ok so i have been doing a lot of selling of old junk i dont need anymore and working up to getting myself my first Harley
looking for a Sportster to start out on...i have asked a few questions here and got a lot of responses on the old vs new...i know the 86 was the first year for the EVO motors and they were more reliable (some say) than the older Ironhead sportsters
were the Ironheads jsut known problem childs or were they decent bikes where there known problems with the Ironheads that were more problematic than the newer EVO motors?
give me the honest scoop fellas im hopeing to have one within a few months at most and just want an idea to go by on what to look for if i do find a deal on an older Ironhead

 

Quality control at H-D wasn't very good during the Iron Head years.
If it is going to be your only bike I'd avoid anything earlier than the mid to late 90s and would be looking more at bikes 5 years old or less.
Around here there isn't much difference in asking price.

 

I'd have to agree, you can get a 90's model dirt cheap if you look. I just picked up a 93 Sportster with 7k miles on it for under 2K.

 

The 70 XLch I had back in 71 had problem all the time with valves..

tore her down every yr to do a top end to keep compression up..

finally had a wrench do a 2 or 3way ??,, grind and lap in and she lasted till I sold her 3rd summer later.

 

Doc...im hopeing thats the kind of deal i can find around here but most of them im finding are around $3k
id pay $2k for one in a heartbeat

 

I'd stay away from an Ironhead unless your a decent HD mechanic and like to wrench. There are a lot of Sportys for sale cheap that are way more reliable. That being said I had an Ironhead and it was a blast to ride, got a lot of looks at bike nights, and there was nothing better than starting it in 1 kick with a crowd watching. But I kept close to home on it, and spent a good deal making it reliable.

 

I had an 80 and had to many times push it down a hill to jump start it. Lots of electrical gremlins. But I'd sure like to have it back!

 

What do you want, and what is your skills base?

 

heck i have a 80 model but still working on it in my spare time just making a rat bobber out of it had a few old ones in my time seen some deal on cl in my area

 

You'd be working on the Ironhead all the time. Personally, I love them. I had an '82 for a while. And I will have another one in the garage someday soon.


But, just as others have said, you find a early/mid-90's Sportster with low miles and you're golden. Tires, brakes, oil and gas....that'll be it.