About
My name is Jeff Saffle. I live in Reno, Nevada. I purchased this Sportster off of craigslist. The seller was less than honest about it’s condition, but that really doesn’t surprise me, nor does it matter any more. This is a late 1984 HD XLX sportster with a 1000 cc. ironhead motor. The gas tank has been upgraded to a 3.5 gal tank. It’s got LOTS of chrome, all of which needs polished. It leaks oil out of every gasket it possibly can. I’m going to need a LOT of help with this project. I’m not exactly sure that the motor needs a full rebuild. I’m not a motorcycle mechanic, but I am pretty mechanically inclined. I’m a network systems administrator, which basically means I take care of a lot of file servers and workstations (computers) for several companies.
I plan on working on this bike daily as soon as the weather warms up. I was going to sell it on craigslist again, but after looking at the photos and thinking of how awesome of a bike this could be, I decided not to sell it, but rather get it up and running.
Let me know if you can help me. Maybe we can barter or something. I am willing to pay for professional help.
Thank you. It’s hard to work on my harley when I have a working 1800 VTX. It’s getting done slowly, but surely.
I bought a 1975 iron head off crags list, it has been chopped up and the electrical system was a night mare. So I pulled all electrical off and upgraded to anything modern. Such as a new generator which came with an electronic regulator. I found that if you remove the batter for any reason then the batteries would become not polarized but with the generator this will not happen anymore. I put in place electronic ignition; fix the clutch, rebuilt the front forks. The front spoke wheel wobbled so I spent a Saturday and a Sunday spinning the front wheel and adjusting the spoke until it was true. I did drink some beer and listen to the radio to break up the boredom. I put on a new S&S carburetor a new back tier. I also made a tale light for it. I thought many times about selling it but now I am just having too much fun. People are always asking questions about it. I even see people taking pics of it. I think you have made the right choice in keeping it. I bought a HD manual on CD on the internet. I printed the whole thing and sleeved every page. It has been a great resource of information. Good luck with your rebuild.
Greg
My biggest problem with this bike, besides finding the time to work on it, is wanting to put it together right. I don’t want it to leak oil at all. I know they say if a harley doesn’t leak oil, it’s out. But I also know if done right, it wont leak. I want to port and polish the heads, take the chain off, and replace it with a later model belt. It’s going to be a several year long project, but I’ve got nothing but time. I’ve got 2006 Honda VTX 1800 R2, which runs very well and is still under warranty. Having it is good and bad… my Harley would be done by now if I didn’t have it. And with Lake Tahoe right over the mountain, it’s good some days to have.
Thank you for the comments. Post some photos of your bike so I can check it out!