hi....

i am going to buy a bike within the next 6 months. i live in phoenix, i had actually seen a couple of nice bikes for $6500, though older models, but low mileage...

ok...this is sort of mandatory , or my wants..
1. 1 to 20,000 miles..the lower the better
2. not crazy about buying spoke wheel bike, but might consider if if the rear is not spokes...if i go out of town and have flat..i prefer to just plug it , and go..
3. no sportster, i am 6ft 2
4. THE BIG ONE...hydraulic lifters..I DO NOT WANT TO ADJUST MY VALUES ON MY NEXT BIKE..I HAVE DONE IT ON 2 PREVIOUS METRICS, I DON,T WANT T DO IT..
5. $10000 OR LESS

ANY SUGGESTIONS..I WAS LOOKING AT A 2000 DYNA
which engines are better than others? etc

 

What are Hydralic Values?

 

That's the problem with most of this world, They have no values.

Welcome to the Forum. Great first post.

 

I think op is trying to tell us he wants a bike with hydraulic lifters. Don't worry, op, the last Harley with solid lifters was a 1985 Sportster.
$6500 will buy you a nice used Harley, op.

 

You state your budget is 10K for that price you should have lots of selection. Just a quick look at Craigs list in PHX shows a lot of bikes in that range

06 Fatboy 19K miles $8300
05 Softail 2900 miles custom factory paint $9299
09 Superglide 12K miles $9K
09 Fat Bob 14K miles $7900
01 Deuce 9K miles $7700
04 heritage 18K miles $7500
02 Dyna 13K miles $6950
04 Road King 18K miles $8900
98 Fatboy 8K miles $8000
13 Superglide 8k Miles $10K

Thats just a sampling of what is there, bottom line for $10K you will have lots of choices. Hydraulic lifters shouldn't be a worry like the poster above said. Lots of folks including myself running spoke wheels and not worrying about that flat on the highway.

Your best bet is to narrow it down to a few choices that you like and perhaps then as opinions here on those specific bikes. There are to many choices out there and none of us really know your taste in bikes

 

If your gonna buy older, get a 99-02 they had the better bottom end but if newer get 07 or newer .it gas the hydraulic cam chain tensioners.

 

Mileage doesn't count for a lot on newer (2000 and up) bikes. But be concerned about mods. Many can't be detected unless disassembled like cams, pistons, head work, etc. It's anybody's guess if it was set up right. So ask for documented history on what was done and who did it. Also you'll want to see fresh tires with lots of tread. Fuel injected (Delphi FI is preferred) bikes can't be tuned without a tuner. Is one included?.

 

On any used bike, I'd look at the "overall" condition of the bike.


If it looks like it has been taken good care of on the outside, chances are it has also been serviced regularly and not ridden like it "was stolen", as some like to say.


The '07's (and up) have the hydraulic cam tension adjusters, and older engine can easily be updated ( $1,000 bucks or so) with the S/E kit and be just as reliable.


I understand your position on tubeless tires and the ability to quickly plug and go but I will tell you that I've been riding since '69 and in all that time (and miles) I've had less than 5 flat tires and one those was due to an improperly installed tube, and one due to a "plugged" tire that I was not aware of.


While Dyna's are good looking and good riding bikes, it seems to me that the Softails and RK's have better resale opportunities.


Many years ago, I was in the market for a used bike and I looked at several. One that I test rode was an extremely well taken care of Dyna Low Rider, but it was just not the bike I was looking for.
A few days later, I ended buying an 87 Softail Custom Wide-Glide that had not been well taken care of (mechanically) but it looked and ran great and it was what I was looking for at that time.


In just about every used bike that I've ever bought, the common issues or things that need to be replaced is the battery and the tires (and tubes) and on two occasions, not checking the tires/tubes carefully almost got me seriously injured so beware and good luck finding the right bike.

 

ok..thanks all for the info...I saw a 2001 the other day, dyna something....I thought it just looked average, nothing spectacular...vibrated like the dickens, and had a large one pipe on it...LOUD.. How much power difference is there between the engines...I like power

 

I find my '03 with a Stage One to have plenty of power. But if you're into Power, and low maintenance, you should probably be looking at Yamahas.

Every year has pros and cons. If you look at 99-02, get a carb. The FI system on 99-01 is archaic. 99-06 good engine, make sure Cam Chain Hydraulic Upgrade, or gear drive was added. 96 and 103s run hot, there are aftermarket solutions.

You will love whatever year you get, as you can tell by every poster telling you to buy their year. And everybody else telling you why that year sucks.
So just find a bike that somebody loved and took care of. A bike with 30k, that was maintained, and had deficiencies remedied, may be a better bike than a neglected, un-upgraded 15k mile bike.

If you read too much, you may get Paralysis by Analysis. Just pick a bike that looks and feels right on a test ride. I like shiny and chrome, you might like blacked out.