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Shopping for a Harley. Need advice.
After nearly 30 years of BMWs I'm going to try on a Harley. BMW technology has eclipsed my budget and mechanical willingness. I'm keeping several Airheads but am going to be selling the K1200LT and am looking for a two-up tourer. I've done quite a bit of research but am in search of more detail. Thought some of you could add to my confusion.
I'm looking at the Ultra Classic dresser. I like the simplicity of the carbed models which leads me toward pre 1998 models (although some 1995 and up were FI) and the battery was moved from the saddlebag to under the seat in 1994 so that's desirable. My ideal would be a 1994-1997 but there are few to choose from. However, there are loads of pre 2005(ish) models for not much more money. What's up with the early FI units? (Weren't they Magneti-Morelli or something?) When was the FI changed to the newer ones? What about the twin-cam vs the Evo in power, longevity, fuel economy, driveability etc.? Weren't there some problems with the early TC-88 and when did this get fixed (if ever)? My go fast days are gone and I'm happy to cruise at the speed limit or so. I'd just like to discuss the pros and cons of the carbed Evo vs the FI Evo vs the FI TC. Thanks!
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1983 M-B 240D-Gone too. 1976 M-B 300D-Departed. "Good" is the worst enemy of "Great". |
#2
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Might I suggest you go to a dealership and rent one for a day? Some have those programs. Rent it and see how you like it. It doesn't matter what the cost is, how it looks, how it sounds or even what make it is. If you aren't comfortable, it costs too much.
My wife's Can-Am Spyder costs more than my Sportster but if you gave it to me, I wouldn't want to ride it. I hate it. I modified my Sportster till I got the feel I wanted since it was a good starting point. As far as FI or carb goes, I sold my wife's ATV a year and a half later for the SAME thing except EFI. I wouldn't want to screw around with carbs. I'm glad to say that only my yard machines are carb. I wouldn't buy a carbed bike if it was cheap.
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01 Ford Excursion Powerstroke 99 E300 Turbodiesel 91 Vette with 383 motor 05 Polaris Sportsman 800 EFI 06 Polaris Sportsman 500 EFI 03 SeaDoo GTX SC Red 03 SeaDoo GTX SC Yellow 04 Tailgator 21 ft Toy Hauler 11 Harley Davidson 883 SuperLow |
#3
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Get a V-Strom or something, not a bike from a manufacturer whose reputation is riding (hah) on the glory days of 60s biking that never were. So many other good choices.
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I suppose if you have fairly consistent conditions, it might not hurt. The ATVs had to be rejetted for good performance when we took them up to past 4000 feet from sea level. Buddy's machine would backfire on decel once in a while no matter how he tried to jet or tune the thing and he rode it in the same area. With my FI model, there is no warm up or anything. Put key in ignition, roll it back out of garage and go. No choking or whatever.
Wife tried a Kawi Eliminator 125 to learn. What a PITA. It had to be warmed up and choked to start. Glad those days are over.
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01 Ford Excursion Powerstroke 99 E300 Turbodiesel 91 Vette with 383 motor 05 Polaris Sportsman 800 EFI 06 Polaris Sportsman 500 EFI 03 SeaDoo GTX SC Red 03 SeaDoo GTX SC Yellow 04 Tailgator 21 ft Toy Hauler 11 Harley Davidson 883 SuperLow |
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I've ridden several and we are comfortable on them for the most part. We won't be buying new, just too expensive and any rental would probably be a new one and not a good comp of what we can afford. I'm very comfortable with carburetors having owned possibly 30 BMW Airheads so the carbed bikes are fine with me. I'm looking for specific advice on the early (Magneti-Morelli?) vs the late (Delphi?) Harley FI systems and the Evo vs the TC engines up to 2005ish.
spdrun, not knocking anyone's personal preferences but how do we go from someone asking for some pretty specific advice on a Harley bagger to a recommendation of a V-Strom? True, there's lots of good choices out there for touring bikes and I've done a bit of adventure touring on a BMW R100GS also but for this one we've pretty well narrowed it down to the choices I mentioned above.
