Great forum you all got here! New to HD, not new to bikes - had bikes since i was 10yrs old so going on 22 years with bikes here. Always wanted to have a Harley, but with a 2 year old and another on the way, budget was always gonna be limited so I always knew it was gonna be a repairable, restorable, or just an older model. Finally found one, and im gonna need lots of help/advice on the build/restore as i learn all things Harley and unique to these bikes vs the Japanese makes and models Ive had all my life.

So the bike - was seeing a lot of mid 80's, and some early 90's in my price range (sub $4k) but all crazy high miles, rough paint, rough everything really. Finally saw one on the local CL yesterday - 2008 Sportster XL1200l, 105th anniversary edition, with only 11k miles. Asking price - $3k. Must be a scam i thought, but what the heck. Reached out, really nice folks - "bike was girlfriends, and sat outside for several years with road salt, etc, so it was rough cosmetically. Engine runs good though." so i though hey worth a look, since Im not a chrome guy anyway and would be turning that stuff black, who cares about the surface rust.

Looking at the bike - tires are rotting and cracked, shocks rusted through pitting and rust all over the forks, bubbling rust on non critical metallic parts (belt cover, rear fender supports, sissy bar brackets, etc). Need lots of love, all fluids, tires, brakes, bearings, etc. But i love a challenge.

After a dicey test ride (did i mention the rotting tires) to make sure she shifted well through all the gears, etc (PS these 1200s haul ***) - Got her for $2300. I think i got a pretty good deal. Started the teardown today, and order $500 worth of the basics to get me rolling (tires, new rear shocks, brakes, etc). Plan is get her safe, ride for a bit, and see what direction i want to go with this bike (bobber, tracker, black out, etc). Pics are coming today I swear!

 

Sweet, congrats on your first HD.

I grew up back east, and remember the horrors of the salt monster. At least you've got a reason to replace all those parts with something better.

 

Congrats on the new bike. Patiently waiting for pics and interested to watch it come together.

 

Congrats and welcome to the forum!

Seems like a good plan of action you've got there. Keep us updated on how it goes. Lots of folks around here are happy to help with info.

 

you 're gonna need every cent of that $700 you saved off the $3000 asking price ... and then a lot more !

have fun , looking forward to pics and what direction you end up taking it .

 

subscribed, cant wait to see what she looks like now. you'll have no problem finding people here to help. congrats on your fist HD

 

yea already spent $500 on the new tires, brakes, shocks, etc. All that should be arriving tomorrow

starting taking her apart and cleaning as I go, not too bad. Some rust along the edges of the frame, need to remove as much as i can, and then seal and encapsulate. POR15? Ran into a problem from the previous owner. See the last pic of the air filter cover, the right allen bolt. I haven't touched it yet, but looks like they rounded the allen out, then tried the old "cut in a flathead notch". But looks like thats rounding out too along the edges, so i didnt do anything. Dont have an easy out. Ive heard pounding in an oversize torx can work? The other one came out no problem. Glad its here, and not a critical bolt. I did get the rusted spark plugs out no problem, started soaking them in PB blaster last night and they came out no prob

by https://www.flickr.com/photos/31576913@N07/, on Flickr
by https://www.flickr.com/photos/31576913@N07/, on Flickr
by https://www.flickr.com/photos/31576913@N07/, on Flickr
by https://www.flickr.com/photos/31576913@N07/, on Flickr
by https://www.flickr.com/photos/31576913@N07/, on Flickr
by https://www.flickr.com/photos/31576913@N07/, on Flickr

 

front fender bolt were rusted solid too, but managed to get those out after some persuasion, nothing broken. Definitely new hardware going everywhere

 

PS is there any fiche that actually tells you the bolt sizes? All the Jap bikes fiches do that, so you can just go to the hardware store and get the right ones. All the Harley part finders just give you the part number, no dimensions.

 

That doesn't look as bad as I thought it would! Go to the local big box hardware and get yourself some screw extractors (E-Z Out or generic brand) in various sizes. You'll use them more often than you want.

BTW, what table do you have there?