Tell Me About an 89 FL
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Grand HDF Member
Joined: Apr 2014
Posts: 3,790
Likes: 3,770
From: Monticello, Florida
Tell Me About an 89 FL
Found an 89 FL?? Classic. Add says motor runs and transmission shifts but, needs a battery and tank has rust. I have a battery I can take and a spare tank for fuel to see if it will start. I know nothing about the 89 Evo motor. Any major issues? I'm sure this bike has not been taken care of due to the description but, I'm pretty handy with wrenches and can do most if not all work on it. Asking price is $3,500 but, with the issues, I may be able to do a bit better than that. Thoughts, advise, suggestions? Thanks
Seasoned HDF Member
Joined: Aug 2007
Posts: 8,200
Likes: 3,089
From: NW AR
I'm not an expert on the 89's, but I seem to recall that some of the cases were weak. There's a couple of failure points: around the main seal in the inner primary (look for motor oil in the primary), at the head bolt hole on the left side of the front jug, rear head bolt, that is, if you look at the motor on the left, the rear head bolt on the front jug, maybe the front left head bolt on the rear, maybe both, don't recall, and at the back of the block way down by the oil pump. Of course, base gasket oil leaks are very common, so it can be hard to tell if the leak is from the base gasket or from a cracked block, especially at the back one. Not all the blocks crack, of course, and if it hasn't by now, it probably won't. But for that era, it is something to look out for. There are some threads here in the evo section on it, if your Google-Fu is strong.
Road Warrior
Joined: Mar 2007
Posts: 1,959
Likes: 2
From: Florida
I worried about the case on my 88, but it's fine. Even with a bad case, I've heard of guys riding for thousands of miles with it. But I don't know how you could know. I had engine oil in my primary, turned out to be the seal, but I only know of one other bike that did what mine did, usually it's the case. I heard the '89's had more bad cases than the '88's. When my engine was dumping oil into my primary, it was excessive, like 1/2 quart every 100 miles or less. I just used 20-50w motor oil in both. When my primary over filled, I'd take a turkey baster and move it back to the oil tank. I did that for 3 years! Then I got a new indie that fixed it.
EDIT: I've had mine for 10 years. My tank was rusted bad, I put liner in it, it's still holding.
Correction! My oil was going from the primary, it's been a long time. Very rare, which is why everyone kept telling my I was nuts!
EDIT: I've had mine for 10 years. My tank was rusted bad, I put liner in it, it's still holding.
Correction! My oil was going from the primary, it's been a long time. Very rare, which is why everyone kept telling my I was nuts!
Last edited by bluharley; Sep 3, 2015 at 07:42 AM.
Cruiser
Joined: May 2015
Posts: 108
Likes: 0
From: GA
You could try and start it....my advice is just shoot some carb clean in the throat and run it for 4 seconds. Trying to get gas to the carb at some guys house seems like a hassle and wont show you much more...not like you will be riding it there. Mostly look for cracks and if it will run for a sec. That will tell you alot in 2min. Price...well, I turned down a 1994 Dyna that ran good for $3,500 a few weeks ago. Not too bad shape,,,,but not pretty either. A non running evo HD is so simple there is not much to worry too much about. IMHO you would need to run it and ride it to really be sure its all good,,,short of that, a quick fire and visual inspection will tell you most of what you need to know about a 3k bike.
Advanced
Joined: May 2015
Posts: 63
Likes: 1
From: USA
Check the frame over closely for rusting out in the rear mount area. Google if needed to know what you're looking for. It's better to buy a 5500 dollar bike that's been loved than a cheaper one that's been neglected, fixing stuff adds up fast.
This one is interesting. It may have been lovingly maintained for 23 years and only neglected the last few. Or it may have been used and abused from day one. Hard to say. It may be that after you re-line the tank and clean her up, you'll have a reliable runner. Or it may be that you die a death of a thousand cuts and one thing after another fails. One thing I haven't seen mentioned is that (IIRC) '89 was the last year for the pre-CV carb. You'll want to swap that out if it hasn't already been done.
