I´m wondering if anybody can help me. I´m looking to buy a softail soon, but it seems that in 90 or 91 there must have been some sort of modification of the bike, because when I look in spare-part cataloges, some of the items have a label "for softail before (or after) 90-91".
I´ve been searching high and low to find out what there changed on the softail in those years but with out luck. Perhaps its nothing but perrhaps its signifikant. I would like to know before I make a purchase.
if anybody can help me I´ll be very greatfull.
Thanks Martin

 

There were some changes to the chassis/frame around that time. I may be wrong but I believe that the major change was changing the rear swing arm mountings to a more solid bearing system in an effort to reduce/eliminate the old "slop tail" image.
Bikes made before that time had the swing arm mounted in rubber bushings while later ones used regular bearings.
Undoubtedly there were other smaller changes, but its fairly normal for them to do different engineering changes to either make them work better or easier to manufacture on a yearly basis.