1990 FLSTC Project - Feedback needed
 

Hello everyone,
My father recently passed away and left me his 1990 FLSTC. This bike has been through absolute hell: a few years after purchasing it it was involved in a very bad accident on the highway but the insurance company didn't deem it a total loss and repaired it. Several years later it was laid down taking a corner at around 45MPH and years after that it was ran into a ditch swerving to avoid a car.

In most of these cases a quick trip to a wrench would have everything squared away and have you back up and running. Unfortunately my father was a bit of a do-it himselfer who was known to cut corners. The last several years of his life he had couldn't actually hold the bike up anymore and rode his '93 FLHTCU that had 'training wheels' on instead but that didn't keep him from playing with the '90 every summer. Needless to say it hasn't seen a lot of road time the past five years.

In honor of my father's memory I am going to rebuild his FLSTC; I am not a licensed mechanic but am fairly handy with a wrench and not knowing something has never stopped me from doing something before =]

The first thing on my list to buy is a shop manual and have found that Clymer sells a 650ish page manual. What I don't want to do is buy a manual and then get to something "difficult" and rather than explaining what needs to happen the manual says something along the lines "please consult a professional to complete this" as has been my experience with several Hayes manuals in the past. Does anyone have any experience with this brand of manual and, if so, will it fit my needs for a near complete tear down and rebuild? If not can someone recommend a good manual for this process?

I am still in the early stages of planning and sourcing parts but I am going to try and reuse as many parts from the source bike as possible which may not be much. I am going to be starting out with a new frame since the current frame shows signs of stress (broken paint at the welds, small cracks in the welds, etc) the thing pulls to the left when going down the road, and there is a terrible vibration in the forks.

Now from my reading it seems that the engine is an EVO 82 cu. in. so I am going to do a complete top end rebuild for several reasons: first the cylinders and heads have been completely stripped of any finish they once had on them and secondly because we are talking about a bike that hasn't had any professional service done in over 2 decades so it is probably best to do new seals, rings, etc. I am hoping that the bottom end is intact but I am skeptical because the thing leaks oil like a sieve.

This is my basic plan and so far haven't got beyond what I want to do with the powerplant. I am going to try and keep everything as stock as possible but that doesn't mean I am not open to adding after market parts during the rebuild for the right reason.

What suggestions or advice can you offer up to me for this project?

Thanks!

Good for you bud, I think it's cool that you're rebuilding Pop's ride. I'm sure it will be very special to you when it's done. You didn't mention the mileage but with it being a leaking 1990, you probably should go into the bottom end as well. As far as manuals, why don't you just buy the Harley Manual? They're still in production and should run you around $60.00 unless you can find one on eBay.

Also, you may want to look at the Evo section when you need more technical help: https://www.hdforums.com/forum/evo-classic-models-84/

Best wishes on this project!

Since it sounds like this bike is a mess from a mechanical standpoint (both frame and engine), what if you look for a clean FLSTC and focus your efforts on making it look like your dad's bike? You could replicate the paint, emblems, and accessories and end up with a safe bike that makes you think of him every time you see it or ride it. You could also make sure that you include several parts from your dad's bike in the new build.

I understand you want to honor your father's memory, so forgive me if this comes across as disrespectful.

Bill

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