Im looking at buying an older EVO to tinker with. The bike im looking at has 48k miles on it. What should i look for and is a decent year to play with?

 

A lot of experience in this forum and no problem is without solution. The smartest, most experienced of the guys will perhaps try and dissuade you from 84&85 becuase of certain issues unknown to me. 86 - 88 have a different set of problematic idiosyncrasies.
Again somebody smarter like Tom84, johnjz of dan89 will explain.
Good luck and post pix please.

 

Thanks Tee. I will get some pics up if i decided to buy it.

 

Just off the top of my head (and I have a big fat head)...

The modern starter system and higher capacity charging system came about for the `89 model year.

The splined mainshaft and clutch hub in `90.

The CV carburetor in `90.

The upgraded belt pulley, spacer, lock in `94.

None of these would be a deal breaker if I were looking at an older EVO, just some things to keep in mind.

On a bike that is 27 years old, some of these things could have been upgraded already (I would bet the carb and charging system have already been changed).

The pulley,nut,lock upgrade would be something you would want to take care of soon after acquiring the bike, if it has not been done already.

 

I have a 1988 FLHTC. I had a 1991 Heritage (FLSTC). I loved the old Heritage. If the price is right I would buy an 87 in a second. Somewhere in that time Harley went from the older style clutch cable route with the arm on top of the transmission to the newer style with the trap door. As far as I can tell either one works fine. As you know the older softails had the solid mounted, non-ballanced engines. So, you will get some vibration on the interstate. Still not a deal breaker for me. I rode many miles on the interstate. But, I also kept a little extra hardware in the saddle bag with some blue locktite.

Check the cylinder base gaskets for weeping oil. It's an easy fix on the evo but it does take a couple of days and a few beers. Pulling the top end on an EVO is easy and straightforward should you need base gaskets. There's folks here that can talk you through it. Heck, the most time consuming part is scraping gaskets. I actually enjoyed that job and wouldn't hesitate to do it again if my 1988 ever needs it. Just buy the best base gaskets you can find (highly recomend Genuine James).

One of the things I loved about that bike is that parts are as common as corn bread. My 1988 FLHTC is a bit of a oddity and parts are less common. But, on the softails of that era parts are really easy to find and some interchange. It's like shooting fish in a barrel at a swap meet. Parts that fit early evo softails are everywhere.

If the original shocks are still on the bike, and I'll bet they are, they will probably need to be replaced at some point. Mine were worn out and squeeking. I replaced them with some $200.00 dollars ones that I bought on ebay. They worked perfectly and rode way better. The Harley dealer tried to push a $1,700.00 dollar set of shocks on me and refused to show me anything else. So, I went to ebay and am glad I did.

In my experience, everything about the old Heritage is relatively easy to work on except maybe putting a new drive belt on it. I spoke with my indie guy about the belt once and the thought of replacing it gave him the hives and he quoted me a much higher than expected price. Lucky for me the belt turned out not to be my problem and replacing the rear pully was very easy.

 

The clutch actuation mechanism was changed from the lever arm to the ball and ramp system (which is still used) for the `87 model year.

 

exactly what are the 86 - 88 problems?

have an 86 glide for 18 years and have yet to find what these are

early evos have a 5 piece crankshaft (like s&s does)

late evos have 3 piece

rumour has it the steel in the 5 piece shafts is better quality than the steel in the 3 piece shaft / flywheels

90 - 93 evos had problems with cracked cases and camshaft bearings

for my money the pre 90 evos are a better bet than the post 90

 

This isn`t an argument about whose bike is better. Just pointing out what to keep in mind when looking at an older Evo bike.

For 10 years someone else owned your bike, maybe they saw some issues. All bikes have them...

One issue with the early Evo bikes was with the shifter pawl spring in the 5 speed transmission, a lot of them had to be replaced, it was a pretty common failure back in the late `80s.

I`ll bet the spring in your transmission was replaced.

Another issue common to all (pre `94) 5 speed belt drive bikes was the front belt pulley coming loose.

 

Just curious why a late 80's instead of a 90's evo? Price difference isn't that far off, is it?

 

have met 3 of the previous 4 owners

1st one had a impending lag in jail for drugs

2nd owner was his wife

3rd - sold to fund a divorce and he knew every part of that bike and could identify everything that had changed since he owned it

4th no idea about this guy he traded it in on another bike