I have always purchased metric cruisers and thinking of purchasing a second bike. Recently a very clean low mileage (10k) 2001 Fat Boy chrome everything, RC Wheels and all HD accessories came across my path at a non HD motorcycle Dealership for $10,500. Can someone tell me about the 2001 Fat Boy series. Were there any recalls, motor issues, ride issues, prone to ?. The Dealer will only tell you what they what you to hear. I have belong to many forums and this is where the real information is discovered. Thanks in advance.

 

They are prone to emptying your wallet on mods!!
Price seems a little high. Is it EFI or carb? That year has a very strong bottom end in the engine with Timken bearings.

 

LAST Feb I purchased my 2005FB, in the high 9's with 11K miles from a Dealership. I did purchase a different seat. Your price seems a little high for this time of year, in the end of May you could expect that. Mine has extras too: Chrome linkages, lines, diamond cut heads, two into one screaming eagle exhaust, windshield....

 

Dealers price their bikes expecting you to haggle, they likely took it in in trade for half or a tad more than half of what they are asking. If they are hungry, they'll drop down quite a bit, if they aren't they'll be more likely to try to stick to the price.

 

2 things. First is they're asking too much for a 2001. Average retail should be around $8,690.

Second, you need to make sure that the cam chain tensioner pads are still serviceable. And if not, have whoever selling the bike replace them with a replacement set of primary and secondary tensioner pads manufactured by Cyco Gaskets.

If you follow the THIS LINK it will explain everything in detail. If you still need addition information, there's a bunch out there. All you have to do is search and google away.

Cam chain tensioner pad inspection.

 

Very nice you-tube, how many miles were on that cam tensioner?

I've not heard from anyone I've talked to, have their cam tensioner to go out at 4K miles but I've heard that they positively should be checked at 20K to 30K.

 

A good general rule is to NEVER TRUST THE DEALER. Find a clean used bike near you in the want ads, etc and be willing to wait for the right bike. Did I mention to NEVER TRUST THE DEALER?

 

I believe he said there was 20k miles on the tensioner pads he was inspecting. I had 30k miles on mine before I went to gear driven cams. But I could have easily gone another 30k before messing with them.

Tensioner pads wearing out at 4k miles is very hard to swallow. 20-30k miles is a real good estimate as to when to check the wear limits. There is a small section in the Service Manual (not the Owners Manual) concerning inspection and wear limits of the tensioners, but most either don't purchase a Service Manual or miss the section that addresses them.