Hey everybody,
decided to pop over here on the advice of another forum member. I'm looking at buying a 1991 FLHS Electra glide "Sport". Wondered if there was anything I should know about the motor to look for. The kicker is the bike only has 6k miles. not 66k, a mere 6k miles and is and always has been in CA. its been ridden a few hundred miles per year and just enough on a regular basis to keep it running. All fluids have been changed regularly and has new tires. Anything specific I should look for in it? So far I have been told about a bearing and a porous motor case. Can anyone elaborate on those issues for me?

 

Harley discontinued the FLHS after the 1993 model year (I own a 93 FLHS), and introduced the RoadKing FLHR in 1994.

The bike you are looking at is a bottom breather EVO 80 cubic inch. CV carb'd engine. Battery is behind the right side cover, and there is also an oil tank (The MoCo changed design in 93 to under seat battery and engine oil pan under transmission). IIRC the 91 had a better cam profile than my 93 had.

Regardless, the best upgrades for that bike would be a free flow air cleaner and exhaust. You can run just slip-on mufflers, but your existing head pipes have the funky flange. Best to just take a cut off wheel and use new mufflers (old style ones aren't as easy to find). Or look for a take off system from up to (IIRC) 2006 'Glide. It will bolt on. Swap out the cam for something that suits your riding style. There are many to choose from: Andrews, Woods, etc. I run an Andrews EV27 in my FLHS, and it's perfect for my riding style.

Don't even think about stripping off the windshield, because the bike will look hideous without it on. That big ol' instrument pod will really distract from the bike unless it's partially hidden.

Post up some pics!

 

those are the only pics available. the cams you say I should switch out. Is there something inherently wrong with the ones in the bike now? Or is it just one of those common upgrades that is easy and makes sense? Im looking for a turn key system that is good to go for my wife and I to ride. it will be used for weekend drives and touring the US.

 

There's only a single cam in an EVO Big Twin (Sportsters have two cams). The MoCo went to twin cam Big Twins in 1999. I believe the 91 EVO had a better cam profile and used the Torrington cam bearing (someone will know for sure). The EPA really put the clamp on The MoCo with emissions, so they had to change the profile to meet standards. Also the air cleaner/exhaust is restrictive to meet noise standards. Basic rule to make an EVO run (like it should) is to get more air in and exhaust out of the engine. That doesn't mean loud and obnoxious exhaust, just something that is a bit more free flowing than stock.

Personally, I'd just ride the bike 'as is', and see if it performs to your expectations. I will say, that there was a noticeable improvement in two-up riding after the air cleaner/exhaust/cam change. The stock EVO puts out an anemic fifty-some horses. The above mods will get you into the 70+ horsepower range.

The bike also has air shocks in the rear, and an 'anti-dive' system on the front forks. Get yourself an air suspension pump to fill them. DO NOT use an air compressor. Or even a bicycle pump. Too much air/pressure will blow the seals out.

Does the bike have new or newer tires? Those would be the first thing on my list to replace if they are the originals. 25 year old tires are an accident waiting to happen. Slap some new ones one before loading it down with two riders and gear.

Is this your first Harley? If so, I've got a few other bits of wisdom to share....

 

^^^This^^^

Ride it for a while then decide what you want more of (if anything).

Once you start modding your bike it never ends!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

Panda, I can totally relate to where you are at here.

I bought the bike in my sig pic almost exactly a year ago because I wanted something that was "good to go for my wife and I to ride. it will be used for weekend drives and touring the US." My bike is pretty much exactly the same as what you are looking at, with the exception of having the batwing fairing instead of the windshield. When I got it, it had 10k miles, practically new condition, completely untouched, etc.

Since then, I've fallen into the never-ending black hole of mods and updates, and fell so hard for this old bagger that I sold the FXR which I was never riding anymore.

The pics you posted look good. The first thing I look at on old Evos is the timing cover (the thing next to the brake pedal, below the air cleaner). What I'm looking for is if it is attached with rivets at 12 and 6 O'Clock. If it is, that's a pretty good indication that the motor has never been opened up. Your's has the original cover riveted on. That's a good sign IMHO.

