When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.
Hello everyone. I am new to this forum and I need your help. I bought this 83 sportster last year. I rode it through the summer and now I have tore it down to the frame to rebuild and put my mark on it. This is my first bike restore project and I'm quite anxious to see it go back together but I would like to do it right. My first challenge is the trany. It has always been hard to shift and likes to stick in 4th and 3rd gear. I let my son in law ride it one day and he brought it back broke. He said it stuck in 4th gear and he must of kicked the heck out of it because he knocked the shift arm out of the prawl. I have removed the trany and everything looks ok but I know its not. Any advise on this. Also when I removed the back tire I noticed that the rear axle does'nt fit any more like the swing arm spread open what is going on with that.
First of all get rid of the son-in-law ! That trans has to have a set of experienced eyes on it you did the grunt work get a good sporty mechanic to look at it could be anything from the paul carrier to shift forks to cam plate and so on as far as the rear axil swing arm are you saying there is too much side play on the rear wheel (side to side ) ? also make sure the rear swingarm doesn't have alot of play (swingarm bearings )
Thanks ironmick, I do have a harley manual and it is pretty helpful but it seems to be written for the mechanic with some bike wrenching knowledge. I will look for a haynes and clymer manual, I have found that the people at J&P are pretty helpful but there pretty proud of there parts.
Thanks for the info. I agree with your advise for my son-in-law. The boy could break a steel wedge. On the swing arm issue after I took the axle out and removed the rear wheel I put the axle back into the swing arm and it did'nt seem to fit.
The restore is coming along pretty good. Thanks for all the help. My problem today is the disc brake rotors. The bolts holding them on to the wheels will not budge. I twisted a new allen head socket and did not even move the bolt. I think they are lock-tited in there. Any advise on how I can remove these bolts.
Iron is right, on there is red lock tite on these bolts and sugg impact hand one.Make sure that you have a good wrench not some cheap china tool that tool will tear that bolt right up. good luck
7 Surprising Harley-Davidson Products that Are Not Motorcycles
Slideshow: The bar-and-shield logo shows up on far more than motorcycles, some of the company's most unexpected products have nothing to do with riding.
Slideshow: From the troubled AMF years to modern misfires, these bikes earned reputations for reliability issues, questionable engineering, or disappointing performance.
Crazy Bunderbike Build Looks Amazing, But Is It Impossible to Ride?
Slideshow: The Swiss custom shop has taken a Harley Softail and stretched it into something so long and low that it looks closer to a rolling sculpture than a conventional motorcycle.
Engraved Rebellion: Inside Bundnerbike's Glam Rock II
Slideshow: A standard cruiser becomes an intricate metal canvas in the hands of a Swiss custom house known for pushing Harley-Davidson platforms far beyond their factory brief.
Slideshow: Harley-Davidson's challenges aren't abstract; they show up in dropping shipments, shrinking dealer traffic, and strategic decisions that aren't yet translating into growth.