Burly Brand’s Scrambler Sportster – The Jackrabbit

For this exercise, he got a good deal on a 2006 Sportster XL883 and set about converting it into a versatile dual-purpose motorcycle called the Jackrabbit Scrambler. Delshadi said the Jackrabbit Scrambler was meant to be ridden hard, and he means it!

“Traditionally, Scrambler-style bikes have more ground clearance, aggressive tread tires and nontraditional styling than that of a cruiser motorcycle. With that being said, the Sportster platform itched for a custom tailoring,” Delshadi said.

Knowing this bike would be bombing over berms and spending time suspended in air, updating the suspension to absorb the impact of landings was priority. A set of Burly Brand 15-inch Stiletto Shocks are tasked with keeping the rear composed while the stock sticks were replaced with a Showa unit bolstered inside by a 1” Burly drop kit and 39mm Preload Adjusters.

“Next up was picking out a good tire that worked in the dirt and could handle on the streets. The Continental TKC-80 is a great tire for the job. Allows the rider to lean the bike over in turns with the same confidence as a street tire and allows you to tear up the dirt on your local fire road,” Delshadi added.

He’s admittedly not a fan of the stock 16-inch rear hoop and so opted for an 18-inch rear, 19-inch front combo, spooning the grippy Continental knobbies on a set of DNA rims.

To tidy up the bulky stock back end, Delshadi went with a hoop-style tail section he scored from Dime City Cycles to go along with Lowbrow Customs pre-manned ribbed fenders. This required cutting the fender struts off and a bit of fabrication to the rear hoop to accommodate Dime City’s pre-bent unit. He enlisted the services of his buddy Evan from Iron Cobras Fabrication to fab up bungs for the fenders and whip up a tidy little seat pan. Evan also made mounts for both the headlight grill and the six-pack rack on the rear. His contributions didn’t end there, as Iron Cobras bent up the sweet 2-into-1 stainless pipe with a clean Cone Engineering tip as well.

To suit the style of riding he had planned for the Jackrabbit Sportster, the old handlebars were replaced with Burly Brand’s Scrambler bar and Biltwell Grips. The lower frame rails got an extra layer of protection in the form of a prototype Burly skid plate. While the 883 engine benefits from a Performance Machine air cleaner and the Iron Cobras pipe, it is primarily stock. This will change soon though because Delshadi plans on installing an S&S Cycle 883 to 1200 kit claimed to boost horsepower from 46.8 to 68.6. One of the best parts of the S&S kit is that it requires no machining or flywheel balancing as it comes complete with 3.5-inch bore cylinders, new pistons, rings and gaskets. I see some wheelie popping in the Jackrabbit Scrambler’s future.

Even though it’s a scrambler that’s going to be thrashed on, there’s no reason it can’t look good while doing it. So Delshadi sent the tins to Headcase Kustom Paint to do “a cool asymmetrical stripe down the fenders and a nice retro Z stripe on the peanut tank.” Mauricio at Azteka Custom was commissioned to wrap the seat in Mercedes-Benz leather Delshadi says “is nice and comfortable.” Granted, we know he spends almost as much time standing on the Jackrabbit’s Burly MX-style pegs as he does sitting in the saddle!

Someone else who doesn’t spend much time sitting when they ride is Mark Atkins from Rusty Butcher. When one of the Rusty Butcher bikes was down for a rebuild, Burly offered Atkins the use of the Jackrabbit Scrambler for one of Butcher’s popular #TrackerTuesday posts. They rode out to Rusty Butcher’s secret proving grounds and proceeded to put the Jackrabbit through its paces. What better way to test the true merits of a build than to have someone with Atkins' talents put it through a rigorous regimen of high-flying antics. The Jackrabbit Scrambler lived to ride another day, a testament to the sum of its parts.

The Burly Jackrabbit Scrambler can count Muchomoto Illustration amongst its fans. When Muchomoto saw the bike and heard its name, they collaborated with Delshadi and drew up six-pack toting jackrabbit in its honor. All in good fun, a fitting tribute to a bike whose purpose is fun, be it skirting city streets or roosting on rural roads.

Jackrabbit Scrambler Features

• Owner: Sean Delshadi – Burly Brand
• Bike Name: The Jackrabbit
• Engine, year and make, model, modifications: 2006 Sportster XL883
• Frame: Harley-Davidson
• Fork: Showa with a 1” Burly drop kit inside along with 39mm Preload Adjusters
• Chassis Mods: Cut fender struts off, fab’d rear hoop using Dime City pre-bent unit.
• Tire/wheel size and style: 19 front (stock size) and 18” rear to accommodate Continental TKC80 rubber; rims by DNA
• Favorite thing about this bike: Jumping up and down curbs!
• Paint: ’70s Retro Style by HeadKase Kustoms
• Other mods, accessories, cool parts, etc: Iron Cobras Exhaust, Six-Pack Rack, Burly Brand (BB) Scrambler bars, BB 15” Stiletto shocks, BB Fork Preload Adjusters, Biltwell Grips, Proto Burly skid plate, PM Air Cleaner with K&N Air filter
• Next Modification: S&S Cycle 1200 Kit