When I first got mine, I couldn't believe what a pig it was. I've had very (!) fast Japanese bikes in the past, and these old baggers are nothing like them. They are slow and handling is an adventure.

In the HD world, they talk about "stage 1", "stage 2", "stage 3", etc tuning. I don't know where those terms came from. Probably MoCo marketing.

These engines came gelded from the factory in order to satisfy EPA requirements. "Stage 1" tuning means less restrictive air filter, less restrictive exhaust, and carb tuning. That's what I did to mine. I wouldn't say you must do these mods, but they are cheap and easy. When I did them to mine, it did feel like it pepped things up a bit. Hard to say. You'd need a dyno run to really measure things, and I've not done that. Anyway, either because of my tuning or because the bike is finally broken in (I'm at 23k right now) or because I've just gotten used to it, it doesn't feel quite so piggish anymore.

"Stage 2" tuning adds a new cam to stage 1. "Stage 3" tuning adds head porting to stage 2.

FWIW, my intention is to run mine to 40k or 50k miles as it is. By then, I'll want to get in and replace the lifters, and I'll look at stage 3 level work at that time. Largely, that's because I'm something of a skinflint, and want to "use up" the motor I have before I rebuild it. And it's good enough for now anyway.

Getting back to your situation, my experience with these old Evos is that they do require a certain level of dedication. If you're handy with a wrench, there isn't anything you can't handle, but you do have to expect that you will face a steady stream of minor glitches. In the 12 months and roughly 12k miles on my Electra Glide, I've had the rear brake light switch go out, the primary chain went out, the bracket that holds the tourpak broke, one of the lifter blocks came loose and leaked oil like crazy, the carb acted up causing the bike to cut out occasionally at highway speeds, and the latches on the tourpak broke. All of those were relatively simple to correct. (I should mention that I am a Mechanical Engineer, and have been wrenching on bikes and cars and about anything else for over 30 years.)

I've made a number of other modifications as well. The foam on my stock seat was pretty much dead. Made long rides plenty miserable. I splurged on a Corbin seat and couldn't be happier. The stock front brakes are not up to modern standards. I upgraded mine with Wilwood calipers. Big improvement. The stock bars caused me some severe back pain on long rides, so I put on taller ones. On and on it goes. I've got a mental list of other things I'd like to do someday.

There is a really great group of Evo enthusiasts here that are an amazing resource. You won't run into anything that these guys haven't seen a dozen times before. They can talk you through just about anything.

Bottom line: If it were me (and a year ago, it was), I'd buy that bike. That's the perfect Evo to get. Run it as is for a while and see what you think. Confidently fix any stuff that gives out along the way, knowing you can get all the technical help you need right here. Get some miles and experience with it, and then you can decide what if any upgrades you want to make.

Good luck, and welcome to the forum!

 

Agree with 0maha. When I bought my dead-stock '89 ten years ago, I was coming from an early 80's Gold Wing and a '68 Triumph Bonneville, either of which could run circles around my 'new' Harley. I even doubted my choice briefly due to the lack of performance until I made some of the 'usual mods' that have been mentioned - i.e. free-flowing exhaust and air cleaner and a cam. These items woke the bike up considerably. I've since made all sorts of other changes, but those two were the most important early on.

Since your prospective bike appears to be dead-stock and have incredibly low miles, you have a great blank canvas to work with. You won't have to live with ill-considered mods performed by a previous owner, and the obvious get-started mods to wake up the performance a little are relatively easy and not too expensive.

 

I own a 92 FLHS and Love it. Yea it was kinda lame with the stock cam. I added a VThunder 3010 cam, new cam bearing, S.E. A/C and Kirker slipons. The bike is now everything I want and more. Get your self a FACTORY SHOP MANUAL and your all set. The only real mechanical weak point was the cam bearing but with only 6k on the clock I wouldn't worry about that right now. The EVOs are wicked easy to work on compared to the newer bikes. What is he asking for the bike? I paid $4500 for mine but as someone who lived in SoCal for many years I can tell you bikes there bring a bit more money. Best of luck. Keep us posted.
Todd

 

It's also a good idea to get the parts book IMO.

 

What is the asking price? Looks clean....

Omaha,
dude never seen such a write up before. Your passion is contagious...
Ride on brother.....