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I recently acquired a 1986 Harley Tour Glide. She has 43k on the clock with a supposed 15k on a motor. The only thing I know is that the engine doesn't have the same vin as the bike so I know it is a replacement engine. The mileage though is just what I am being told from the previous owner. The bike ran great but it was hacked together. The wiring was all butt connectors and things left not right or torqued down. It has since gotten cold here in the north east so I've decided to pull her apart and get rid of the shitty spray balm primary and engine paint job and all other hack work that had been done previously to this bike. (This is my first non crotch rocket bike and repair so im completely new to this.) I have pulled the harness off the back along with all the front fairing and the engine. I've cleaned it up with degreaser and it's back in the garage waiting for me to do something. This is where you guys come in. I can't decide if I should clean the old 80ci motor or go bigger. If I go bigger should I go all new or just top end. The transmission seemed ok but didn't like to go into 5th over 4K rpm. So I am going to pull that off as well and I'm not sure if I should check the forks for wear or just buy a replacement. The last thing is now that I've gone this far should I just sand blast the frame and start over lol? There is always one more thing I guess, does anyone know where I can get a detailed wiring diagram so I can use it to buy the correct size wire and colors to build a harness?
86 frames were painted. The later ones were powder coated.
You need the official HD Factory shop manual. It has all the schematics, etc., in it. You did pretty good to get that deep into it without a FSM.
What do you want out of it? The stock 80" motor is plenty. A good cam, carb, ignition, MAYBE changing the pistons for some more compression and it will do fine. Just this year, the bit 103" motors could out run me (pulling a trailer) on I90. I never had a problem out running anything up till those came out. Of course, that's with a trailer behind me.
I question the mileage on that. 30K miles and the motor was swapped out? It is just broke in at that point. 130K, I could see, and the transmission wear would line up with 130K, not 30K.
I agree with Hess...a well built 80" evo will run real nice...if funds are unlimited a S&S 110 would kick ***. I put a cam in my 99 an it's a completely different bike. When time comes for some gaskets I'm going to do higher compression pistons an maybe have the heads cleaned up. If you still have the old carb/intake set up you will want to change that to the new style intake for the better sealing gaskets an a better carb.
Last edited by langwilliams; Dec 3, 2016 at 10:15 PM.
86 frames were painted. The later ones were powder coated.
You need the official HD Factory shop manual. It has all the schematics, etc., in it. You did pretty good to get that deep into it without a FSM.
What do you want out of it? The stock 80" motor is plenty. A good cam, carb, ignition, MAYBE changing the pistons for some more compression and it will do fine. Just this year, the bit 103" motors could out run me (pulling a trailer) on I90. I never had a problem out running anything up till those came out. Of course, that's with a trailer behind me.
I question the mileage on that. 30K miles and the motor was swapped out? It is just broke in at that point. 130K, I could see, and the transmission wear would line up with 130K, not 30K.
It makes me a little happy that you told me the frame is painted and not coated. i am not sure what i want out of the bike. i keep forgetting this isn't a street bike lol. i want something that I can go for a 4hr ride and not worry about breaking down. I would like to be able to ride for hours on back roads and then when out of time run back home on the highway at 80. I am thinking that you are correct about the mileage the more I think about it. I am now left with the question what is the best option for transmission?
I agree with Hess...a well built 80" evo will run real nice...if funds are unlimited a S&S 110 would kick ***. I put a cam in my 99 an it's a completely different bike. When time comes for some gaskets I'm going to do higher compression pistons an maybe have the heads cleaned up. If you still have the old carb/intake set up you will want to change that to the new style intake for the better sealing gaskets an a better carb.
Thanks for the reply and your 100% correct on a better sealing gasket on the intake. when i took it apart I'm not sure how the bike was even running. Once i removed the bolts the carb and intake just fell out. I can't imagine it wasn't leaking air in with the metered air from the carb.
Motor number not matching the frame VIN does not necessarily indicate that it's not the original motor btw. (It's abreviated.)
"1981 to present the VIN has been a 17 digit code located on the frame and abbreviated on the engine. In this VIN the first 3 digits are the world manufacturer ID (see list below), the fourth digit is the weight class (see weight class list below). The next two letters are the model designation (see list below), the sixth digit was the engine type (see list below), the seventh digit was the introduction period (see list below), The eighth digit was the VIN check digit which could be 0-9 or X, the next letter was the model year (see list below), the letter after that was the assembly plant (see list below) and the last 6 numbers were the production numbers."
Example:
World Mfg. Class Model Engine Intro Check Year Plant Production Number
1HD 1 AA K 1 9 B Y 158126
The original motor number is in the VIN. Not all the digits, but if you look at the motor number and the VIN, you'll see it.
R'sD, from what you want out of it, a cam, carb (S&S or tuned CV), ignition and it will run with the big dogs and cruise nicely at 80 on the way home. Without the trailer, I have no problem cruising at 90. A new style intake will come with the new carb. If you still have the compliance fittings that 86's came with, those just have to go.
As for the transmission, a rebuild may be all you need. Some of the guys that went 6 speed on a 80" Evo never use 6th. 80" Evo's need some RPM's, not lugging down like a 103". The Ultima trans guys that didn't blow them up don't seem to run in 6th.
A bit more of a plan would be best. Deciding what you want outta the motor is a big part.
Coming from sport bikes to an EVO is a big change.
Are you or have you been around these kinda bike before?
My EVO is stock except for some head work and a Andrews EV13 cam and the carb has been tuned a bit. It suits me just fine.
We have to ride 100-150 mi to get to roads that are not straight and flat. With the speed limit 75 and 80 mph on many of our roads I can keep up just fine.
I'll do some small group rides from time to time. I usually get asked " Ok what have you got done to that EVO"
After reading for a good month straight, its hard to decide what to do for mods. After being on here for a week or two I've read many posts where guys say just freshen up the 80 and you'll be happy. i think i am going to go with what i got and just throw some goodies at it to give her a little pep. The worst case is that next winter i just pull the motor off and do something different, but at least ill have something reliable for the 2017 riding season. My goal now is to leave the 80 and re build the transmission. With the money I'm saving on the motor and transmission rebuild, i think i am going to up grade the braking components and add some 13'' rotors and new calipers. One thing i noticed while riding this bike for a month was its lack of stopping. again I'm use to a sport bike so i know its a completely different feel and type of bike but some 6 piston calipers and floating rotors can't hurt. i am going to change the fixed fairing to contain the radio and speedo, tach, misc gauges and indicators. i hope to do this with some patience and beginner fiberglass skills. I am going to make a new battery box for under the seat. The guy i got the bike from said the battery was originally in a saddle bag. i am not sure if that is true or not but either way the mount that the bike has is less then good. It has front and rear air shocks so i don't know if i should try and up grade them or not. The bike seemed to handle fair for a larger brick. i am interested in changing the bushings for the swing arm. I will post pics as i do the work to get everyones input. its nice to have another set of eyes to help with things so nothing gets over looked.
The battery was next to the saddlebag, between the swingarm and the saddlebag, behind the oil tank. Where is it now?
Anyway, nothing you can do to that bike will make it stop like a sport bike. You have physics working against you. It weighs around 800 lbs or better with you on it, and momentum is momentum. Maybe with a super gummy race front tire, very aggressive pads and a super strong hand you could approach a stock sport bike on old hard rubber, but be realistic. It's not a crotch rocket.
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1986 FLT transformation
