1989 Sportster

[brooklynbomber]

This is my first Harley Davidson, I am so pumped to have it. I just recently picked it up in NYC.

1989 Sportster 883 converted to a 1200. I'll be posting photos in this thread to document the build. It will be slow going, but will be tons of fun in the process.

I will be keeping this a swing arm build, I think they can REALLY be awesome if done well, like the swing arm build has shown me.

My plans for this guy are as follows...

-Strip down parts I dont need and sell the take offs
-Lower the bike both front and rear (10" shock in rear, 2" in front - thinking burly slammer kit)
-chop down stock fender, removed chrome rear side strut cover, relocate brake light and come up with something slick for turn signals.
-Solo seat with something special in mind for the upholstery (keeping this one a secret)
-strip chrome off engine/transmission covers down to original aluminum and do a satin polish (possibly paint the cylinder jugs)
-new tires when these are gone (gotta say, I love the 80's raised white lettered Dunlops)
-Relocated guages, new headlight and bracket
-relocate front turn signal locations and replace with something WAY smaller.

I'll add more to this list and try and do as much as I can that I can afford.

It's a great bike to start with though, great running engine, loads of character, nice and loud.

Starting point


Someone like eagles? I love them. Fuck yeah Eagle Package, hahaha. (some are staying, some are going)

[Guest]

Nice start man, and welcome to Chop Cult. Someone around here had some of those Live to Ride things powdered flat black and they looked fantastic!

[brooklynbomber]

Stripped off a few things tonight. Chrome chain guard, rear brake master cylinder cover (one of the bolts was a fucking BITCH to get off, had to file it down flat on two sides to get a crescent around it to finally get it to turn), chrome headlight eyebrow cover and front fender. Alot more to go but this was a good start.


Started polishing the front fork tubes, they were pretty grungy and looked slightly tarnished. This is a first pass, but you can see that some good elbow grease, a green scotch-brite pad and some brasso really did a number on many years of neglect.


Also tried the same technique on the rim's edge and center part of the spoke. They started like this....yikes.


Again, a little love and they come back to life!

(still need some more love, but so far so good.)

[gyro]

cool, nice start.

[brooklynbomber]

Nice start man, and welcome to Chop Cult. Someone around here had some of those Live to Ride things powdered flat black and they looked fantastic!

Oh hell yeah, that WOULD look amazing. Thanks also for the welcome brother. I'm glad to be here.

[MotorCityOutlaw]

Welcome and sounds like you have some good plans take lots of pictures.

[ironhead86]

There is a sealer over the forks and wheels. If you hit them with 400-300- wet sand paper it will take that off and use some mothers aluminum with out the ball just a blue shop paper towles. The finer the paper the more mirror the shine. Better than scotch bright. Looks like a kick ass bike man

[Leiffireeater80]

Hell yeah man! I'm right down the road. Let me know when you need a hand.

[Grindhouse]

We nearly have the same bike. This is what i did with my 1989 De Luxe XLH:

[brooklynbomber]

Grindhouse - Looks great man! Love the huge apes! What rear shocks do you have and what length are those?

[Grindhouse]

brooklynbomber: Thanks! I don't know the exact brand of my shocks, i bought them used from a friend. They are exactly the same as those ones: http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/2000-...item23145e7a16

11,5" eyelet to eyelet.

For the apes, they are 14" with 4,5" risers. I have a love-hate relationship with them. I like my riding position but i've always the bad impression that they are unbalancing the general line of the bike. I'll possibly change them during the winter for some Biltwell Frisco bars or Licks 10" aped Z bars.

[melville]

looks like a good start, man. Let me know if you plan on getting rid of that seat. I'm picking up a 92 Sporty and am looking for something just a little more low profile than the pillow thats on it now. I def. am into the solo seat, but like what you got on there too. And wouldn't mind catchin' a bus up to Brooklyn to get it.

[brooklynbomber]

Melville - For sure dude, I am probably going to upgrade to either a solo or Biltwell Banana. If you want it, you've got first dibs. I'll keep you posted when this happens.

[brooklynbomber]

Just installed the Burly Slammer Kit last night on my bike. Looks fucking tough now, just the right stance.

I've got a lot more to do from my list of items but this was my most drastic I had planned for right now during riding season. Fucking stoked so far.

[brooklynbomber]

It's been awhile since I've done much to this bike as I was enjoying racking up miles this season.

Now that we officially have snow on the ground, I decided to really get into this. This build is going to go in the brat style direction. I really love that look and seeing other bikes happening has motivated me to go that way. I know they will all be different and unique even though they are all "brat style"

Installed a new beehive air cleaner


Decided that I wanted to go with a flip up style fender.


1st attempt at cutting it down, figured its easier to take off then to put back on, so I went in small steps and test fit each try.


Trying to get an idea of how far I want this to sit forward. This fender is pretty bulky, lots need to get trimmed down still. You can also see that I am going to put on a Biltwell solo seat. It's just sitting there right now to gauge seat/fender distance.


I cut down the side panels of the fender to make it not come down so much over the side of the tires. The fender had two sets of ridges on the side, making a great place to cut it down.


I love the length of this fender, I need to tweak the angle of it though so it doesnt stick up so tall. Still got to chop the rear fender struts down to the back of the shock mounts, cap them off. I may cut it at an forward angle instead of a straight cut.


Here's what I cut off the fender all together.


Basically, I need to cut the mounting tab off and rotate it down about 1/4" and re weld it so it effectively rotates its down about 15-20 degrees. After that, it should be just about perfect.


I also mounted these new bars a few days ago. Bought them off a member here, they are 8" rise, about 4-5" pull back. my plans are to run turn signals and a horn because of where I live (inspections are mandatory), so I think I am going to run those small bar mounted control switch boxes from Crime Scene Choppers and do internal wiring and keep the cockpit clean. Also going to relocate the speedo (probably get another one to the left side)


Also started getting into the wiring. Since I am going to relocate so many things, I figured it would be a good idea to get familiar with everything. All I did today was to disconnect all the wires from the original fuses on the stock fender. Once I get the electrical components in I plan on using, I will take the harness off and REALLY get into it then.

Stay tuned for more updates in the next few weeks.