should i buy
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Joined: Aug 2007
Posts: 74
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From: ontario Canada
should i buy
have a chance to pick up a 1988 flhs with 30,000 miles on it cheap.my question is with the age would u still travel with this bike all seals and gaskets have been replaced and has a mikuni carb and a ev 27 cam.thinking of getting this to replace my 97 1200 sportster
Dirt don't hurt
Joined: Jan 2011
Posts: 21,065
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From: Haslet Texas
Sounds like that bike was well maintained.
If you want it I wouldn't hesitate if I were you.
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From: Sacramento, CA.
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Joined: Aug 2008
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From: Lafayette, Louisiana
The only hesitation is that it is a vastly different bike than what you are used to, and then I would only hesitate and think about that for thirty seconds.
Usually people move from a Sportster to one of the Dyna models, and the ones that don't go to some kind of Softail.
Buy the bike and take the time to learn to ride it well and you will be fine.
Usually people move from a Sportster to one of the Dyna models, and the ones that don't go to some kind of Softail.
Buy the bike and take the time to learn to ride it well and you will be fine.
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Road Master
Joined: Jan 2012
Posts: 856
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From: North Carolina
I have a 1988 with almost 100,000 miles on it. It has had a few bugs to work out, I have them worked out. Of course there are no guarantees in life but, I feel comfortable taking the occasional road trip with it. If I were buying it today the one piece of advise that I would want to receive would be to get a tube of electrical grease (dielectric) and anytime I saw a connector, pull it apart, clean it and put in some grease. This will head off any future bugs that you'll have to trace down.
The 1988 has the tapered main shaft on the transmission/clutch basket, the Hitachi style starter, the newer style clutch cable routing. Personally, I like the Hitachi style starter just fine and with those few miles you probably wont be messing with that for a long time. The tapered main shaft works just fine and will last a long time. The only down side is if you have to pull the clutch basket at some point it can be tricky. But, that design will go a long, long way with no issues. That bike doesn't have the butterfly carb anymore and that's really the only upgrade that it ever needed anyway so, I'd say it's a great deal and a great bike.
That bike will also have the older style tank. When I first bought my bike I was indifferent about the tank design. I have really come to like it. At any gathering of bikes my old bike really stands out as a classic. Old Harleys are the best. They truly don't make em like that anymore.
BTW, I met my buddy at the dealership last Saturday. He has a newer TC. Man those things can be a lot of trouble. In the last year he had a front bearing seize or whatever and damage the rim, had to replace that. Then he started having sensors go bad and his bike was running extremely lean and burned a hole through the crossover pipe. Lord knows what kind of damage may have been done in that engine from running that lean. EVOs will never have those issues. EVO for life..
The 1988 has the tapered main shaft on the transmission/clutch basket, the Hitachi style starter, the newer style clutch cable routing. Personally, I like the Hitachi style starter just fine and with those few miles you probably wont be messing with that for a long time. The tapered main shaft works just fine and will last a long time. The only down side is if you have to pull the clutch basket at some point it can be tricky. But, that design will go a long, long way with no issues. That bike doesn't have the butterfly carb anymore and that's really the only upgrade that it ever needed anyway so, I'd say it's a great deal and a great bike.
That bike will also have the older style tank. When I first bought my bike I was indifferent about the tank design. I have really come to like it. At any gathering of bikes my old bike really stands out as a classic. Old Harleys are the best. They truly don't make em like that anymore.
BTW, I met my buddy at the dealership last Saturday. He has a newer TC. Man those things can be a lot of trouble. In the last year he had a front bearing seize or whatever and damage the rim, had to replace that. Then he started having sensors go bad and his bike was running extremely lean and burned a hole through the crossover pipe. Lord knows what kind of damage may have been done in that engine from running that lean. EVOs will never have those issues. EVO for life..