Go Sportsters

I would buy one of these.

You could make one of those with not a whole lot of effort.

And the tank & pipes would probably look better too.

Murf2

Agree. Could use different bars and seat, maybe a fender chop. . . But here is a start.

Possibly. But my Vic runs pretty good in the mountains fully loaded up and with two passengers, in comfort. Sportster aint gonna do that. I'm not looking for big power from the Sporty, I'm thinking more alone the lines of a mini Street Bob, for shorter, solo trips.

Exactly what I love about my Sportster. Compared to the big twin it feels light as a feather, sporty, not like a real "sport bike" but sporty standard, the original superbike.. I rarely ride it more than 300 miles a day but they're usually brisk miles, never fails to put a smile on my face!

So would I!

You, me, and only about 10 other people.

Yes, indeed. One could.

Saw an ad for a 1974 Ironhead for $2K that runs, looks pretty good, and fairly stock. Always kind of wanted an older Sportster but have been warned away from them in the past. Are they really black holes for time and money? Our is the reputation exaggerated? Anything to look for or ask about the bike?

I can only tell you my experience with a 74 sportster ( first year that they switched the rear brake and foot shifter to the common locations we have today). I bought it over 20 years ago at a pig roast for 600 bucks. It was a complete basket case. It took a couple grand and a year to rebuild. I rebuilt the entire engine and tranny, re-wired the entire bike and went with an upgraded electronic ignition, an updated voltage regulator and a dual dyna coil ignition coil setup. It was an XLCH, so it was kickstart only. I also had to do all the other typical things for a complete rebuild, Strip down the entire frame, rebuild the forks, new bearings for the swingarm and neck, new wheelbearings, tires, chain, sprockets, rebuild the brakes, new cables, rebuilt and jetted a S&S carb, refurbished the generator, replaced fuel lines, petcock, full paint job, etc..

When it all said and done, it looked great and rode great. Dated my wife on that bike and rode it for 4 years and 60k before I sold it to get a FXR. It never left me stranded and I enjoyed the hell out of it. For me, it was a young man's bike though, meaning that it would vibrate the living shit out of you on the highway and the clutch pull and brakes meant that your hands needed to really squeeze to get things done. Starting it, well you better really pay attention, because if the kickstart missed on it's engagment and you kicked it , it would hyperextend your knee and that pain was f*ckin awfull.

If the bike is completly stock right now, the wiring harness on it and ignition system is so damn old, that you'll have to do some work to it, to make it reliable. You'd also want to go through the motor to make sure all is well there as well, remember, these things do not have oil filter in them. They are not at the same tech level as a current EVO sportster.

But the sound of an ironhead with decent pipes and a carb is damn sweet! At least to me... So if you are looking for a Old bike that you will wrench on to get it to a decent state of reliability and will wrench on it to keep it up and running, then it's a good deal. If your looking to hop on the bike and ride trouble free, with just the occasional oil change, I know of no "orginal condition, used 74 bike" by any manaufacture that you could really do that with.

Nice write up.

Something to look out for: check behind the rear motor mount closely for cracks or repairs to the trans/engine case it is a common place for them to break if the trans has been grenaded before.

First let me say the I love Ironheads, BUT.... you have to love motorcycles and love working on motorcycles to own one.I ride my ironhead all over and has never left me stranded but it takes maintenance and time to make the bike perform like that.The reputation that they are a $$ pit comes from the fact that most previous owner have messed with them and ridden them soooooo much that everything is worn out or about to wear out.Every one should own one at least once in their life just so we know how far we've come!

For that price, if it runs and looks fairly good, you can't go wrong.

I had a 72, and it was one of my most reliable bikes. It even started in 17ºf weather! I had to sell it to my best friend to keep the bank from taking it back, but out of every bike I've owned, it was the bike that I most regretted having to let go.
It's the reason that I got my 73 now.

As far as looks, and sound, the new HD's can't compare to the old Ironheads!

The old Sportsters are crude bikes, which makes them very repairable with simple tools. Quality spare parts that simply bolt on don't really exist anymore. Almost everything you can buy for the bike requires some modification or machining before it is suitable. If you are ready to accept that, the bike is very rewarding to ride. The sense of pride I get from being able to complete a day's ride is priceless.

Thanks for all of the knowledge everyone. I really like the idea of the Ironhead from what I have heard so far. So what is the situation with spares? I was under the impression that you could get most anything you need for old HD's which is sadly not always the case with older Japanese bikes.

I haven't had any problem finding parts, but you won't find much at the local Harley dealer. The old Sportys are just not common enough for them to bother with. They cater to the people that come in and want to buy new bikes and accessories for them.

Do a search on ebay and see how many parts you can find.

It's true that you mat have to get creative with some things, but that's part of owning anything older. When I needed points for my 72, I could just go down to the local auto parts store and buy a set of points for an old 6 cylinder Chevy. They worked perfectly!

If you look around enough, you'll find that parts aren't so hard to get, and one of the best things about them is that the bikes are simple and don't require too many parts. They're made to be rebuilt, unlike Japanese bikes.

There's a wealth of information out there now that I didn't have when I had my 72 Ironhead.
Check out the Ironhead Sportster Forum if you need any help with it.
http://www.xlforum.net/vbportal/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=7

Definitly agree with ian03xl about the rear motor mount and to check the trans case for cracks. The tranny case on mine did not crack, but the rear motor mount from the frame to the tranny did crack. Trock cycles sold and hopefully still sells a beefier motor mount. I found it to work very well.

J&P cycles and Drag Specialties have decent catalogs to find many parts for ironheads, some American made parts, some overseas parts, in addition to the stock parts to find on ebay, craigslist etc...

Best of luck !

In 1978 I owned a 73 Sportster. It was low miles. It was was so undependable(Electrics). It broke down near the Harley - Yamaha Dealer. I was pushing the bike. The Dealer asked me to buy a Yamaha 750 triple. He told me to give him $150 plus the sporty+title for a new 750 shaft drive. As I drove off on my new Yamaha I swore I would never own another Harley.Since then I've owned 6 more Harley(3 were Sportsters). $2000 for a non/poor running seems a bit much. Too many examples of low mileage bikes available in the 1986 to 2002 range for a bit more. 1986 to early 2001 were 4 speeds. Out of the old Sportys I liked the 66-67 XLH with magneto advance and the "Flathead Sporty's. Ignition switches, points , regulators etc are available at auto part stores.




Good Luck,
Les