sportster question

[SeaChicken]

Hi guys, I'm looking at getting another bike soon and was looking at sporties but I don't know much about them. what years are good for ironheads and evo's and worth my time taking a serious look at.

[GoodTimesCS]

Ironheads are only as good as their previous owner treated them. Luckily I have a good one, a 76, I like everything about it, sure, I'd prefer a magneto ran one, but all in due time

[Stadger]

Ironheads are cool and fast buy very labor intensive. You will never be finished working on an Ironhead until it's gone. I had a real love/hate relationship with mine. Something to think about is that up to 1976 they are right side shifters. 75 and 76 had a sloppy crossover rig to move the shifter over to the left side but the still are mechanically right side shifters. 1979 is well known for being a bastard year with parts that don't fit any other years. This info is all widely known and posted on just about every bike site I know of. About all I can say about Evo Sporties is that my 1989 was a 4-speed and had the alternator mounted beneath the clutch. The alternators on those (mine included) tended to get hot and lose magnets. This was a pain to repair because the entire primary and clutch had to be removed. The later 5-speed bikes put the alternator under the engine sprocket and were much better. Again this is all old, well reported news. Given my choice, I'd go with a 1977 or 78 as those were the last years you could buy a kick-only bike.

[svwannabe]

Find yourself a 91-03 for around $3000 and call it a day, there are plenty of them out there at that price.

[bigdaddy]

Find yourself a 91-03 for around $3000 and call it a day, there are plenty of them out there at that price.

+1

lots of parts for cheap. easy to hardtail. motor is bulletproof. you can't go wrong. wish i woulda bought one of these when i bought my 05. you live and learn. good luck.

[brenderson]

Biggest dates to consider for the evos are that in 04 the motors went to rubber mount, which makes it hard to hardtail... And in 07 they switched from carb to EFI

[SeaChicken]

Thanks for the info, I prefer something that can be hard tailed down the road and has a carb so the maint can be done at home. Wasen't quite sure about the reliability of the evo sporties because I have always had Kawis. What should I watch out for in the 93 to 03 Evo's as far as milage and common things that wear?

[tattoo2303]

Look for a 1993 883, solid mount motor, 5speed tranny, belt drive, convert it to 1250 and whatever else you wanna do super simple machine- I love mine

[bigdaddy]

Thanks for the info, I prefer something that can be hard tailed down the road and has a carb so the maint can be done at home. Wasen't quite sure about the reliability of the evo sporties because I have always had Kawis. What should I watch out for in the 93 to 03 Evo's as far as milage and common things that wear?

the cool thing about these bikes is that you can see a really high mileage bike that still runs well. however, there are so many people dumping 883's because they "want something bigger now that they have learned how to ride". my buddy bought an 03 anniversary with 4500 miles for under 5 grand. it had a 1200 kit and bigger cams. i also saw the exact same bike for sale locally with more miles, stock motor with all kinds of chrome on it. the turn signal was falling off, and the guy wanted 7 grand for it. you just have to look. some assholes think that a harley is gold. others will sell it on the cheap. you just gotta look. i see them locally for 3-4 grand all the time.

[theangus]

Look for a 1993 883, solid mount motor, 5speed tranny, belt drive, convert it to 1250 and whatever else you wanna do super simple machine- I love mine

Yea, I got a 95 883 for 3K and its killer. runs like a dream... I think in the "off" ill convert to 1250 or whatever as its only 500. LOLOLOL

also, I learned almost all the parts, (and unfortunately the keys) between sportys in that era are interchangable... A HUGE Bonus.