High millage
Tourer
Joined: Sep 2012
Posts: 470
Likes: 111
From: Huntington Beach
Hi Bighoss, no, 38k really isn' alot if its clean and well maintained. Like someone said, get the cam chain tensioners checked and it should be a great bike. The 88 is a solid motor and 5spd is fine as long as your not used to a 6spd... Hope you can score a good deal!
Stellar HDF Member
Joined: Feb 2016
Posts: 2,066
Likes: 259
From: Northstreet, michigan
lol ok tough guy but before I take my princess butt to go triumph shopping, the point is when people respond like that, others hesitate to ask questions. The only stupid question was when your mom asked your dad if he wanted to have a baby.
Outstanding HDF Member
Joined: Dec 2012
Posts: 2,557
Likes: 235
From: Texas
38K gives you some good negotiating room. They get around $1000 to change the tensioners and they are not going to do that if they are selling the bike so that is $1000 you can chisel them down on...if they don't want to drop the price, try to get something else of value that is worth $1000. They are not going to give up that much merchandise so go for service...three full all-holes fluid changes and inspections should cover it nicely.
A local dealer would not drop his top resale price on a hard-used 30K FXD I bought years back so I wrangled a $1200 extended warranty for the $1000...and promptly got the stator, voltage regulator, inner primary bearing and race and cam chain tensioners replaced when the charging system failed. Then the crank switch failed and hung the starter and so they replaced the clutch basket and starter spur gear, and the voltage regulator one more time when the one they put in failed. All this cost much more than $1200
They probably should've just taken the $1000 off their asking price...
A local dealer would not drop his top resale price on a hard-used 30K FXD I bought years back so I wrangled a $1200 extended warranty for the $1000...and promptly got the stator, voltage regulator, inner primary bearing and race and cam chain tensioners replaced when the charging system failed. Then the crank switch failed and hung the starter and so they replaced the clutch basket and starter spur gear, and the voltage regulator one more time when the one they put in failed. All this cost much more than $1200
They probably should've just taken the $1000 off their asking price...
Road Master
Joined: Sep 2016
Posts: 1,048
Likes: 492
From: Heart of Georgia
It mostly depends on how its been cared for. A buddy of mine has 132k on his (hes the original owner) and all hes done is regular maintenance. He has replaced the cam chain tensioner a couple of times but they didnt really need it. His bike still has good compression, only a slight amount of oil consumption and still has the original drive belt. The key is hes an auto mechanic by trade and is extremely meticulous about vehicle maintenance. Also, he doesnt hot rod his bike. He doesnt baby it either but hes a sensible rider (no wheelies, burnouts, street races, etc.). Id say if you can ascertain if the bike in question has been cared for in a similar manner 38k is not high mileage at all.
Seasoned HDF Member
Joined: Mar 2010
Posts: 38,298
Likes: 6,324
From: Honah Lee
Not high if driven like someone had some sense.
Mine basically has the same engine with 50k on it and
it sill runs like new.
One thing unless the dealer has proof is the two timing chain guides need to be replaced just do to age. They are well over 1/2 way worn out with 38k but the material gets hard and brittle and can crack.
Negotiate them to replace the shoes and spring tension assembly and replace the inner needle bearings on the cam shaft. Probably about $300 for them to do it. Don't fall for any silly unneeded upgrades.
Couple lifters would not be that much while they are in there but unless they are ticking, that would be on you.
If it sounds good and you know what good is since these engines and primaries are noisy , it is probably ok for the short term. But thoes chain tensioner shoes are a time bombs with a very short fuse.
If you are a good mechanic, you can do it your self with YouTube and a service manual. But it needs to be done now before it breaks and fills the engine with metal in short order if you run it far with the pin that supports the delrin shoes gets on the timing chain.
Wideglides are pretty Dynas. Good luck.
Last edited by Jackie Paper; Feb 7, 2018 at 06:51 AM.
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