Can anyone tell me for sure if their is any differences between the 1979 and the 1983 Sportsters Frames?

 

79's were morfedites, LOTS of "79" only parts. don't even attempt to put 83 exhaust on it.

 

Yes but not because of the frame. '79 uses a different exhaust only because of the placement of the rear brake master cylinder which can be changed if needed to forward controls. Then almost any Ironhead exhaust would work.

'79 - '81 frames were the same. Not sure of the differences from 1983 frames.

 

I hope I got my Sportster history right. The '79-'81 frame was first introduced in '77 as the XLCR- cafe racer bike. The XLCR was only produced for two years. Harley then used that frame for the '79-'81 sportster. They redesigned the frame for the '82 year. '79 used many of the same parts as the XLCR- rear master cylinder location, exhaust system. '79 was the odd year and parts do not interchange. Hope I got it right.

 

The 79' s are considered the bas#tard years, stay away. I had a 77'. There is a forum dedicated to XL'S, lots of good info there.