Well I finally got my bike back together having had the xmission, and rear disk brakes rebuilt, and started taking it out on short test rides. I am hearing from a local mechanic that I may be fighting a losing battle trying to fix up my '75 XLCH. And no matter what I do, it will never be a reliable bike and will need to be rebuilt frequently due to its inherent design. Any thoughts? How often have you other ironheaders rebuilt your motors? Every 1,000?, 5,000? 10,000 miles? I want to be able to take my bike on a long road trip from State to State without breaking down every 20 miles.

 

If your bike is put together by a mech who knows something about Ironheads, there is no reason you can't get 25 - 40 thousand miles between top ends. Will it be as reliable as a new bike? Nope, 'cause it's 30 years old. Will it make it on a long trip? Mine did on several occasions. Do the maintenance and it'll do fine.

Keep the points & timing set, adjust the valves when you're s'posed to, make sure your battery stays full, change the oil every 2k miles, keep an eye on your generator brushes, and keep your chains lubed and adjusted. If you want to help yourself a bit, put a "real" oil filter on it, get an electronic ignition setup to replace the points, and swap the stock voltage regulator for a solid state regulator from a later model Sporty. Some guys swap the generator out for an alternator, but they are pricey.

 

Skip (pococj or something like that) is the prob. the best one to answer this question. If he doesn't see this, PM him. I think you are being way too skeptical re: your engine. Art

 

What do you think of this site? http://www.floheadworks.com/Services...Conversion.htm Will this help out engine reliability? What do you mean by a "real oil filter?" I have an oil filter that I changed out today that screws on below the generator on the left side of my engine. It is a cylinder shape about 3 inches in diameter an 4-5 inches long and appears to hold about 10-12 oz of oil. Is that filter good enough?

 

Your oil filter is the type I was talkin' about. When your bike came from the factory it had no oil filter, being an XLCH. The XLH electric start models had a larger battery and a different oil bag, with a drop in filter below the oil bag cap.

Man, seeing Perry Kime from that site brought back a lot of memories. I was a kid who lived and breathed drag racing, and lived just down the road from Dragway 42 in W. Salem, OH. I remember when Sneaky Pete Robinson beat Garlits for the Top Fuel championship. Robinson ran a small (for Top Fuel) Ford engine that revved so high you'd think it'd blow up every time he left the line. He also had jacks under the rear of the rail that lifted the rear tires off the ground. When the green came on, he'd drop the jacks, and the already spinning slicks would hit the pavement and launch the rail HARD! I think they made him take the jacks off after a very short time.

But I digress, a common fault of ol' farts. If Kime's work is as it used to be, then it is top-notch.

 

The main concern of mine are the valve guides. The mechanic I spoke to said that there is too much of an angle in the way they are set up and in addition to running hotter then evolution motors, they are prone to wearing out fast. Do you think the no lead upgrade will fix that or is it a lost cause?
What are the advantages if any for having an alternator vs a generator? And as to converting the engine over to an electric ignition, is that a difficult and expensive modification?