Hi everyone,
I'm new to Big Bikes. Very proud to get into HDs FINALLY! Here is the deal.

I bought a 95 electra glide that the previous owner (an older gentleman who was apparently not strong enough to hold the bike up) dropped once at a red light and twice in his garage. He removed the smashed up fairing and put on a shroud as well as replacing the front fender and removing both cracked saddle bags. The tank has small dents on each side and minor scratching, no biggie.

It is currently sort of a basket case. I've got 5 gallon pales of stuff. Its running but needs some re assembly. I guess he just gave up on the project.

What I want to do: Convert it to look like a Road King.

I understand that I will need to replace the wiring harness to do away with all the additional harnesses and wires. But this is still going to leave me with out a speedo. Do I need a new tank that is capable of a tank mounted speedo or can I put one in the existing hole?

I am willing and capable to do all the work I just need to figure out the resources. I'm a broke college kid so I'm probably going to be keeping the whole project in my garage and get parts from Ebay and Craigslist.

Thanks everyone in advance!

 

That sounds like a cool project...Good Luck....as far as answers to your questions..I am thinking.......

But you could look for a ebay store called pinwall_cycle_parts, they have allot of good parts, you could find your wiring harness there and maybe the tank parts for the new speedo.

 

it may be less expensive for bike not to change away from electra glide.
BUT difficult to say with-out seeing..what is a shroud? is it like a hollow fairing?
*road king has speedo on tank, gas fill on one side and gas gauge on other
you could give-up and not have a gas gauge but then you would need to strap a speedometer to the bars or change-out the tank and get a set of road king tins with speedometer..a lot of other wiring issues inside fairing.
The chrome headlight nacelle on a road king is pricey and a windshield with hardware is $$..
down side is bike will become TMU (true mileage unknown) and resale would be questionable..
Any possibility of getting an old used fairing,some used bags and getting the bike going

 

Sounds Like a fun project to me. I'd live to give it a try.

What I recommend is go to the Harley Stealership and get a 1995 touring parts manual.

You then can compair p/n for p/n between the two models.

Since the electro glide is a center tank fill and the road king is a side tank fill you need to change tanks.

There are numerious salavage yards that work with nothing but motorcycle parts.

Here one near were I live in Beaumont Texas.

Northend Cycle Salvage of Beaumont
5560 HWY 105
Beaumont, TX 77708

Email Comments or Questions to: billy@necycle.com

http://www.necycle.com/index.html

 

Lets talk, I'm making a ultra classic into a roadking, wanna trade parts?

 

Wow, i'm tired watched the colts game last nite, let me get this right,

I'm turning my road king into a Ultra!

there, got it right!

 

I had a 98 ultra/ Road Glide, and here's what I did. Mine was carbed, so it was much easier to do. I removed every wire from the bike,and started over. Bought a used Road King tank, and went from there. You just wouldn't believe how many wires you can do without on these bikes. I rewired my new Crane HI 4 ignition,coil, turn signals,and headlights. This was done in about 5 hours of work. I yanked 2 5 gallon buckets of wiring form the bike to start with,including the EFI, computer ,and ignition rotor. Replaced it with S&S carb, and new ignition and rotor, and I was off and running. If you need any help just ask. It's not near as hard as it sounds.

 

Kappy-

A couple things don't add up about the story you describe. The previous owner dropped his bike 3 times and the bike is in pieces? If the fairing and tank were smashed and you're carrying parts away in 5 gallon buckets, I have news for you.....the bike wasn't "dropped" 3 times, it was in a collision of some kind. These bikes have engine guards and are made to be dropped without damaging engine and body parts. There are countless people on this forum who have dropped their Electra Glides without ANY damage, except for maybe a scratch on the engine guard where it hit concrete/asphalt. If the owner had removed the engine guards for some reason, then I suppose I could see where the bike would have substantial damage, which leads me to my next point.

I admire your mechanical abilities and eagerness to jump right in and tackle this project, but as a self described "broke college student", this isn't the kind of project that I'd recommend for you. Harley's are expensive....parts, service, etc. Buying parts from eBay and Craig's List will certainly save you money....but considering the extensive damage you described and also that you're "broke"....buying Harley parts just doesn't seem like it should be a priority. There are plenty of people who are not broke, have jobs and dispoable income and are still losing their bikes because they cannot afford them. Not to rain on your parade, but this doesn't seem like a good idea to me. Consider that my "fatherly advice" from me to you.

Whatever you decide to do, I hope it all works out for you. Welcome to HDforums.

 

with no disrespect to tda69 or anyone else , there was a time when most people who rode harleys didn't have $50k+ a year jobs and they did what kappy is trying to do , they bought whatever they could get and tried to fix it up . guys bought wrecked bikes , or old worn out cop bikes and got them running .

i don't know if such things still exist , but there used to be swap meets , where people would take their unwanted parts to sell . i suppose they've mostly been replaced by ebay , but check your area to see if you can find one .

good luck kappy , and keep us informed of your progress

 

Hey everyone. I really enjoy reading the posts! I've got a few pictures as well as a few things to add to what I said before.

I bought the bike like I said with a few 5 gallon pales of stuff. After closer inspection... Those pales are full of accessories and add ons which I will probably won't use. The bike looks nice. As far as the story... It adds up pretty well. I've seen plenty of bikes that have been in accidents and I've seen bikes that were dropped. This one may have taken a slide bit the Frame is pristine The forks other than one minor blemish are the same.
Photos:
<a href="http://s748.photobucket.com/albums/xx127/glasswe/Hog/?action=view&current=backview.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i748.photobucket.com/albums/xx127/glasswe/Hog/backview.jpg" border="0" alt="1996 Harley Davidson"></a>

While I am a "Broke" student. I still bring in some bucks. As well as my GI benefits... (6 years of Marine Corps Service paying off dividends). That being said I've got a mortgage, car payment, bills, bills and oh yea more bills. So I am going to avoid buying dealership parts like the plague.