Hey all, I need some help on my 1982 (or 3) FXR-S. Its been sitting for 10+ years. The bike itself has a lot of history, and seen all of the contiguous 48 states. My mother bought it from the Original Owner, after the bike had broken down, and was making payments on it to the owner while he was making payments on the title lien to the bank. Guy disappeared off the face of the earth for a little while, and my mom just kept working on it. Full engine blueprint (probably not as perfect as I'd call a blue print, but the guy is or was supposedly the best in the area). When my mom and stepdad divorced, I got the bike and its been sitting at my dads shop for a little over a year now. I want to resurrect this beauty and make it a sort of understated memorial to my sister, who passed in 09. Problem is, the title lien, which is through my local bank of which I should have enough pull to get at least the lien in my name and pay it off, and the fact that other than a Honda CMX250, my learner bike, I have no experience doing any maintenance to. I know it needs new rubber all the way around, hoses, tires, o-rings and such, and my stepdad swears it needs a new swing arm, but other than that, the only problem it had was it would keep oil fouling the plugs. In about 30 minutes the 80" would misfire. My mother swears it's a valve guide issue. Something about incorrect sizing of the valve guides. The story doesn't jive with me. But the utmost important thing is getting this thing at least half way running to further diagnose any issues. I intend on keeping the numbers matching motor, if possible. I'm pretty handy with a wrench, not the best, but certainly not the worst. My only experience is cars and pickups. What are my first tasks at hand? What are some basic tools i should keep handy at all times when riding for this one in particular? Any special or especially helpful tools that I can make or can be bought? The nearest Harley Shop is 30 minutes away so a parts vendor is easy to get to. Are there any other recommended sites or vendors I should go through for aftermarket parts?

 

I would NOT suggest you put a wrench to that bike at all...Untill you have educated yourself To Delusions.

Lots of miles= Total engine rebuild by a Qualified Individual...or Trial and Error...Pick one...
The swingarm Cleve blocks are probably shot, and the Shaft frozen in place.
The Ring on the Engine/Primary interface needs careful inspection, and that tranny is Needing at Minimum a New Pawl set.
The clutch is Tough item, maybe Steels and Frictions and Go...

The Harley shop is gonna be little Help, and J&P is gonna send you the wrong ****, and Chiwanese Junk when it arrives...
Swap meets are gonna be your Friend. Maybe E-bay, but, most of those Dinks think that Old Parts from Dixie Distributing are NOS!!!!!

An Experienced [Truly experienced, Not Internet Educated] Greybeard Friend, and/or Indy is your very best shot...
Or...Settle in for a Loooong Education...

Good News Huh???

Reality is Harsh...

 

Reality is the sun rises, and the sun sets. Harsh or nice, it's what we make of it. Personally, I'm grateful to have the whole bike, and to be drawing breath today, and for many other things. Time for trial and error is fine I have an empty shed, just big enough to keep a clean work space, and take my time during disassembly, set everything in order, inspect it. As for boring and honing, body and paint, and anything else I have to source out due to a lack of experience or tools, there's many locals here who have an extremely good reputation. Yes, that includes motorcycles. No wife and no kids helps keep the bills low. This one is a lot more to me than just a decrepit FXR. Same goes for my 96 Ford F150, my 83 D150, and my 49 Chevy 3100. Its not about the money, it's a labor of love. If you maintain your own vehicles, you know that. It's not about the amount of work. A little bit a day, a little more on the days off. I'm sorry if I camr off as arrogant, or condescending, but the tone of your post I felt the scorn. It definitely got under my skin.

 

Nuther Option...
Pull motor and take a Very long time rebuilding it. Do it Right.
Meanwhile, Do the swiingarm, and Tranny. Rebuild or at minimum inspect the Clutch.
Drop an E-motor [or any known good Engine] into it.




I'm running an E-motor in a '83 until I can get the Original completely rebuilt...Which I can do Myself Handily, except it needs extensive Welding/Repair...gonna be awhile as I don't weld Aluminum...
Meanwhile...I'm really enjoying the Ride...Cheaper than a Rebuild Too!!!!!

 

Mistaken
Too many on the "net" will encourage you to Get started, before you are ready...really ready...Leads to a Torn down POS in a Corner of the Garage, more times than Not..
Preparation is Key...Ripping it apart is the opposite of Productive.
Didn't imply that you couldn't do it...Telling you what I would do...
and what I have instructed Friend and Family to Do...
Do whatever ya want... of course...
I'm thinking, that I'm reading, that you should Listen to Mom, all she'll offer too...

 

By E-motor, you mean Evo, right? What donor(s) would I be looking for? And I read somewhere that the early FXR's engine mounts were slightly underrated, would you recommend replacing them as well? Crate engines would be a viable option, but I've heard mixed reviews about S&S, so is there any other recommendations?

 

Mom isn't the best mechanic. She's good at ripping things apart, not so much putting them back. I have a lot of free time on my hands. And by a lot I mean the only other priorities I have are saving money for a new roof. And at some point finishing the front end on my pickup. The internet is full of experts, but even with bad information, preparation, patience, and a sharp mind anything can be rebuilt. Don't worry, I'm putting together a nice little nest egg I'm going to fry for this bike when I have a "full" parts list. Until then, gather as much information as I can, price, order, tuck it away, pull it out when it's time to cross that bridge and disassemble the old, replace with the new, torque, and test.

 

Continue to collect what ya know you will need..
The E-Motor I have is a Used one from a Friend who "upgraded"!!
Cost less than the Parts are gonna cost to bebuild the Shovel..
Far as I know any Evolution Big Twin will drop right in!!
Front Motor mounts are cheap, and Mine was rotted noticeably.
I didn't go "fancy" just O.E.
Same on my SwingArm...O.E., Tho I have been hearing good things about other systems...Mine had about 60K on it, and wasn't that bad....I'm OK with 60K....
If yer gonna put a Hot-Rod Engine in there...Stiffer Materials all around are in order....
Let's see this Project.....

 

I'll post pictures sometime tomorrow. She looks rough, but she's all there. The frame has some paint chipped off, and some surface rust, but no more than that, there's a dent in the tank from a fall on a trailer, and she's dirty. Tomorrow night I'll try to capture every detail I can.

 

Good attitude you'll do well keeping it. Do yourself a big favor and find the factory manual on that bike and start reading, surf the net for pictures and youtube for how to's for that model it's a bit of an odd duck for parts and the like. While the engines the same pretty much everything else will a bit different than other shovels. I had an 82 FXR and I still kick myself for ever selling it.

After you've done some serious reading and looking the bike over please post up the questions you'll have, there's some good guys in here who can and will help.

Oh and don't let things in here under the skin, the regulars mean well but we've been beat a bit time to time with new owners who haven't a clue and argue the advice they get so sometimes pointed things get said, bad habit and most of us know and try not to but......