Hey, I have a 99 Fatboy, I am doing the basic maintenance on it and I found some things I would like to have the service manual for, torque specs etc...

So my question is, I have found a service manual for a 98 Softail. How different is that model going to be from the 99 Fatboy. I know HD didn't vary much in the Evo line for most of the mid to late 90's.

Also, if anyone has a line on a 99 Fatboy service manual I'd definitely be interested.

Thanks in advance for any help or advice
Greg

 

It will be about the same

 

Thanks. I figured it would be very close. Just trying to double check if there were any important changes.

 

Your Fatboy is a Softail.
I don't think there are any differences between '98 and '99 year model softails.

 

Yeah, I know the fatboy is a softail. I was more concerned with any changes that may have happened between the model years.

Thanks.

 

Still getting over a cold so maybe I wasn't clear.
There are only Softail service manuals which cover all types of softails for that year.
You were asking about a fatboy service manual wish doesn't exist as a separate thing.

As I said before I don't think there were any changes between '98 and '99 so that '98 manual should be just fine for your bike.

 

Yes. You're absolutely correct. I was using "fatboy" as a shorthand. My fault for the confusion.

Thanks again for the info.

 

I have a 99 Softail Standard and there's one different thing between mine and a 98 model, that is the clutch. 99 models use the new clutch which appeared in the twincam models that year and the primary cover is the same as twincams too, with 5 bolts. It's different that the 98 and sooner models.

I don't think that there be more differences between 98 and 99 models but maybe can tell you any other.

Regards,

 

Your question is a common one around HDF, asking about the differences between model years relative to the FSMs. While those two model years may be very close Javieret has already pointed out a very significant difference. We routinely recommend buying the correct model year, rather than 'making do' with one that is not entirely accurate.The first time you discover something not properly covered in your FSM you will curse not getting the correct one, believe me! Not many of us have hands-on experience of bikes from adjacent years and I strongly urge you to find the correct year, or buy a new one from your local friendly dealer. They may seem expensive, but you get the cost back the first time you use it - from then on it's free!

 

Thank you Javieret and grbrown... that's exactly the kind of info I was looking for. I figured after flipping through the service manual for 97-98 and seeing differences between those two years that I was probably gonna need to bite the bullet and get my years version.
Related... I found a few sellers on Ebay with the 99 manual. Has anyone had experience with buying from there? Good or bad?
Thanks again