So like the title says, looking at a 1997 FLSTC- heritage. Great colors, only 3k miles. Costly at $8k, but great colors, great condition. Will be trading in a 1999 honda shadow 750 thats been great, just bored .

I generally just cruise the country side, occasionally in town. Never more than an hour ride at a time. One of my kids generally ride on back with me.
Last year I bought a vulcan 1500, and did not like it. Felt like less power than the honda 750, bigger, bulkier, cost twice as much as the shadow. Sold it after 6 weeks.
Should I be considering something besides the softail??
Honestly , we just liked the look and paint scheme of the softail. Bright aqua and white. All stock. I seriously ride about 15 hours a year. I’m not really concerned about the $. I’ll treat it well and could sell for decent price and be happy later on. I hear about bad vibration from the solid mount… not real sure that would be a bother. Without teat driving 10 other bikes, I dont know if the softail with stick 2-1 exhaust really gives the nostalgic exhaust note .

 

1997 is not going to be fast with out some spending and work. $8,000 is steep for a 1997 period.
1997 EVO is fun to ride. That right there may over ride any other concerns.

I own a 1996 27 years old still a great ride will never part with it.

 

The EVO is a solid engine, and the 97 had many updates since the original release. I'd question the 3k miles a little, like is there any documentation to support the claim? Price is a little high, so hopefully you can negotiate that down. And I'd check that the engine and frame numbers match. There is also a number on the transmission that should start with 97.

The EVO engines may develop an oil weep from the cylinder base gaskets if the engine is not allowed to warm / heat a little up before riding it. I'd inspect closely for any signs of leaks aroune the base of the cylinders, which would like. It's usually only a small week that makes the paint in the engine cases look wet, but may get worse if left alone.

Also keep in mind that the bike is 27 years old, and may require new tires and some other maintenance items based on age alone. General rule is recommended to start thinking about replacing tires at 5 years and getting more important at 7 years. As in reaplce the tires before riding it again. You can check the date code on the tires to determine how old they are.

As far as the exhaust is concerned, that can be changed out to something that better suites you desire. I cut the baffels out of mine and they rumble at idle, but get loud on acceleration. But you may need to rejet the carburetor after modifying the exhaust.

I have a 1994 with about 35k miles on it and it's been a great bike. Very few problems in all the years. I have two other bikes so I don't ride as much as I used to, but it's too nice to let it go.

If you can, post a picture of it.

Paul

 

First, the EVO engine was a solid engine... I don't know many who have owned an EVO that have bad things to say about it.... All models had quirks & issues, the EVO probably had less than all the engine platforms I have owned, ridden, or are familiar with..

That 1997 you are looking at has an asking price about twice the "average retail" price. I suspect it's not $4k better than average, but that's up to you to decide..

Year: 1997
Make: Harley-Davidson
Model: FLSTC Heritage Sftl Clsc
Model Type: Cruiser
Displacement: 1340
Cylinders: 2
VIN: 1HD1BJL1V
Finance Advance: $2,955
MSRP: $14,975
Avg Retail: $3,935
Auction Wholesale $2,995
Clean Trade: $2,920
Fair Trade: $2,405


As for the vibration issue... all softails have a solid mount engine. The EVO engines were not counter balanced like the Softail Twin Cams or the mono-shock softail M8 bikes.

The vibration is not really that bad. On my 1989 Heritage, it manifested itself as a buzz in the hand grips and/or footboards. It wasn't extreme, but noticeable. It was most pronounced at a certain speed. IIRC, it was right around 62-66 mph. It certainly didn't stop me from taking numerous multi-day trips and cruising around the SoCal freeways...

Good luck with the inspection and the search for a Harley...

 

I have a '97 FLSTC and it's actually a fantastic bike. I *always* repack the bearings on any bike I get (I only ride Evo year sleds), because I've had and seen bad things happen.

There *is* a vibration on the footboards at certain speeds, but it's nothing that bothers you at all. I also do not ride with fairings or windshields, so that was the first thing I yanked off, heh. You might also want to double-check the neck bearing adjustment, since it *is* 23 years old and can get a little out of whack.

Other than that (and the useless saddlebags that barely hold anything! I like throwover saddlebags, I'm a holdover from old days and cowboy fence riding on my horses and such, that they're simply the easiest thing for me to have on the bike and hold things, and the particular 'bags I got for the FLSTC I can pack an *amazing* amount of groceries into!) it's a great bike to ride. Easy to steer (counter steering works fantastically on this bike like no other, so get used to using it!), easy to sit...hell, even my 5' 4" 120 pound girlfriend can flat-foot this bike sitting in the saddle! Parts are still relatively easy to get and interchange with several other models of bikes like the Dyna's for example.

Oh...there is one thing on this bike I can't stand - the seat! It's a stock two-up and it makes me sit too far forward and it makes the OL slide forward since the passenger part of the seat slants downward toward the rider instead of upward to help prevent the passenger from doing this. My OL hates this seat too, just because of this, oh, and because she says it's a little too mushy. Unfortunately I live on a fixed income disability check and it doesn't make it easy for me to even save up a little her and little there to get a nice aftermarket Mustang or Saddleman (I've got my eye on two a particular model of each of those brands, especially because I got a Mustang for my FXD and it was a pleasure to sit in that saddle for as long as I wanted!) seat. You'll be much happier.

