Harley question

[westy1970]

I have never owned an American bike (or any cruiser for that matter) and am considering a frame up build. I have done many restorations on old BMW's so I am confident with the idea. I found a 2002 sportster with no front end as a starting point. It is a 1200cc and bone stock from what I can tell. The guy wants $2k for what's left, which is everything from the forks back. Nothing on the front is salvageable. My question is: Is that a good motor and what issues are there with that type of Harley motor?

CJ
PS, I found a rigid tail frame for $700. Now all i need is a speedbag for a seat. :)

[Great-Kazoo]

first off book on a running moderate mileage 1200 sporty is $4200 high side in season. thats $1300 more then your non-running salvage title from the sound of it, project.
whats your age how long street riding etc. while the rigid look is neat it beats the hell out of you. resale wise a chopper sporty is a boat anchor to sell if you needed cash in a hurry. regular sporty's are slow movers to begin with, in the used market. they always seem to go to the "new HD rider" who feels a big twin is too big/fast for their first HD. after 6-12 mths most sportys are back at the dealers looking to be traded in on something bigger.

any "project/chopper" should be approached by figuring out how much it will cost to get it road worthy less paint (forget chrome at this point) X's it by 2
do you want show or go ? paint will run $6-1200 easy your chrome will cost as much right there you have $4K + into a book value $4200.00 stock sporty
buy a big twin ride it for 1 season then decide where you want to go from there.
Keep in mind you need a place to keep your chopper project while building. IF you don't have a place to keep it, for at least 1 year forget it. everytime you move it around parts get lost, real small parts that cost way more then they are worth.
AND you should have a lift. i built my indian in a studio apt. same for my 66 shovel, rode that one down the stairs less motor (yeeha)
i've built a few mc's in my time. not one of them in the past 15 years has not been apart to make it faster, tinker, normal service etc. its a learning curve so sit back rethink, put on paper your ideas then go from there
if you need help or have ?'s drop me a pm

[shrapmetal]

go with a bigger motor or you'll regret it.

[rondog]

I've had 7 Harley's and only one was a Sportster. Sporty's are OK for short rides around town, but for serious riding they'll wear you out quickly. I'm sure you'll get lots of opinions on this, Sportsters have some die-hard fans, but the fact remains that most Sporty buyers will trade up quickly to a Big Twin. And Jim is right about the rigid, or "hard tail" frames, they'll beat you to death.

But, it's all about what you want and can tolerate. There's damn sure been a lot of fun had on hard-tail Sportsters over the years. As far as building one ground-up, go for it if you have the place to do it! It's a lot of fun and very satisfying/frustrating. You want some REAL fun? Get an early 60's Sporty with a magneto and a kickstarter! [Mad]

Just remember that the resale on Sportsters sucks, most people don't want them, but that doesn't mean they're impossible to sell either.

[thedave1164]

funny, when I was a teenager it was just rebels and outlaws that rode hogs.......

[HunterCO]

I have no idea where a rigid frame got brought into this since an 02 sporty is not. I will say that everbody always starts with a sporty and with in one year they want a big bike.

A 1200 sporty will smoke any big twin but they are a bar hopper bike. For 2K I would buy it fix it and you will make some money. If you want a fast bike as far as Harleys go, The 1200 sporty is your choice. If you however want a bike you can ride for long distances you will want a big twin.

If you don't want to buy it let me know I will buy that in a heart beat. I don't know where the others are getting there numbers from but I can tell you this I could sell an 02 sporty for 12K plus in a heart beat.

[Great-Kazoo]

I have no idea where a rigid frame got brought into this since an 02 sporty is not. I will say that everbody always starts with a sporty and with in one year they want a big bike.

A 1200 sporty will smoke any big twin but they are a bar hopper bike. For 2K I would buy it fix it and you will make some money. If you want a fast bike as far as Harleys go, The 1200 sporty is your choice. If you however want a bike you can ride for long distances you will want a big twin.

If you don't want to buy it let me know I will buy that in a heart beat. I don't know where the others are getting there numbers from but I can tell you this I could sell an 02 sporty for 12K plus in a heart beat.

NADA.com and KBB.com
there are big twins on dealers floors that are collecting dust @ $11,500
RMN has at least 3-4 ads for "Custom Chopper" over $30K invested first $15 takes it.
if you can sell an 02 sporty for $12K i have a stock (less h/bars) FLH shovel i'll sell you for $6500. with under 25k on odometer real clean unit
no ones paying $12K for a sporty and with a potential salvage title not one bank will carry the note on a 6yr old sporty with a salvage title for less then $15% interest. 3 more years and no finance co would touch it. not for $12K not for $2K and if they did they'd keep it to a 24mth note

as for the rigid frame he said he found one for $700.00 sure the sporty's are fast but resale wise, boat anchors look in the papers, on bike trader.com, hdforums.com etc any sporty for over $5K is still there ,has been there, and will be there. Unless it's a new 05-07
and they want someone to take over payments. the no money down 72 mth finance, first time HD buyers that will take an easy $2-3K in the shorts on trade in. more on private sale

[thedave1164]

FYI guys, jim works in the industry and has for years. I would trust what he has to say on this subject.

