89 flt
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Road Captain
Joined: Apr 2012
Posts: 579
Likes: 117
From: New Baltimore, MI
89 flt
I brought home this 89 FLT this week, very original. It needed tires, a battery, and a fuel line. I got those changed out, dealt with the quart of oul it puked out and thought it was good. Now I found the fuel inlet is leaking so Ill adress that next. It obviously leaked before ,because now I notice a zip tie around it...
Hopefully Ill be riding her soon!
Hopefully Ill be riding her soon!
Grand HDF Member
Joined: Jun 2005
Posts: 3,711
Likes: 3,438
From: SW WA.
Nice,a little underpowered for that much bike IMHO but that can be remedied ,I had an '89 FLHTCU Electra Glide Ultra Classic years ago.
It wouldn't take a lot of upgrades to make it a real mile eater,suspension tires and some motor upgrades and you're looking at a long mile road eating machine.
It wouldn't take a lot of upgrades to make it a real mile eater,suspension tires and some motor upgrades and you're looking at a long mile road eating machine.
Seasoned HDF Member
Joined: May 2008
Posts: 21,135
Likes: 12,696
From: South Carolina
Some ramblings from a guy who has owned an `89 Evo (Softail) since new:
I see that the carb is the original butterfly type Keihin carb, mounted on those awful rubber compliance fittings, `89 was the last year for that setup.
You might consider tossing that carb and manifold setup before you sink any money into it.
An OEM carb and manifold from `90 or later would be a huge improvement (as would an aftermarket carb like Mikuni or S&S).
The lifters that originally came in that bike were known for failures (the needle bearings in the rollers would come apart), if you replace lifters, avoid no name lifters like the plague (OEM and S&S are fine).
The front sprocket components (aka pulley) were redesigned for mid `94 model year, the new design parts were sprocket, spacer, lockplate, oil seal.
The old design sprocket was notorious for the retaining nut coming loose which could cause substantial damage (I discovered a finger tight retaining nut on my Softail during a teardown to fix an oil drip).
I see that the carb is the original butterfly type Keihin carb, mounted on those awful rubber compliance fittings, `89 was the last year for that setup.
You might consider tossing that carb and manifold setup before you sink any money into it.
An OEM carb and manifold from `90 or later would be a huge improvement (as would an aftermarket carb like Mikuni or S&S).
The lifters that originally came in that bike were known for failures (the needle bearings in the rollers would come apart), if you replace lifters, avoid no name lifters like the plague (OEM and S&S are fine).
The front sprocket components (aka pulley) were redesigned for mid `94 model year, the new design parts were sprocket, spacer, lockplate, oil seal.
The old design sprocket was notorious for the retaining nut coming loose which could cause substantial damage (I discovered a finger tight retaining nut on my Softail during a teardown to fix an oil drip).
Seasoned HDF Member
Joined: Aug 2008
Posts: 5,079
Likes: 2,151
From: Ohio
Have a 97 RK, 05 RG and a 82 FLT, each bike has it's advantages but been liking the FLT more and more, the ugly bastard loves being stretched out on open roads and just cool in the land of credit card Harley's
Grand HDF Member
Joined: Jan 2006
Posts: 4,204
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From: Anywhere we stop
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Road Captain
Joined: Apr 2012
Posts: 579
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From: New Baltimore, MI
Oil problem solved, fuel issue solved, new tires, new battery, fired it up this morning and...
Smoke coming from right side hand controls. I took a quick look but didnt see any wires melted, I'll look harder for pinched wires on the recommendation from a friend.
Smoke coming from right side hand controls. I took a quick look but didnt see any wires melted, I'll look harder for pinched wires on the recommendation from a friend.
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Cruiser
Joined: Jul 2013
Posts: 148
Likes: 47
From: Texas
As @eighteight mentioned above, there's a brass inlet you can install.. I did it twice so far.. https://cv-performance.com/harley-fu...ow-replacement
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Road Captain
Joined: Apr 2012
Posts: 579
Likes: 117
From: New Baltimore, MI
Everything addressed and she is running well. I'm going to do a quick shake down run this afternoon, change all of the oils and should be good for a while!
Last edited by ShrinerRider; Jul 12, 2022 at 11:53 AM.