Okay, I broke down and bought a non-running 1982 Ironhead XLSA Roadster in Black and red trim. The bike is pretty original, minus a couple of parts such as the eat and exhaust, plus the intake air cleaner. The carb is original. The previous owner told me that it ran before he shut it down a year or so ago. The tank had rust inside and he had drained the oil out of it. I brought it home and immediately when to work on getting it to run. I pressure washed the bike underneath were there was caked on oil and so I can check for leaks. I did notice the oil lines are hard and one (factory clamp) was loose. I filled the oil tank up removed the old oilfilter, it was full of oil, and kept working in the fuel tank.
The fule tank clogging and killing the bike was not caused by rust as the previous owner thought instead it was the liner someone had done to the tank falling off. I cleaned it out as best I could and then put a couple gallons in it. The tank does not leak, which is good. I opened the fuel the valve and of course the fuel float is stuck open and pouring fuel on the ground. I smacked the float bowl several times and it stopped leaking, nothing like old school bike mechanics. I then gave it a crank. The bike took a few tries but when it came to life it blew a chunk of smoke and would not idle for crap. That carb is not healthy.

I am looking to restore this bike. I started originally looking for a project bike to convert into a bobber, but this little gem is telling me to restore it. I got it at a good price, so worth restoring. I am going to hunt for original parts for the bike at the swap meets. I already went to the dealer for parts and no luck on some of the older things. I look forward to restoring my first street motorcycle and a classic at that. I have restored classic cars (euros) with my dad and myself.

This is not going to be a concourse bike, but instead a fun restoration, kind of a resto mod, some modern parts to offset the old parts.
And now the pics and a crappy video.





I have to add that my Softail has an almost identical paint scheme. I did not do this on purpose. The previous owner of my softail did the paint job on it, it was originally a Cobalt Blue. The roadster is actually with the original paint. I guess I found where the Softail guy got his paint scheme.

 

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Uggh!!!!
I need to know what kind of CV carb to get for it. I don't know what year will fit it.

 

first place i look is here, carb part # 27502-86B , see what others have it


http://partsfinder.onlinemicrofiche..../showmodel.asp

 

Congrats on your purchase. Fine choice to restore. Glad you aren't hacking it up (further).

 

Carb looks remarkably good on the outside - just strip and clean it before throwing money at it! Get yourself an FSM and a carb rebuild kit -much cheaper.

 

Well, today I got a new battery for the bike and when I went to ride it I could not shift into 2nd gear. I looked at the lever and it was hitting the bolt and would not shift. I also have to adjust the clutch the thing walks when you hit the starter in 1 st gear. I relocated the shift lever, in other words I moved it down a tooth or two on the shaft and it gave me the travel I needed. I had to do a little research on how to adjust the clutch, I am waiting on a Clyde Manual. If someone has a source on an original factory manual and parts catalog, I would be thrilled. I am still leaking from the oil filter area just a couple of drops. I need to figure it out, I thought it was the oil filter was weeping, so I replaced it when i did the oil change.
I am also a lucky guy. I have a buddy with a 1949 Servicar and a 1993 Fatboy that he built. Well, I saw him today and he was showing me his latest toy a 1992 Softail. We were talking abiout mine and how I want a CV for it (I have more experience with them) and he goes "I think I have an extra complete one in my box of parts" and he goes "if I find it you can have it." I am blessed in this world. I had found a used one for 50 dollars, but free is better and all I need is a rebuild kit. Until I get it I am going to adjust this one properly, seems to be poorly adjusted from the last time the guys took it apart.

 

How did tank cleaning go? Might be why carb wont stay adjusted?

 

The tank cleaning went really well. I got the impresion talking to the previous owner that him and his son did not really know how to work on Harleys and I am finding things not done correctly. I went to adjust the clutch and it was not adjusting correctly. I am going to pull the primary cover off and check the clutch release ramp, if they are messed up it will cause it to act like mine is acting and dragging, plus stiff as hell.

I ordered a manual and am going to learn the systems. I have not even tried adjusting the carb yet as I want to get it working right, because it is running fine when warmed up, so the issue is more choke related (cold motor) and I think the carb is pretty decent.

 

That looks like a fun bike to play around with. I used to have a 1980 ironhead, I would not mind having something like that to mess with again.