I found a guy looking to trade his 87 Softail standard for a sporty 883 hugger. I happen to have a 94. The softy has 33,xxx miles on it and has tins ready for paint right now and needs a primary gasket. My sporty needs the o ring that goes to the end of the clutch cable and that's it. The sporty has under 13,000 miles. Is this a good trade?

 

I would.

 

I'd definitely consider it.Bigger motor,better ride,upgradeable plus I always liked the Softail Standard look.

 

great trade. bigger is always better. problem is what is wrong with it. what he says and what really is wrong. you know hats wrong with yours. your only going by what he says. then again id much rather be putting money into a full size than money into a sporty. seems he can test ride yours but not the other way around. is at least want to hear the motor run and do a compression test.

 

have to agree with all the above . yours runs and rides. look hard then look harder again. best of luck

 

And take a friend who doesn't wear rose-tinted specs!

 

I would buy the gasket for cheap $ and bring a few tools to change it along with a quart of the OEM fluids (more on this later in your softail life, lots more!) I would ask fellow trader to do the swap. The kickstand setup gotta come off other than that it is a fairly simple job. Take it for a spin, smile and exchange titles & keys.

 

86,87,and 88 were transition years...and had some problems. The first Softails had shovel bottom ends and 4 speed primarys, all well supported by the aftermarket. As they moved to 5 speeds...they used a bastard inner primary...that used a 4 speed starter...which is probably cracked and the source of your leak...and it is obsolete... so your only choice is to find used, or update the whole primary to newer stuff. Those years also had crankshaft problems...if you don't do your own wrenching, an 87 could turn into a money pit in a hurry.

 

Does the 95 FXSTC fall into this category? If been chasing an IP leak (changed all seals and gaskets about three times) and seems to be coming from that area.

How do you fix it?

 

It's worth at least checking out IMHO. I absolutely love my 86. No problems in 4 years. I've updated things as I felt the need. It's been very dependable.If I would have listened to guys like Tom84 (who bashes these years every chance he gets) I would have missed a great deal and a lot or riding. As always take internet advise with a huge grain of salt.