I’ve never done a thread like this before. I’m not exactly sure why I’m posting this. Maybe it’s just to find the motivation to get this project going.

Background

I’m 39 and when I was in high school the FXDX came out. I remember going to McGuire’s HD near me and to Dudley Perkins in SF and looking at them. It was the bike I coveted. I had the poster on the wall, the whole deal. I loved the 2003 100 Year Anniversary paint job as well. My buddy bought one back in 2003 in Gunmetal Blue from Dudley Perkins and threw 95 kit, SE Heads, SE cam, and black Thunderheader on it. Again, the bike I coveted.



I finally bought my first HD at 29, a pristine 1992 FXRS I paid $5500 for, which I sold like an idiot. Then I bought a 1991 FXRS-Con, which I in turn, sold like an idiot. I decided I was a grown up and bought a a pristine 2014 FLHTK. Part of me felt it was too nice of a bike for me. Part of me felt it was too hefty. Part of me missed my FXR’s. Covid hit and I wanted to pay off my truck and my wife’s car so I sold that bike and paid those off.



The Hunt

Having owned a couple FXR’s already and seeing the crazy money people want for them now, I decided I’d go looking for the bike I always wanted: an FXDX.



In August 2022 I started looking. I’m in the SF Bay Area and prices for a decent FXDX are still around $9500 to $12,000. I wanted a rider that didn’t need to be perfect, but didn’t need a lot.



I found a 2000 in Aztec Orange owned by some kid in Modesto that knew nothing about it who had it for sale for $6000 (dirt cheap for the SF Bay Area). It had a Mikuni and a Thunderheader. I was literally driving down to go buy it, got cold feet and decided to sleep on it. You guessed it…it was gone the next day. You snooze you lose. I still am kicking myself in the *** on that one.




I looked and looked and kept coming up empty. Finally in October 2022 I was cruising FB Marketplace and found this 2003 in San Antonio, Texas for $6500. I spoke to the guy in his late 60’s selling the bike, he sent me some crappy photos, a grainy video of it running, and told me he hadn’t ridden it for “a couple years.” 25,000 original miles. He bought it in 2007. It had a solid rear wheel that he said he put on “because it looked cool.” Everything seemed legit. I did the dumbest thing possible and bought it sight unseen and paid $800 to have it shipped. It arrived in November 2022.

 

On Arrival
When I picked it up it looked good from a distance. As I got up close, not so great. It had a couple small dents in the tank. The shipper had them documented and signed off by the seller. One of the first things that struck me was the age of the tires. Date code was 2009 on the very cracked front tire and the rear tire was cracked and rotted. The bike itself was covered in a film of red dust. I tried to turn it on, the battery had some power, but the carb immediately pissed old gas. The carb was gummed up and it was fairly obvious this bike had not run in years (like Obama's first term). Front brake on the left side was leaking at the caliper and there was no pressure. ****....


I got it home and contacted the guy, but realized this was going nowhere. I owned the damn thing. I parked it in the garage, got busy with the holidays, and it sat.

In January 2023, I rolled it out took some pictures:



Mad with it, I listed it for sale on FB marketplace, received a bunch of goofy offers, then decided heck it and went and registered it. I took the tank off and brought it to Daniel Gromm up at MotoPDR in Santa Rosa (I'm lucky the shop is only an hour from me) who made it absolutely perfect. You can't even tell there was a dent there to begin with. I brought the tank home in February and realized the fuel sender gasket is no longer available through HD (or anywhere else). It then proceeded to rain/storm in California until basically May. So the tank was boxed up to protect it and the bike has sat like this...


While hanging out in my garage, I checked the pushrods...

...they're adjustable. With the SE slip-ons, the SE intake and air cleaner cover, I'm going to assume there are likely SE cams in the bike.

The seller who has owned the bike since 2007 did not know if there were any updates to the camchest. I'm going to assume the SE hydraulic kit hasn't been installed since I don't think that came out until 2011 or so.

 

So I have since sourced for the bike:
- New HD OEM motor mounts (front and rear)
- The correct 13 spoke rear wheel (man those are a bitch to find)
- A good condition S&S Super E, correct S&S intake manifold, and S&S Stealth air cleaner kit (which will go behind the correct "Super Glide Sport" football cover I also sourced)
- A used Pingel vacuum petcock (going to send it to Pingel to be rebuilt)
- A set of Timken neck bearings and races
- A new in the box chrome Thunderheader (what are the best exhaust gaskets for these?)

I know I need to go at least 6" risers for this to feel right and a set of bars with way less pullback than the chrome ones that are on it. I haven't made up my mind on the bars and risers yet. I have a set of HD chrome 6" ones sitting in my parts box as well as a set of 8" straight Bung Kings that are black powdercoat. I could internally wire the Bung Kings.

