When we were coming home from Sturgis thru Minnesota we seen an Electra Glide sitting in the yard at a home with a For Sale sign on it. So we stopped and looked at it. It is a 1986 FLHT and looks like it was just rolled out the showroom door. The guy that owns it is 73 years old, can't ride it anymore, and bought it new. It only has 19,277 miles on it, and about all he ever rode it was in some parades and short rides around home. He had a price of $6,000 on it.

I'm seriously considering going over there today and buying that bike. I was wondering if there was any changes in the Evo engine or drivetrain from 1986 to the 1989 FLHTC that we got now?

I did start it up and the engine runs like crap, even after it warms up. It has been sitting for two years now without being run, so I imagine it will need carb work. And I could see some cracks in the rubber "compliance fittings" on the intake manifold, which could be causing it to run poorly due to an intake leak too. Those will go bad just sitting around. But it runs good enough, after it warms up, to get it the 150 miles home.

 

That's a good bike. Ask me how I know.

Stock carb has to go.

 

And as for differences: The 86 does not have the problems of the weak cases that crack that the 89 does. 86 also has an external lever for the clutch, like bikes from '36 up, instead of the "sportster style" clutch release that 87 up has. Not sure when they did away with the compliance fittings, but that's nothing a S&S kit won't fix. 86 has the speedo drive gear on the opposite side from 87-up. I think 87 got a very slightly more aggressive cam. Probably won't be able to tell the difference, and my EV1 made a big difference. Other than that, I think it's about the same.

 

To me that price might be a shade high considering how poorly it runs. Good bikes though. I would immediately replace the tires and the carb and flush all fluids. Then, I would clean and use dielectric grease on every connector. I would also note that some 1986 models have gone an extremely high number of miles with relatively minor repairs.

 

Remember to change all gas lines,they only last a few years with today's gas.

 

I'm going to head over there this afternoon after lunch with the pickup, trailer and some cash. I decided if I buy it to trailer it home because I don't know all what it needs after sitting around that long. And there's a big rain storm coming from that direction right now, and don't want to be stranded alongside the road with an unknown problem in bad weather.

I'll see what sort of deal he'll make. I'm gonna offer him $5,500 and see if he goes for it.

 

Pic of mine:

 

Good luck.

 

I can't comment on the price, but it sounds like a worthwhile project. Good find!

 

Trailer sounds like a good idea. Look at the dates on the tires, possible it has the original on the front. I bought one a couple years ago that had a '93 tire on the front. You might not even want to take a test drive on a highway if the tires are real old. I took that '93 tire up to about 40, and just couldn't stop thinking about being on 20 year old rubber. Good luck with it, let us know if it follows you home.