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Hi everyone, new member and new Harley-Davidson owner. My friend has been pushing me to get a bike and on a whim, I purchased a 2008 XL1200L which was listed as needing a new motor. The owner had passed and his wife sold the bike, but she told me that it ran out of oil (36,000 miles). I feel like I got a good deal on the bike, but I'm wondering if the motor is worth rebuilding or if I should just replace it with a used motor from eBay for under $2,000 (with about 20,000 miles). I like the idea of saying that I was able to bring the motor back to life and have a matching VIN, but I'm just not sure if the cost is worth it.
When I tore the top end down, the front piston had blown up, causing the head to get damaged and the cylinder sleeve to break at the base. I was thinking that I can possibly get the head repaired or worst case, buy a used one and clean them both up before reinstalling. I would then try to get new sleeves in both cylinders and new pistons. I will be splitting the case in the morning and will hopefully just find pieces of piston with no major damage, but I was thinking of sending the crankshaft to Hammer Performance for a service to make sure nothing was damaged. From what I am seeing for parts, it'll be around $2,500ish to rebuild?
Am I too ambitious in this project and is there something that I am missing? Thanks in advance and I look forward to getting this bike running and on the road.
Piston in cylinder Damaged head Damage to cylinder sleeve Main pieces of piston
i'd rebuild
head may still be useable
send it along w/crank
not worth changin sleeves, unless u can do yourself
bottom end might still be ok/rebuildable
look over trans while cases are split
the $2000. ebay special might need some fixin too
in the end, youll know what you have
did a 113ci ultima that looked like that
friend bought from "shop", assumed oil was good n hit the road for 300 of planned 800 mile ride
Last edited by rocketnorton; May 22, 2023 at 02:27 PM.
I would absolutely rebuild it if the cases are good. You're going to want to modify the engine at some point anyway so you might as well just rebuild it the way you want it and skip buying the ebay motor. It will be pricey though. I just finished a similar project. I think you're likely to be well over the $2500 mark but how much depends on the parts you go with.
Last edited by OCSpringer; May 22, 2023 at 04:05 PM.
Give hammer Performance a call. Re-sleve the cylinders or get a hammer 1275 kit that comes with new cylinders. They might even work wonders on the heads. IF the cases are good . . . REBUILD IT.
I would absolutely rebuild it if the cases are good. You're going to want to modify the engine at some point anyway so you might as well just rebuild it the way you want it and skip buying the ebay motor. It will be pricey though. I just finished a similar project. I think you're likely to be well over the $2500 mark but how much depends on the parts you go with.
Do you mind me asking what you spent on your rebuild? I called Hammer Performance and they're going to let me know if the head is salvageable. I also saw online that they can assemble the lower end for $300, so I think I'll send all those parts in once I get it all cleaned up this week. They can't re-sleeve the cylinders so looks like I'll be going with a 1250 or 1275 kit, though the required tuners sure are pricey. It's a 2008 that is in otherwise great shape. KBB says it's valued at $6,500 and I paid $2,000, so I figured I could put a little bit into it before it becomes a burdon.
My rebuild was somewhere around $5k but that cost doesn't really help you much. I replaced everything inside and out and was able to sell some parts and make deals on a couple of the high cost items.
Last edited by OCSpringer; May 23, 2023 at 01:33 AM.
I would expect something more like $3500 for what you need done if you don't get too crazy with the parts. If you start replacing the rockers, lifters, pushrods, cams and what not the cost starts to go up quite a bit.
Last edited by OCSpringer; May 23, 2023 at 01:26 AM.
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