Some decisions now are order of operations. Stuff I know needs to be done:

Frame
- Neck bearings
- Fork fluid and seals (going to have to pay to have that done since these stupid cartridge forks seem to complicated for me)
- Bars, risers and riser bushings (and lengthen any wiring if necessary)
- New tires (not sure which ones to go with)
- New wheel bearings
- New brake lines (front and rear)
- New brake pads (I'm thinking Lyndall pads)
- Likely new swingarm bearing and bushing
- Install motor mounts (sort of dreading the rear one)

Engine
- Figure out what cam setup I have and make a decision of Cyco pads, SE hydraulic kit, gears, or something else. I hope I open it up and find a nice surprise, but I highly doubt it.
- Drop transmission pan, clean it out, and replace gasket
- Pop the rocker boxes while the tank is still off, check the breathers (any good ways to upgrade or just replace elements?), and change gaskets
- Replace the pushrod tube seals (they're pretty groaty)
- Install the S&S Super E and intake stuff
- New throttle cables
- New clutch cable and might as well do a Mueller Easy Pull while I'm doing it
- New primary oil, new transmission oil, and new engine oil and filter (should have been obvious with the above, but I'll list it anyway)
- Install Thunderheader

Am I missing anything?

 

A lot. I own a 2000 DX with 65000 mile on it..

Repack neck, replace only if needed.
If you do the fork, go to 0.75-0.80 Kg /mm springs from RT.
Nothing wrong with stock bars.
Bridgestone, avon or dunflop elites
Wheel bearing only if rough.
Replace brakes lines only of needed from inspection.
Still plenty on the pads, use them.
Clean and repack swingarm bearings.
Ride it, if don't vibrate too much and handles OK, keep original mounts.

Motor,
Figure out cam. Build to a mild 95.
Inspect dropped oil, if no crap don't bother. Sludge ended with lead.
Blow into the breathers. If they seal, don't bother.
Use viton O rings on the tubes.
Super E is a waste of time unless you build the motor and use better heads. Stock will likely give you better mileage.
If throttle cables rusty replace.
Clutch cable only is needed. How does the outside look. Go to the 99A ramps, will light pull by 15% and cost much less than the Mueller.
Change oils.
Sell the TH.

 

I really look forward to following your progress. I have a similar project underway with a 2002 FXDX. It has 50k miles on it, most of them from 2001 to 2010. It sat for ten years or so. It has a Zippers Muscle 107 kit installed in it. The modded S&S Super G was replaced with a Mikunu 45, and the ignition was replaced with a Daytona Twin Tec. A Vance and Hines pro pipe was added and replaced with a D&D Fat Cat.

I have to admit I know all of its history because I'm the original owner. As my career 'progressed,' I could buy a Road King Classic, which the FXDX kind of got put aside for. Then, with more career progression, commuting to work became a real problem, and taking trips never happened. Now, I work for myself and have some time, if not the skills, to get this all going again. The bike does seem to run fine after replacing a cap on the carb and changing out the gas. I replaced the tires (which took three weeks, but I think I got it now), switched all the lights to LED, and polished the front forks to full shine.

I don't want to change the bike at all, I've always liked it. I'm just trying to catch up on all the maintenance. Motor mounts, cam chain tensioners, greasing bearings, and whatever else. That and my Road King also got neglected, and its ABS module died. Sadly, based on my experiences, I have less faith in others working on my bike than in my own lack of skills. It will be a fun time; I keep telling myself that if I always have one bike running, it's a win.

Good luck with your project!

 

I have quite a bit of experience with the S&S Super E and it's my preferred carb. I can tune it, clean it, and rebuild it with little grief and it gives me what I want. Same with Thunderheader. I just like them.

If it isn't already a 95" (no way to tell unless I take the heads off) I will eventually have it bored out and rebuilt to that. I'd rather just go with the Super E right now and I found a deal on one.

Brake pads are junk and it seems every piece of rubber on this bike is rotten or gross. I'm guessing it sat in a shed in San Antonio for 12 years and just baked. I'd feel better about just replacing the things that aren't too hard to replace.

 

The E is a good carb. So is the CV and Mik.. I do prefer the bigger CV tho and have used more Gs then Es.

Based on what you are saying, you may want to replace everything that is rubber. Maybe the leaky pushrod tubes is an indicator of the heat the bike saw.. I'd expect you'd be replacing everything that is rubber, seat included. In that case wheel bearings, main because of the rubber seal, fork rebuild etc.. I'd also do the seals for the primary and tranny. Do the belt also. Replace the fuel lines, and rubber hoses that go between the motor and tranny.

I would think that the pad would be able to handle the heat but I guess if the humidity is high, they might die.

Probably a good idea to rebuild the brake master and slaves.

 

If you're going to replace the brakes and clutch lines, I had good luck with sizing and ordering brake and clutch lines for my 97 Ducati Monster 900 from Spiegler USA.

Measure size you need and can add some color to the lines if you want.

https://spieglerusa.com/brakes/brake...line-kits.html

 

Looking forward to following the progress! The early DX/DXT's were peak Dyna, IMO.

 

I love it, please make sure to update this thread as you go.

I bought a barn find 05 Super Glide Custom 3 or 4 years ago and had a great time fixing it up and making it pretty. I bought it for Sportster money so I did manage to make a little profit on it when I got it running and sold it.