Hey all, have a '87 XLH that I recently picked up for next to nothing. Details of it's past are limited- I got it from a guy, who got it from a guy, who got it from an estate sale or something. The VIN identifies it was originally an 883, but the owner did say it had been converted to a 1200 with higher compression, which I do believe from the performance. A friend has a late model 1200 sportster and this consistently walks away from it- this thing is real snotty. The vin and motor #'s do match.





This is my first HD, so forgive me if some of these questions seem stupid. I have done some searching and did get a lot of good info, but still have a few questions. I should say I just want it to be a reliable daily driver, I'm not looking for every last ounce of performance. Just gonna be my local "bar hopper" so to speak, I have a Kawi sportbike for going fast.

1) The oil pressure light is on- a lot. I do know these motors are more of a high volume, low pressure system, but once the motor is fully warmed up, the oil light is on whenever it's below about 1700 rpm. I don't notice really any noise from the lifters even at the 900-1000rpm normal hot idle. Is this something to be concerned about- worn out oil pump? The odometer reads 29k, and supposedly there's 8k on the 1200 conversion. It does have what looks like an aftermarket oil cooler.

2) It still has the original butterfly style carb. Initially it had some hesitation and "flat spots" in the rev range, but after a quick cleaning it's running great now. It has a 160 main and 52 idle jet. Stock exhaust with some kind of generic slip ons, what looks like the stock air cleaner with a foam element. I've read a lot about a CV carb conversion- is it worth the ~$150 or so for a used carb, adapter flange, jetting, ect? Cold starting is a little finicky, you have to babysit it for about a minute but to me that's pretty much normal for a big air cooled motor and doesn't really bother me.

3) It has a points ignition- I have the original HD service manual for 86-90 XLH models, and the manual says these are breakerless systems- did someone covert this back to points? It has a screamin eagle ignition box, you can just see it in the picture behind the battery. It's stamped "1988" and "8000RPM".

4) The original tach works fine, below 4000rpm. Once it goes above that, the needle starts wavering up and down, and the wavering gets worse as the RPM climbs higher. The motor runs great even when the tach is spazzing out. The wiring all seems to be OK- faulty tach?

5) The blinkers work, but only if you hold the L or R button in. They don't "press on, press off" like other HDs I've ridden. Are these buttons supposed to click in or something, or do older bikes not hold them on?

Sorry for the long post, and thanks in advance for any help.
Ryan

 

1) Bad oil pressure sender? Can you fit a pressure gauge and check it?

3) If you have the ignition module, you should have electronic ignition. Did you see points installed??

5) That's the way they work. Didn't change until my 1991 model.

John

 

Hi from the UK and welcome to HDF.

3. I personally would convert it back to electronic, from points, you'll get a more reliable and better ride. There are aftermarket systems available like S&S, Crane, etc.

5. You can buy a module from firms like Badlander that will convert your flashers to press on/press off.

 

Thats the way those work