If you're tall (I'm 6' 1") I wanted a tiny bit more room under the rear brake pedal for my foot to sit more forward on the footboard, so I got an aftermarket brake pedal that sits higher and a little farther forward and it's now out of the way completely.

I didn't like the stock exhaust because I couldn't even hardly hear it, no matter how much I got on the throttle. I also didn't care for the looks of it, so I got an aftermarket setup of V&H Big Shots Long, and my S&S carb warned me that those pipes might make tuning a little difficult...the tuning is fine, the one problem is that when I come to a stop, sometimes if I have to fire the bike up quickly again after stopping, those *loooong* pipes hold a little exhaust gas still and it's still hot enough that when I fire it up again I get a nice loud *POW*...startles people walking by, lol. I also wish I'd gone with some brand of true duals...it looks better and sounds better, but I was trying to keep the cost down a little, unfortunately.

Leaving the bike stock though (except for the seat!), will probably be just fine too. It'll get you 45 mpg (that's two-up too) and rides like a dream and takes bumps much more nicely compared to a Dyna or Sportster.

 

I'm not sure where others are seeing these bikes for around $4,000 but I'd sure like to find one at that price, I've been looking at late 90's FLSTC's for the last 6 months and all of the ones that I've found that are clean, complete, and with reasonable mileage have been listed anywhere from $8,000 to $12,000. KBB and JD Power shows average retail to be $7,460 and $8,825 respectively for a 1997 Two-Tone FLSTC.

 

You're not going to see them "listed" for $4k.... they will be listed for a bunch above that.

What they are listed for, and what they sell for are most often two distinctly different prices...

KBB usually only shows "Typical Listing Price". Both JD Power & Black Book Powersport show average retail (and other) numbers. They gather sales/trade-in/auction numbers, then some numbers are based off those and their algorithms. The free Black book prices are about 3 months old, the most current prices are available for a subscription fee.

A year ago, when looking for a bike, I found that JD Power & Black Book were usually within $500-$800 dollars in their average retail numbers. Lately, on many models, they have had larger differences. It could be on rarer, older models (less sales to track) one hasn't caught up with the other. It could be that with fewer sales numbers, their algorithms have different slopes. Add in the fact that many Harley Buyers (and sellers) are making more emotional decisions than other customers, and that can have a weird affect on prices.

The general market is heading downward and the crazy "covid" pricing of the recent past is getting back to normal. There are still people and dealers, with nice examples of a model, that will list for a high price, hoping to get the crazy "covid" price, or looking for "that guy" who just has to have it...

When I finally purchased a 2016 Low Rider in 1/2023, most I saw were anywhere from $1500 to $3000 above Black Book average retail. Most I looked at were not, IMHO, even average retail condition. After a search started about a year before, I found one for $300 (IIRC) below Black Book Average retail ($500 below JD Powers) and it was truly the cleanest, best maintained low mileage bike I had looked at the entire search.

Having said all that, the bottom line is the value sites will list "average retail" numbers. I always use both JD Power & Black Book Powersorts. I look at the middle of their range as a fairly reasonable number. You have to consider through your research and your inspection of the bike, if it is above average or not. Then you have to decide how much of a premium you are willing to pay for that above average bike.

Good luck with your search and your purchase decision(s)....

 

With mileage that low it has been sitting. I chased a ‘95 Road King for a year, that I finally was able to buy for $5,000 last year, after starting at $4,000 the year before. Only reason I could even get it for that was the old guy’s wife heard that I had upped my offer and she said, “Sell it!” Didn’t hurt that I am a family friend.

9600 miles. Well cared for while it sat indoors for 15 years. Tires were twenty years old. I put a grand in it and it still needed work. Stator was kaput. Left fork started leaking after riding it 100 miles.

Great bike, but plan to work on it some. I sold it to a friend for what I had in it. He replaced the stator with a new OE from HD. It failed early. Replaced again. Turn signals decided to work only when they want to, and the drive belt broke this year at bike week.

Aside from that, it’s a carbed bike, a dream to ride and looks just as good.

Just expect the unexpected on an older bike.

 

Yeah, I completely understand the difference between "asking price" and "selling price", I just don't see a dealer listing a bike for $8,000+ that would be willing to take $4,000 for it. A quick Cycle Trader search for '97-'98 FLSTC's shows 5 dealers asking between $7,950 and $9,990 for mostly original bikes. (2 private sellers are asking similar prices) I also understand that price guides like KBB and JDP are based on average retail, but I still find them to be a good starting place to decide how much to offer.

I agree that dealers still seem to be trying to ride the COVID price wave and there are apparently enough buyers still willing to pay full price. Lately though I've seen a couple of dealer warehouses packed wall to wall with trade-ins so hopefully they'll come back to reality soon.

 

I mentioned the "price was a little high". And I based that on the idea that it will likely require some maintenance items to make it road worthy. While we don't actually know that, a 27 year old bike with 3k miles has done a lot of sitting at some point in it's life. And we haven't seen any pictures of the bike either.

If it's all updated on maintenance and has tires with good tread and under 5 years old, then there isn't much to negotiate on. But it's always worth giving it a try as long as the buyer is serious and willing to accept the asking price if it is ready to ride home etc. If not, then I'd guess it's going to cost around $1k or so at an HD dealer or a little less at an independent. But I doubt you can find an HD dealer that will still work on EVO's

Paul