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.
A guy I worked with has had this bike for 28 years and hasn't been riding it much. It started giving him problems, and last year he said he'd sell it for $5000. I looked at it then and it needed too much work. The guy isn't all that mechanically inclined and just let everything go to pot, and rode it anyway. The bike is just plain worn out - every piece of rubber, every pushbutton is worn down. Every finish is dull.
The other day he called me saying he got fired from work last month and would sell it for $3500. I picked it up today. I was surprised when I got there and he said he had a bunch of parts in his basement - original pipes, carb and air cleaner. Plus a bag with a camshaft and oil pump, a starter, solenoid, leather saddlebags, and a bunch of other random stuff. I haven't had time to look thru it all carefully, but it is a real bonus. I think I will restore this one as original!
Here it is in my garage. One of the cars is outside for now:
This is my second '82 FXR, it's my favorite bike ever. The first one I bought off another guy from work in the early 90's. He had started to build it for his wife but they were getting divorced so he sold it to me as a total basket case. The frame was already powder coated that color, so I had to go with it:
I had an '83 FXRT and with the addition tf a Dyna S ignition and an S&S 'E" series carb it was super dependable as well as the best handling HD I've ever owned. (If I could locate it today, I'd try and buy it back!) Good call on your part...
I will say that I originally went away from the S&S and really like the Original Screamin Eagle [Butterfly] carb... Otherwise known as the Andrews Flowmaster..
But... Ya gotta know How to at least tune the Stocker [which really was Not that bad unless worn out] in order to make the Flowmaster Function..
I have also learned to like a CV onto a Shovel... depending how ya ride..
I was hoping the bike could be mechanically rebuilt and just cleaned up cosmetically, to keep it's 'survivor' status. But it turns out it's been repainted sometime in the past, so the originality has been lost. There is a skim coat of bondo under the paint in the tank dent, and it can be picked off. Also the decals are on top of the paint, not under clear. By 1982, I would think they were using a clear coat.
What do you think, am I right, it's been repainted?
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.
1982 fxr