If that bike were around here and I was interested, I'd make sure the motor turns over (just bring jumper cables), make sure there aren't any major bodywork issues, make sure the frame is solid, then offer the guy $2k and then hold firm at $2.5k. These old baggers aren't exactly a hot commodity, and if he's not willing to at least prep it for sale, he's going to get short money. I'm also considering time of year. Bikes don't sell around here in September. Florida may be different.
My $0.02.
Road Master
Joined: Jan 2012
Posts: 856
Likes: 9
From: North Carolina
The 1988 and the 1989 are the same bike. I have a 1988 with 100,000 miles on it and still going. There were some "porous metal" issues on some bikes but, not all and I'm not sure if 1989 was affected. You would see oil weeping if it's an issue. The 1989 was the last year of the tapered main shaft on the transmission. 1990 had a kind of hybrid shaft and 1991 had the newer style shaft. 1989 has the Hitachi style starter and the newer style clutch cable routing. I'm pretty sure the 1989 used the butterfly carb. Just toss it in the trash and get an S&S Super E. It has the squarish style tank and a fuel level sending unit/float. It will have anti-dive forks, the old style radio that can only be upgraded with something other than HD-ish units. I replaced mine with a single din unit from Auto Zone. My rear air shocks still hold air and work good so I leave them where they are. I have progressive springs in the forks. Although my bike has 100,000 miles on it I have no rust. You may see some signs of a minor oil leak around the stator plug. Not really a big deal. Clean that and put some black RTV around it every year or so and you'll be good. The tires probably need replacing right now. No biggie. I mount my own tires and get out pretty cheap on that. The wheel bearings are tapered roller bearings, which I love. They need to be repacked at every tire change so, order some grease seals and keep a couple extras around. Use only extra heavy duty grease on those bearings. If maintained they will outlast you. If the price is right there's nothing wrong with a 1989 model. Flush the brake lines dot dot 5 (mine is dot 5). The reservoir for the rear brakes in under the left side cover. The oil drain for the engine is under the right side cover, filter under the bike. I use the non-synthetic gear oil from HD in the transmission and primary. I have found that everything on a Harley is repairable..
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Grand HDF Member
Joined: Apr 2014
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From: Monticello, Florida
Thanks for the info. I'll keep all of this in mind when I go take a look this weekend. Ya'll have a great holiday weekend.
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Club Member
Joined: Jun 2007
Posts: 45,429
Likes: 2,898
From: Bedford UK
As you may have gathered, there ain't nuttin' we can't fix between us! Only one of us has had problems with corrosion of the frame, Bungo, who has recently completed his bike rebuild with replacement parts cut from a broken bike. I agree with 0maha, if it turns over freely that is a decent check of fitness. If it has been standing for any length of time it isn't worth trying to start it, much better to clean out all old fluids first, especially tank and carb, after you get it home. Post pics!
Seasoned HDF Member
Joined: May 2008
Posts: 21,173
Likes: 12,740
From: South Carolina
3500 bucks for a 26 year old non running bike with rust in the tank is way too much.
This bike will probably need a lot of things.
Lifters
Front pulley upgrade
Carb (original model carb is junk)
Rocker Boxes (on a lot of `89 models were defective, they deform so bad that you can`t get them to seal).
That is at least a grand right there, if you do the work yourself, and you still need to clean the tank and hope you don`t damage the paint while doing so (cleaning rust from the tank is easy, but the liner has failed and will need to be removed also, and that is where the work is).
I`ve owned an `89 (Softail) since new, and if I were looking for an older bike, it would be `90 or later.
They may be close, but the starter configuration is different, the `89 was the first year for the starter solenoid mounted on the starter motor.
This bike will probably need a lot of things.
Lifters
Front pulley upgrade
Carb (original model carb is junk)
Rocker Boxes (on a lot of `89 models were defective, they deform so bad that you can`t get them to seal).
That is at least a grand right there, if you do the work yourself, and you still need to clean the tank and hope you don`t damage the paint while doing so (cleaning rust from the tank is easy, but the liner has failed and will need to be removed also, and that is where the work is).
I`ve owned an `89 (Softail) since new, and if I were looking for an older bike, it would be `90 or later.
They may be close, but the starter configuration is different, the `89 was the first year for the starter solenoid mounted on the starter motor.
Last edited by Dan89FLSTC; Sep 7, 2015 at 11:02 AM.
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