Evos Can Still Hack It.
Advanced
Joined: Sep 2014
Posts: 51
Likes: 25
From: Finland
I just got the 1991 Softail Springer inspected for museum status ( or classic vehicle what would be more familiar in USA.) It was accepted and my insurance fees will drop and I'm quite happy for that!
I have owned that bike from new and it have had some incarnations but I put the original tanks and fenders aside and bought replacements what I can paint the way what I might like.
It was quite easy process to put it back to original and I really like why it came from the factory
I have also other bikes but this has done about 110000 reliable miles!
I have owned that bike from new and it have had some incarnations but I put the original tanks and fenders aside and bought replacements what I can paint the way what I might like.
It was quite easy process to put it back to original and I really like why it came from the factory
I have also other bikes but this has done about 110000 reliable miles!
Intermediate
Joined: May 2021
Posts: 46
Likes: 37
From: Vicenza, Italy
I've been on Harleys for most of my life. My father rode a Pan and would take me for rides, mostly on country roads while in Illinois. The thing that always stuck in my head was that when he was talking to friends he would say "runs great but the SOB won't stop!" He didn't like the brakes.... My father passed away when I was 11. My mother, Italian born, with 3 kids, me being the oldest, moved us to Italy. She went to a U.S. Army base here in Italy and asked if I could go to school there (I couldn't speak a word of Italian), I was in !! When I turned 17 I enrolled in the Army (1979) and the year after the base "auto sales lot" had out a flier of the new FLT. I loved it! But no money to buy it. START SAVING!!... 6 years later I saw the FXST/C (in the mean while I rode a Moto Guzzi) I was in love again ....with money! March '87 had my *** on my new Harley, ordered it with DUAL DISC Front End (I have not seen another). 3 years ago I got the FLT (a '93 FLTCU) My Softail Custom is sitting in my garage (since last july) with 200K miles and is waiting for me to re-paint the heads and cylinders. It blew the front head gasket so I re-did the top end. That is.... I did a valve job, new rings (STD diameter), and checked the cylinder bolts (OK). The guy at the machine shop said that he had another set of jugs with a third of the miles that were paper weights.... mine were perfect. My Tour Glide has 85K miles and last summer we (that being my son, his fiancee and myself) went on a 900 mile trip thru North Italy. His fiancee along with most of our gear was on the Tour Glide. Great trip, NO problems. I ride with a group of guys that are constantly asking me when I'm going to get something with Fuel Injection... and I always say "when hell freezes over!". No one can convinse me that there is something more dependable with the newer bikes, except for the fact that they are newer! When they start to get some serious miles on them I want to see a "roadside repair" 
March '87 had my *** on my new Harley, ordered it with DUAL DISC Front End (I have not seen another). 3 years ago I got the FLT (a '93 FLTCU) My Softail Custom is sitting in my garage (since last july) with 200K miles and is waiting for me to re-paint the heads and cylinders. It blew the front head gasket so I re-did the top end. That is.... I did a valve job, new rings (STD diameter), and checked the cylinder bolts (OK). The guy at the machine shop said that he had another set of jugs with a third of the miles that were paper weights.... mine were perfect. My Tour Glide has 85K miles and last summer we (that being my son, his fiancee and myself) went on a 900 mile trip thru North Italy. His fiancee along with most of our gear was on the Tour Glide. Great trip, NO problems. I ride with a group of guys that are constantly asking me when I'm going to get something with Fuel Injection... and I always say "when hell freezes over!". No one can convinse me that there is something more dependable with the newer bikes, except for the fact that they are newer! When they start to get some serious miles on them I want to see a "roadside repair"
Road Captain
Joined: Aug 2020
Posts: 516
Likes: 119
From: Athens Ohio
I acquired my Evo after a lot of research. Both of my brothers were Harley-Davidson men since their early 20s. They rode dozens of them. My younger brother still rides an old shovel. My older brother passed in 2019. I always wanted a Harley-Davidson since I was 12 years old but college, marriage, children, and career prohibited my indulgence in the luxury of riding.
At the age of 70 my wife and I decided to empty our bucket lists. So, I purchased many books on Harley-Davidson and started studying the bikes. The Evolution era of bikes seemed to be a pinnacle for the bike. The engine solved many problems which plagued previous engineering and only ceased production because of government regulations (which are never advantageous). I wanted a fully mature Evo engine so I concentrated on the last few years of production as my candidates.
These bikes still had lots of chrome and very little plastic. Intercom communication. Beautiful two-color schemes. And the engines had the reputation of long life, power, and torque. The 82 cu in displacement has all the power and speed which we require for touring. The 790 dry weight is about all that we will be able to handle.
We looked at new bikes, but their weight was too formidable for me and the engines offered no advantage over the Evo. We even looked at new Indian touring bikes.
So, we finally found a low mileage 1998 FLHTCUI.
The only regret is that it does not have laced wheels. But I would have had to go to a Road King or such to get the laced wheels but my wife and I need the luxury of the loaded touring bike. And with our bike you cannot see the spokes anyway.
Because of our ages I had installed a Motor Trike manual reverse gear.
True, the heads do not have a knarly appearance, but, what the hey, we're in the modern age. If I were a single man, I would be sitting on an Evo Road King.
At the age of 70 my wife and I decided to empty our bucket lists. So, I purchased many books on Harley-Davidson and started studying the bikes. The Evolution era of bikes seemed to be a pinnacle for the bike. The engine solved many problems which plagued previous engineering and only ceased production because of government regulations (which are never advantageous). I wanted a fully mature Evo engine so I concentrated on the last few years of production as my candidates.
These bikes still had lots of chrome and very little plastic. Intercom communication. Beautiful two-color schemes. And the engines had the reputation of long life, power, and torque. The 82 cu in displacement has all the power and speed which we require for touring. The 790 dry weight is about all that we will be able to handle.
We looked at new bikes, but their weight was too formidable for me and the engines offered no advantage over the Evo. We even looked at new Indian touring bikes.
So, we finally found a low mileage 1998 FLHTCUI.
The only regret is that it does not have laced wheels. But I would have had to go to a Road King or such to get the laced wheels but my wife and I need the luxury of the loaded touring bike. And with our bike you cannot see the spokes anyway.
Because of our ages I had installed a Motor Trike manual reverse gear.
True, the heads do not have a knarly appearance, but, what the hey, we're in the modern age. If I were a single man, I would be sitting on an Evo Road King.
Trying to learn about tuning my MM Fuel Injection for a nice Thunderheader 2 into 1 like the OP has on his bike.
Thread
Thread Starter
Forum
Replies
Last Post
