Knowledgeable Harley folks.....

[robtattoo]

I'm looking at buying myself a very used bike, specifically a Road Kind, Fatboy/bob or Heritage. One of the fat front end jobs.

It's going to get a complete strip down & do away with all of the unnecessary bits (fenders, turn signals, shiny bits, any freaking HINT of tassels....) & I'm on a super low budget. I'm not concerned about a title, even. I've titled bikes before & the hassle, to me, is worth the money saving.

Anyway, aside from all that, what I'm wanting to know is, in my price range I'm looking at late Evo & early Twin Cam bikes, probably with pretty high mileage & multiple (I would assume, knowing "Harley Types") clueless previous owners. Which would be the better motor to go with?

My knowledge of big twins is pretty much limited to sidevalve 45s & later Shovels.

 

[Luked]

Have had a few Harleys. Wouldnt concider myself a pro but know them pretty well.
I have had a couple Sposters, a 2007 Heritage with a 96in and also had a 2020 Rodaglide special with the M8.
For me the heritage was my favorite as far as just enjoyable

My question would be what are you planning on doing with said bike?

 

[robtattoo]

Have had a few Harleys. Wouldnt concider myself a pro but know them pretty well.
I have had a couple Sposters, a 2007 Heritage with a 96in and also had a 2020 Rodaglide special with the M8.
For me the heritage was my favorite as far as just enjoyable

My question would be what are you planning on doing with said bike?

Something not too dissimilar to this, minus the hard tail & shiny bits, then ride the crap out of it.



Pretty much every bike I've ever owned has been a chop/bobber/streetfighter until now. I wish I'd thought to take & keep more photos... I miss having something stupid & minimal. My current ride, an '81 XS650 Special is too nice to chop & I've always wanted a modern, more reliable big twin.

 

[Luked]

If I were to go that route. I would go with a Heritage and go EVO.
I wouldnt go past 2007 as if I remember right 2007 was the first year they put the 6 speed trans in.
I might be wrong though.

 

[robtattoo]

If I were to go that route. I would go with a Heritage and go EVO.
I wouldnt go past 2007 as if I remember right 2007 was the first year they put the 6 speed trans in.
I might be wrong though.

Problems with the 6 speed?

 

[Luked]

Sorry. Mistyped. I wouldnt go older than 2007 so you are able to get the 6 speed.

 

[robtattoo]

Ahhh, I gotcha. Thanks!

 

[Backyard]

You would be looking for a Heritage or a Fatboy. Pricing is all over the map as some think they have gold, others know and are more realistic and just ready to just hang it up. But Id guess you would be looking at between 4500-8000 depending on year. Miles don’t mean much in the used motorcycle market. You might even check something like Crashed Toys or a similar auction type site for a lower priced one that needs some work.


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[doc holiday13]

All Harley's are underpowered. My opinion is the road king has the best lines. If the road king speaks to you check out Indian Chieftan or Super Chief

 

[Chase0109]

I don’t know that you can go wrong with either an Evo or twin cam engine. A little more data to help you make your choice.

Harley built Evo engines from 1984 to 2000. In 2000 they switched over to the twin cam engine. So anything post 2000 will be twin cam. 2007 is when all models switched over to EFI standard equipment. As a general rule any Evo you get is going to be carbureted. 2000–2006 twin cams could go either way depending on what was ordered. Anything 2007 up will be EFI with a six speed tranny.

I still ride my custom 1993 wide glide. I really like evo engines. I don’t mind using a choke either. But I’ve ridden plenty of twin cams and efi is nice if you’re going to do a lot of road trips. If it’s a bar hopper doesn’t really matter lol.

Chase

 

[KenLee]

I don’t know that you can go wrong with either an Evo or twin cam engine. A little more data to help you make your choice.

Harley built Evo engines from 1984 to 2000. In 2000 they switched over to the twin cam engine. So anything post 2000 will be twin cam. 2007 is when all models switched over to EFI standard equipment. As a general rule any Evo you get is going to be carbureted. 2000–2006 twin cams could go either way depending on what was ordered. Anything 2007 up will be EFI with a six speed tranny.

I still ride my custom 1993 wide glide. I really like evo engines. I don’t mind using a choke either. But I’ve ridden plenty of twin cams and efi is nice if you’re going to do a lot of road trips. If it’s a bar hopper doesn’t really matter lol.

Chase

My 99 Road King is fuel injected. Been a nice reliable ride. I still have no reason to update.

