd go with the Iron but I may be a bit biased I absolutely love the styling of the Iron.

 

I like the Iron too, it's the first Sporster that caught my eye. But the longer I thought about it, the more I wanted to change.

I think I realize that the Iron's styling doesn't mean a whole lot when I'm just going to bob it all down. Am I thinking correctly here?

The 883R already has the blacked out engine, too.

I guess my debate really comes down to cost, age of the bike, and carb versus EFI.

 

when it comes to my camaros Im all about fuel injection, but a harley...its gotta be carbed for me haha. You can run into a lot more problems with EFI, I said CAN, you may never.

If you are goin to bob it, id say find an old one. But thats me. Flat and gloss block paint can get you a long way for little money.

4000 or 6500 is a lot to put into something you plan to drastically change. Hang around some bars and put the word out. You can find awesome deals.

 

Go with the 883r. Cheaper and if you're already planning on doing a bunch of mods why spend that extra coin on the iron? I'm new to this too and I jumped in quick and bought a new 48 because I loved the look of it. But after owning for just about a month I am starting to realize all of the changes I will be making to this bike already. And came to the conclusion that I could have bought something cheaper and ended with the same look probably sooner.