Hi All,

new member here. I've had a few sportsters back in the day, but have been wanting to step it up to a bigger bike so the old lady and I can do some long trips. Been looking around locally and finally found what looks to be near perfect 1991 Electra Glide FLHTCU near here in San Diego.

Going to look at it tomorrow, but since it's about 45 minutes away I already talked to the owner about price. I can get it for $6,500. Here is the description of the bike:

1991 Ultra Classic..Motor Rebuilt with Screaming Eagle Heads...High Performance Cam..

Screaming Eagle Ignition Module..Vance & Hines Exhaust System

New Tires..Fresh Service..Fastest Evo Bagger around....Lower Leg Farings Included in Price


He swears it's ready to ride across country. Older retired guy with 5 bikes and he's selling 3 or 4 of them off, says he doesn't use them enough. Apparently there are about 60k on the chassis and the engine was rebuilt and upgraded and has about 18k on it since upgrade.

I need some advice though since I'm fairly inexperienced with HD's in general. Is this an awesome deal, or is it a warning sign that everything was rebuilt?

Is this price fair in your opinion?

I'd appreciate any and all advice and comments. Going to check it out tomorrow and since it's an hour drive or so, If I go, it will be with the intent to purchase. Just want to be a prepared and informed buyer.

Thanks in advance!

-Daxx

 

I don't know it that is a screaming deal...it really does come down to the condition of the bike and the quality of the motor work- ask to see all the rect's for the work.

do your best to determine if the bike has been kept in good condition---any signs of burn outs / that would wear the tire ( duh) but also the belt and clutch.look at and smell the oil and primary lube.

try to figure out if the miles are hiway or city miles, like a car it makes a huge difference in wear

if the bike has been serviced regularly, and kept in good shape, it'll give you many happy miles.

i sold my '95 in 2010 at 82K miles for about the same price.

the chassis is pretty much unchanged from early 80's to 2008--- the single piston brakes are ok, but not anything like the Brembos offered now

with that gearing, 65 MPH will be abut 3000 rpms, expect about 44 MPG with a good tune on the carb, you won't have to worry about EFI on that bike

mike

 

if ya like it and can swing the deal it is a good one , the older bikes should be easier to work on , like less eletronics , if you are going to do alot of long distance riding you might want to concider getting a newer bike to start with , ps , if ya get it we need pics

 

Here's what I'd suggest. First off since your going to the seller house, besides this bike, check out the man's yard, his car, his garage, his other bikes. Just looking around will give you a good idea who he is and how he cares about his equipment. If his place looks like it belongs in a Tiajuana slum....I'd run. Next, if he passes the smell test, ask to see reciepts for the rebuild. That will at least tell you when it was done. Even if he did the work himself, he ought to have paperwork for the parts. Again if he can't provide them....a bell ought to go off. Finally, if all looks well, give her a shakedown, where you hit the freeway, or at least have a chance to open it up to highway speeds. If it starts, runs smooth, and shifts through the gears, might have yourself a winner. Those 80 CI Evo's are sure good motors. Good luck.

 

I agree with Montana cowboy, if the place looks clean and seems to keep up on his stuff I think it's a good deal. I bought a snowmobile from someone last winter and when I got to his house the place looked abandoned (should have just kept driving) but I bought it anyways.. Thing has been nothing but problems he said everything was maintained. All bearings were shot, belts and clutches gone, it was a money pit. Use your best judgement and good luck with your new ride

 

Montana Cowboy makes some good points. In addition to those I did the following the last time I purchased a used bike. I asked the owner not to start it before I got there, & if he would mind if I did a quick compression test. Took a compression gauge & volt ohm meter with me. I checked the compression before we started it up, & the voltage at the battery after we started it. Simple checks that don't harm the bike & tell you if the bike has good/balanced compression, & the charging system is working correctly. The owner allowed me to ride it, something I wouldn't have insisted on. It all checked out, & I purchased the bike. A few months later a lifter went bad & ruined the cam. Not a difficult repair, & I felt that it was something that neither the previous owner, or myself could have seen coming so there were no hard feelings.

 

In '93 they moved the oil tank from the right side to under the bike.[there's a large area cut on on the saddle bag to fit the oil tank] This allows a full size saddle bag on the right,with a lot more space in it. This is something to consider since you're talking about 'long rides".

 

If things work out for your 'new' bike call in on the Evo section here, where you will find plenty of help if you need it. I am currently fitting later full-sized bags to my 1990 Glide, owned from new, so we already have that upgrade covered!

 

If you are not able to do your own work on the bike or know a good indy who works on older bikes you may want to consider a newer bike ie 99 or newer twin cam. There's nothing wrong with the older Evos, but a lot of HD dealers don't want to work on them & don't have techs that know anything about them. My advice is to always buy the newest bike you can afford.

 

Hi guys,

thank you very much for all the great advice, I really appreciate it! I just talked to the owner again, he doesn't have the receipts since it was all done by the previous (original) owner, but he just put brand new tires on, current maintenance and he swears it is ready to ride to Laughlin today. He is an older, retired guy and I get the feeling he is completely honest and not bullshitting me at all. That, and we just agreed on $6,300 which I am more comfortable with after doing a ton of research last night.

I'm going to pick it up in an hour! Here are more pics from the ad, will post some of my own after I pick it up.













Thanks again!