Looking for advice on possible purchase
Welcome to the H-D Forums from Idaho , Great to have you here ! ENJOY !
Head over to our tech area and find the forum that offers discussions on the area of your interest. Make sure you match up the same systems as they have changed many times.
Head over to our tech area and find the forum that offers discussions on the area of your interest. Make sure you match up the same systems as they have changed many times.
HDF Community Team
Joined: Aug 2007
Posts: 5,782
Likes: 1,437
From: Sydney Australia
Welcome from Sydney Australia.
Evo's are normally pretty reliable so as long as there are no leaks and you can get it started and hear it it should be ok. Common for Evo's to hit the 150,000 pls km mark before they need work. Mates Evo Fatboy made 220,000 klms before he decided to rebuild it - and it was still going ok when he pulled it apart.
Evo's are normally pretty reliable so as long as there are no leaks and you can get it started and hear it it should be ok. Common for Evo's to hit the 150,000 pls km mark before they need work. Mates Evo Fatboy made 220,000 klms before he decided to rebuild it - and it was still going ok when he pulled it apart.
Seasoned HDF Member
Joined: Apr 2008
Posts: 23,399
Likes: 8,509
From: Spartan Country, Michigan
Welcome from Spartan Country, Michigan!
I tell a lot of new comers to the forum to get: Factory Service manual and the Parts manual. Get a three ring binder and record all your maintenance, repairs, accessories, etc. This will be a great reminder of what was done when. And great material to pass along to the new owner should you sell and upgrade. Also know how large your fuel tank is, a rough idea of your range per tank, and record your fuel usage. I have an app called Simply Auto that I record all my fuel used. I use the odometer and use the fuel gage as reference only. I reset the odometer to zero on fill ups, and I know I can safely get 200 miles on a tank on around town riding, and upwards of 230+ on trips.
Good Luck!!
I tell a lot of new comers to the forum to get: Factory Service manual and the Parts manual. Get a three ring binder and record all your maintenance, repairs, accessories, etc. This will be a great reminder of what was done when. And great material to pass along to the new owner should you sell and upgrade. Also know how large your fuel tank is, a rough idea of your range per tank, and record your fuel usage. I have an app called Simply Auto that I record all my fuel used. I use the odometer and use the fuel gage as reference only. I reset the odometer to zero on fill ups, and I know I can safely get 200 miles on a tank on around town riding, and upwards of 230+ on trips.
Good Luck!!
Seasoned HDF Member
Joined: Jan 2011
Posts: 28,842
Likes: 16,582
From: Wisconsin, USA
Welcome from Wisconsin. I won't buy anything without a clean, signed title. Don't take his word for it being "easy to fix" the title problem, or the fuel system. Otherwise you may end up with an overpriced paperweight.
I bought a scooter for my son, with a messed up title. The owner told me it would be "easy to fix" with a signed bill of sale. Wisconsin wouldn't title it, I had to have his wife pay the sales tax and licensing fees to straighten it out.
I bought a scooter for my son, with a messed up title. The owner told me it would be "easy to fix" with a signed bill of sale. Wisconsin wouldn't title it, I had to have his wife pay the sales tax and licensing fees to straighten it out.
Road Captain
Joined: Jun 2014
Posts: 598
Likes: 376
From: Sweden
No! Stay away from any EVO!
Once bitten by the EVO bug, there is no recovery, ever!
'97 is a good year.
Best part with an Evo is that it can be rebuilt over and over again.
(Try that with a six speed TC gearbox...).
A well taken care off Evo with perhaps only a stage one set up, will run for many years to come.
My '98 is not even past half worn mechanically.
It will easy run another 25 years.
As you mention a fuel pump I guess the bike have the fuel injection and not a carb.
Never had them early injected ones myself but there are some really knowledgable and helpfull guys over att the EVO part of the forum.
Most if not all problems usually connected to EVO bikes are possible to fix without breaking the bank or selling a kidney.
With a genuine workshop manual, a set of good tools and the owners interest, the chanses of fixing up a Road king EVO is high.
As for the missing papers, well,,, that could possibly become an issue you would be happy to avoid.
Once bitten by the EVO bug, there is no recovery, ever!
'97 is a good year.
Best part with an Evo is that it can be rebuilt over and over again.
(Try that with a six speed TC gearbox...).
A well taken care off Evo with perhaps only a stage one set up, will run for many years to come.
My '98 is not even past half worn mechanically.
It will easy run another 25 years.
As you mention a fuel pump I guess the bike have the fuel injection and not a carb.
Never had them early injected ones myself but there are some really knowledgable and helpfull guys over att the EVO part of the forum.
Most if not all problems usually connected to EVO bikes are possible to fix without breaking the bank or selling a kidney.
With a genuine workshop manual, a set of good tools and the owners interest, the chanses of fixing up a Road king EVO is high.
As for the missing papers, well,,, that could possibly become an issue you would be happy to avoid.
Last edited by K. Lindberg; May 7, 2022 at 07:57 AM.
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