And jim resembles the rebel/outlaw remark :D

[Great-Kazoo]

FYI guys, jim works in the industry and has for years. I would trust what he has to say on this subject.

And jim resembles the rebel/outlaw remark :D

all lies and done with smoke and mirrors
thanks dave but who knows hawg wild has been selling salvage title mc's for years and they sit there or he gets his price. but ed doesn't need the money nor does he care if they go or not. the CA market is rife with gotta haves and wannabe's

here's an example of a newer sporty and the time frame of trying to sell for way less then $12K


http://www.hdforums.com/m_1466192/tm.htm

and another

http://www.hdforums.com/m_2146940/tm.htm

[HunterCO]

Not a problem I am just a dummy like I said If the op does not want the bike I will take it. ;)

[westy1970]

Pretty insightful posts. I may stick with beemer's as that is what I have been dealing with for the 20+ years. I talked to the guys over at howg wild yesterday and they are the ones with the sporty motor. At 37 with a bad back, maybe a rigid tail is not the one for me. Besides, for 10k I can get a Ural with a driven wheel side care >:)

[7idl]

Sportsters are for girls!!!













lol, I have a '95 XL1200 and it goes. there is no wanting of speed, unless you want cafe racer type speed and accelleration. Like Tim said, you'll be wanting something bigger real quick.. this is true as long rides can be done, but not appreciated. small tank too compared to the larger twins. I know for a fact that I can only get 153 miles/ tank... exactly

I already want a road king, it's not about speed, its about comfort and distance (and being able to bring a few things for weekend trips)


I have seen some sporty choppers, they look pretty cool. not long distance rides by any means (YMMV) but cool for trolling around town.

[Great-Kazoo]

Pretty insightful posts. I may stick with beemer's as that is what I have been dealing with for the 20+ years. I talked to the guys over at howg wild yesterday and they are the ones with the sporty motor. At 37 with a bad back, maybe a rigid tail is not the one for me. Besides, for 10k I can get a Ural with a driven wheel side care >:)

yep if it's hawg wild its a salvage title. for $10K right now you can buy 1 RT and 1 RS or GS. if you're interested in tracking down a HD for a decent price drop me a pm i know where a few good used ones are. i also do work on beemers as needed.

[westy1970]

yep if it's hawg wild its a salvage title. for $10K right now you can buy 1 RT and 1 RS or GS. if you're interested in tracking down a HD for a decent price drop me a pm i know where a few good used ones are. i also do work on beemers as needed.

Thanks for the offer and I may look at HD sometime down the road. As for working on Bimmer's I was master certified on Airheads and have worked on many oil heads, just never went to school for those.

I have found some pretty noce ones on craigslist so far. Money, though...

[Great-Kazoo]

forget craigs list the beemer stores have for sale ads on their BB check Beemers and more in ft fun and the coffe haus on s. college
another month and you could pick up a moderate (for bmw's) rt, gs rs gt etc mileage 03-05 for around $4-6K or a late airhead for $1500-3500.

i can get you that stock 82 flh for a good deal too

[stubbicatt]

Man, save your money. Buy a good motorcycle.

[rondog]

Just my opinion, but if I was in the market for another Harley I'd look for a late-model with low miles that some poor schlub has to sell because of financial reasons. I don't want to pay the inflated markup to a dealer or shop, but I've always gotten the best deals buying from some guy that has to sell his. Somebody's always getting in a bind, buying a house, losing a job, having a kid, needing a car, etc. Look on Craigslist since that's free, newspaper ads are ungodly high, who can afford to advertise there?

[sirthomas]

if someone is looking for a project bike I have one, it's not a late model but it will s**t and get. it's a 77 Super Glide engine and tranny in a 69 FL frame, 80-83 dual disk wide glide front end with 16 front tire. engine has about 4000 miles on it since it was rebuilt, I have several extra parts ( fenders,clutch hubs,seats and such) also have a brand new set of tires and some other new parts that need to be put on. it ran when I parked it about 4 years ago. I'am no longer able to ride due to serious back problems. I'd let it all go for $3000 obo pm me if your interested, bike is down by Pueblo

[rondog]

if someone is looking for a project bike I have one, it's not a late model but it will s**t and get. it's a 77 Super Glide engine and tranny in a 69 FL frame, 80-83 dual disk wide glide front end with 16 front tire. engine has about 4000 miles on it since it was rebuilt, I have several extra parts ( fenders,clutch hubs,seats and such) also have a brand new set of tires and some other new parts that need to be put on. it ran when I parked it about 4 years ago. I'am no longer able to ride due to serious back problems. I'd let it all go for $3000 obo pm me if your interested, bike is down by Pueblo


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