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1983 M-B 240D-Gone too. 1976 M-B 300D-Departed. "Good" is the worst enemy of "Great". |
#6
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I know a guy in Ohio with a '97 Ultra Classic in great shape...$7000, I think. They don't pop up too often
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1987 560SL 85,000 miles Meet on the level, leave on the square. Great words to live by Were we directed from Washington when to sow and when to reap, we should soon want bread. - Thomas Jefferson: Autobiography, 1821.
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#7
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#8
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JP that's kinda where I'm at market-wise. Deal is, this bike (from my limited knowledge) could be carbed or FI as an option and the FI is probably an earlier variant-which wasn't used for very long and might not be the best. I'm right on the bubble as far as budget vs market prices and available technology. I'm trying to hit the sweet spot instead of buying an older, cheaper "project" or a newer, too expen$ive cherry.
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1983 M-B 240D-Gone too. 1976 M-B 300D-Departed. "Good" is the worst enemy of "Great". |
#9
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I do like the retro look and it seems like in my price range (<$10K) the HD will retain the most value at resale time (which could be a long time ahead).
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1983 M-B 240D-Gone too. 1976 M-B 300D-Departed. "Good" is the worst enemy of "Great". |
#10
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What I have been hearing is to avoid the first few years of that sort of FI. IIRC, 02 is the last year?
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01 Ford Excursion Powerstroke 99 E300 Turbodiesel 91 Vette with 383 motor 05 Polaris Sportsman 800 EFI 06 Polaris Sportsman 500 EFI 03 SeaDoo GTX SC Red 03 SeaDoo GTX SC Yellow 04 Tailgator 21 ft Toy Hauler 11 Harley Davidson 883 SuperLow |
#11
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I have an 01 Road King with 50k miles and it came with a carb. Put gear driven cams in it right after I bought it. It has been the most reliable HD I have ever owned.
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Jim |
#12
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Can you tell us about your BMW Airheads? If one was in the market for one, what are some things to look out for?
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#13
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Now you're talking my language thorsen!
My area of expertise starts with the 1970 introduced /5 series and ends with the 1995 end of the Airhead line. I gravitated toward them early on and for some reason began buying and selling them, along the way keeping a few. If you're asking for yourself, e-mail me and I'll launch into a diatribe that would cause most forum members to mutter under their breath. But basically any of them can be used for about any purpose if you take into account speed, load and distance required. You can take a 1970 500cc bike across country and you can go to the corner store on a 1995 R100. They are light, simple, long-lived and while not as comfy as a full-on modern touring bike they are reasonably suited for a long trip. Many of the models have integral fairings but many are built "naked" and the owners can choose from a multitude of aftermarket vendors for bodywork and luggage. Right now I have a 1967 R60/2 that is in the process of a more modern (1976 R60/6) engine conversion, a 1976 R90 that I have owned since 1987 and have set up as a naked roadster with some aftermarket upgrades and a 1985 R80RT (owned since 1990) that is original except for an R100 top-end transplant. I also have a 2000 K1200LT that is up for sale, hopefully to finance a different style of tourer. Don't know what you want to know but I'm glad to share. Let me know if there are specific questions or if you are shopping for a bike for a specific mission.
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1983 M-B 240D-Gone too. 1976 M-B 300D-Departed. "Good" is the worst enemy of "Great". |
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Happy Benzing Darryl, Hill 2005 SL55 AMG Kleemanized 1984 500 SEC 1967 W113 California Coupe [SIGPIC] https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/myphotos |
#15
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Delphi is better definative, more control parameters and narrow band O2 sensors. Evolution a good engine twin can good, early ones had can chain tensioner issues you can retrofit. Hdforums a good source of tech info
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