Hello,

So my sister-in-law's husband has had a bike sitting in his garage for about 10 years. Had it, wrecked it, and now it's just sitting there. I've been wanting a project bike for a while and have been considering taking it off his hands so I can get it back up and running again. The problem is, when he crashed it, the forks got bent and something went up and in to the frame causing a piece of the frame to be chipped off(pic1 and pic2). Now, I'm not even sure I possess the skill set to get this thing up and running again. My major concern is the frame though. How much of a problem can this missing piece become? Is it a pretty easy (relatively speaking) fix, will it need a new frame?, or should I not even mess with it?
Any insight would be much appreciated.

JC

 

That looks like bondo.. That part of the frame is just bondo to get that look ..

 

that was the fork stop----I doubt the frame is hurt from what I see

 

+1 on both of the above. Fork stop hit the Bondo. No frame damage.

What year is the bike? The rocker covers are 1960s, XLCH. Very cool bike.

I am wondering what part of the forks is bent - what needs to be replaced to get that fixed.

 

A- I agree with everyone that the missing piece is just bondo

B- but due to the obvious damage to the forks, as you already know it was in an accident. I would want the frame checked to make sure she is still straight. If all good, I would try and save that groovy paint and molding.

Looks like a nice place to start a project, if you get it cheap enough.

 

Yep, very desirable. Have the frame checked for straightness and week spots. Molding with bondo was very popular back in the day. Good luck. Could be a very worthwhile project.

 

Bondo? That's hilarious. I mean, I find it funny that I saw this bike in person and have looked at that pic about 50 times and y'all take a quick peek and its pretty obvious that's it's Bondo. That's why I'm here I guess. @IronMick I have no idea what year it is. I was thinking early 70's but it could be from the 60's. You guys would know more than me, I ride an '07 883R so everything about this bike is different. You can tell that at one point it was somebody's groovy-*** chopper! Dude never seems to be around when I go by there though, I'm not even sure how serious he is about getting rid of it. He seems to collect...stuff.
From what I saw it looked like the top tubes bent during the crash and someone tried to straighten them out, but you can see where they bent. Also the front wheel is damaged, not completely broken apart, but bent also. I'd definitely get new forks, most likely a springer front end. If I even get it. If i do, I'd have to take it to a frame place. There's a place here in Sac (the bike is in San Jose, about 2 hours away) that repairs and straightens motorcycle frames. Does that work out well? I mean, he has great reviews on Yelp which, for the most part, i've had good luck with.
Alright gentlemen, i appreciate the input. We'll see how this plays out. I'm gonna try to nail down more details this weekend. He had mentioned he wanted 1,200 for it, but then for whatever reason my mother-in-law decided to negotiate on my behalf and got him down to 1,000 dollars! We'll see where he's at.
JC.

 

The frames of these bikes are strong. Probably no damage. Probably the weak fork tubes took all of the force. But having it checked is a wise choice.

Replace the fork tubes and the wheel. Check here for the forks parts...
http://franksforks.com/
This guy gets the highest ratings always. Use the Contact Us link to start a conversation with him about what happened and what you need/want.

The rocker arm covers are 1957 to 1970. I believe the magneto was used only up to 1969. There is no starter motor so it is most likely and XLCH rather than an XLH [some early kick start models were designated XLH before the distinction between XLH/electric and XLCH/kick started in 1967].

There should be a VIN on one side of the engine, at the base of the V between the cylinders. Sorry I get mixed up as to which side It should look something like...
yyXLCHnnnn
two digits for the year, the model designation, then a 4 or 5 digit sequence number.

Having an unmodified, un-messed-with VIN is very important. Take a clear picture of it. Best to not use flash [or use it carefully] as there should be no glare in the pic. I can give you a way to check the validity once you have a picture.

Back in those days a Sportster left unattended for even a brief time could be "gone in 60 seconds". Modified VINs from that era are not uncommon.

I think $1000 is an OK price.

 

I’d say most of the damage was done to the tank, that’s why it’s not there.