 

[onlybrowning]

If you want simple, get an Evo. Yup, they’re slow, only 5 speeds (don’t haven enough torque to pull a 6 speed anyway in my opinion), but they are very easy to work on and should be affordable. I keep my old 93 Fatboy around just because it doesn’t owe me a thing and it kinda scratches the itch.


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[Fatcamp]

I'll buy and chop a bike in the next year. This is a post on a forum that a bunch of folks seem to agree with in regards to which big twin is gonna be reasonable to chop.

A 98-99 springer Softtail would be about ideal. I just missed a heck of a deal on a 91. 18k for $4,000 because it needed a little work. Another one will come around.

I'm giving serious thought to doing a 1200 sportster, 2000-2003 are the ideal years for them it seems. A little motor work and a 1200 sportster will move pretty good.

 

[robtattoo]

I'll buy and chop a bike in the next year. This is a post on a forum that a bunch of folks seem to agree with in regards to which big twin is gonna be reasonable to chop.
View attachment 706181
A 98-99 springer Softtail would be about ideal. I just missed a heck of a deal on a 91. 18k for $4,000 because it needed a little work. Another one will come around.

I'm giving serious thought to doing a 1200 sportster, 2000-2003 are the ideal years for them it seems. A little motor work and a 1200 sportster will move pretty good.

I was honestly surprised by how many I've found, so far, for south of 5 grand. Having paid nothing but UK harley prices before, I'm shocked at how cheap they can be had over here!

 

[Fatcamp]

I was honestly surprised by how many I've found, so far, for south of 5 grand. Having paid nothing but UK harley prices before, I'm shocked at how cheap they can be had over here!

I was watching a Billy Lane YouTube clip and he was talking about how Softtails just aren't in demand. To me they make sense, reliable, easy to work on, and can make a simple chopper without too much effort.

I hear right before Christmas is the ideal time to buy. Even so, I find bikes under 5k every week.

 

[BigE]

It's easier to start with a working machine, but I've had good fun buying "crate bikes" or parts/salvage bikes and making them work. Tons of options out there. Especially if you are gonna chop it or make a franken-bike.

Check the usual suspects sites like copart, crashedtoys, ebay. Then your local swap meets and local bike salvage yards. Also I've found great support from your local motorcycle shops. They all have their own scrap yard or back room with shelves of used parts. You may be surprised what you can put together with $1-3k.

There's a lot of HD's out there that get no wear and tear on them other than washing and polishing and as a display piece of driveway jewelry. Keep your eyes open and you can walk into a good barely used machine from some guy that just passed his mid life moment and wants his garage space back.

 

[tater]

If you can work on a Shovel, you can work on an evo. Besides tighter tolerances and a couple of other oiling quirks really similar.

Twin Cam involves more tools (pulling cams etc.) and the first few years had some issues (cam chain tensioners etc.)

Buy a softail, hardtail it (early softails handle like crap) and let 'er rip. A mild ev27 cam, some ez fit pushrods and a rejetted Keihin carb (no, you DO NOT need an s&s or mikuni for an 80 inch evo).

Mid 90's evo softails are everywhere and you whould be able to score a low mileage one for $5K depending on the number tassels and screaming chicken doodads glued to it.

 

[Tourguide]

I'm looking at buying myself a very used bike, specifically a Road Kind, Fatboy/bob or Heritage. One of the fat front end jobs.

It's going to get a complete strip down & do away with all of the unnecessary bits (fenders, turn signals, shiny bits, any freaking HINT of tassels....) & I'm on a super low budget. I'm not concerned about a title, even. I've titled bikes before & the hassle, to me, is worth the money saving.

Anyway, aside from all that, what I'm wanting to know is, in my price range I'm looking at late Evo & early Twin Cam bikes, probably with pretty high mileage & multiple (I would assume, knowing "Harley Types") clueless previous owners. Which would be the better motor to go with?

My knowledge of big twins is pretty much limited to sidevalve 45s & later Shovels.

Evo, made lots of em so parts aren't bad and they just plain work.

 

[5811]

Lots of buells turned into choppers like that 10-20 years ago. If you want to do the work yourself, I think you are on the right track. But if you want something to get on and ride, I'd look for a Buell chopper, theres got to be tons out there collecting dust. Plus the offset final drive means less of a wonky alignment for a fat rear, and the engines are much more spry without going inside.

 

[onlybrowning]

“Screaming chicken doodads” wins the thread just saying. Love it.


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