1995 883/1200 XLH refresh

[Matt Black]

I am the third owner, my PO bought it from the original owner (who was a friend of his) about 4.5-5 years ago. My PO took it apart about a year and a half ago after gas spilled on the tank and ruined the paint. He intended to repaint and add a wide tire kit, but one thing led to another and neither of those things happened.

The original owner was a big fan of chrome and accessories and I am not. I am a keep it clean and simple sort of guy so a lot of this project is going to be undoing much of what the two PO's did.

The original owner did put in a 1200 kit with Andrews N2 cams,which is nice.

I'm not new to working on greasy old vehicles but I've never had a bike before. I've always wanted one and figured I wasn't getting any younger so here I am.

[Matt Black]

I like pictures so ...

The day I brought it home.

[IMG]IMAG2016 by David Arens, on Flickr[/IMG]

IMAG2010 by David Arens, on Flickr


The PO threw in a Factory service manual and a Craftsman moto jack, both of which I appreciated very much. He sold the rear fender and seat back when he was planning on installing that wide tire kit so it came without. He also gave me an extra pair of lower progressive shocks, the fatbob tank that was on it, a "vintage" styled front fender and the original cams. Along with a cardboard box full of loose hardware and small parts.

[Matt Black]

My first task was to remove all the chrome covers that were on everything from the spark plugs to the lifter blocks. I also got rid of the windshield, the leather handlebar bag (which just about turned to dust when I touched it) and the saddle bag mounts. I removed the rear signals intending to go with a smaller, LED and non-chrome set, but I may just end up painting those and reusing them with LED innards.

IMAG2026 by David Arens, on Flickr

2017-07-28_12-42-26 by David Arens, on Flickr

[Matt Black]

I did pick up a like new rear fender and a stock Sporty tank off the local Craigslist. I think I did OK on the fender but I got too excited about buying parts and didn't realize until I got home that the petcock on the tank is on the wrong side and it sounds like it's full of sand. Not to mention it looks like it was painted as a kindergarten art project. Anyway, lesson learned, I can reroute the fuel line to use the right side petcock, seal it and paint it. Everytime I look at it while on the bike it'll remind me not to be an idiot. It'd do that even better if I left it looking like it does now, but that ain't gonna happen.

00M0M_7omoR8R6ZNO_1200x900 by David Arens, on Flickr

01212_lmvAw0CKK9T_1200x900 by David Arens, on Flickr

[IXL2Relax]

This is THE BEST Sportster Resource!

Take a minute, right now, and please put at least your state/country in the LOCATION FIELD of your profile so we can better help you when you need it... (the STATE FIELD does not show on posts)...

CLICK HERE - then scroll down to 'Additional Information' and look for the field labeled 'LOCATION' - put your information in there - It will then show on each post you make... Look for this:


Thanks for posting the images of the BEFORE --- We'll be interested in seing you rebuild it and the AFTER pictures...

You might be interested in this thread:
Just Bought A Used Sportster - Checklists For Making It Right

The Sportsterpedia has a lot of technical info to review - This is the section on working on the CV40 carb:
Sportsterpedia - Getting Ready to Tune Your CV Carb

IXL 2 Relax
>>>> My Build & Ride Reports Are Here <<<<

[Matt Black]

Originally Posted by IXL2Relax

Take a minute, right now, and please put at least your state/country in the LOCATION FIELD of your profile so we can better help you when you need it... (the STATE FIELD does not show on posts)...

Done...

Originally Posted by IXL2Relax

You might be interested in this thread:
Just Bought A Used Sportster - Checklists For Making It Right

The Sportsterpedia has a lot of technical info to review - This is the section on working on the CV40 carb:
Sportsterpedia - Getting Ready to Tune Your CV Carb]

Thanks for both of those.

I've looked at the first one briefly, I'm planning on spending some serious quality time with it very soon. Now that I've had some time to get acquainted with the bike, I have some questions and that thread might help...

Looking at the section on changes by year in the Sportsterpedia is what really helped me nail down what generation I wanted to buy.

[The Crusher]

You picked a pretty good year, my opinion. Buy the factory service manual, it's the best tool to have and use http://partsfinder.onlinemicrofiche....artsfinder.htm to look up part numbers, even if you buy aftermarket parts you want to make sure they correspond correctly to the HD number, if possible.

[Matt Black]

Originally Posted by The Crusher

You picked a pretty good year, my opinion. Buy the factory service manual, it's the best tool to have...

After reading that thread about blowing up 4 speeds left and right I knew I wanted a 5 speed, but still minimum electronics and not fuel injected. And Yep, the PO had a FSM and included it with the bike.

Originally Posted by The Crusher

...and use http://partsfinder.onlinemicrofiche....artsfinder.htm to look up part numbers, even if you buy aftermarket parts you want to make sure they correspond correctly to the HD number, if possible.

I could never find the H-D part number on the Ronnies site. I like the http://shop.outpostalaska.com/OEMpartfinder.htm one because it pops up with the H-D part # when you click the part on the diagram.

[IXL2Relax]

Originally Posted by Matt Black

Looking at the section on changes by year in the Sportsterpedia is what really helped me nail down what generation I wanted to buy.

Good -- That's one of the benefits of the Sportsterpedia...

Originally Posted by Matt Black

After reading that thread about blowing up 4 speeds left and right I knew I wanted a 5 speed, but still minimum electronics and not fuel injected. And Yep, the PO had a FSM and included it with the bike.

That criteria also leads me to recommend the 1994-1997 range as the best years to buy for compact design & self-maintenance...

Originally Posted by Matt Black

I could never find the H-D part number on the Ronnies site. I like the http://shop.outpostalaska.com/OEMpartfinder.htm one because it pops up with the H-D part # when you click the part on the diagram.

Ronnie's is a bit quicker to move between models for comparison of parts but outpostalaska is handy for the pop-up part number...

Just a caution about the 1995 model - being the first year of the electronic speedo it had quite a few failures - but they seem to have corrected the poor quality soon after that year... Of course, you can fall back to a mechanical speedo on that model by inserting a speedo drive in place of the left-side front wheel spacer and getting the cable & mech speedo from an earlier model...

Good luck with the rebuild of the bike...

IXL 2 Relax
>>>> My Build & Ride Reports Are Here <<<<

Reference the Sportsterpedia
An XLForum collection of technical info & advice

[Matt Black]

I'm not sure what I'm going to do with the speedo. The PO pretty much mangled the wiring adapting it to fit an aftermarket fatbob tank. I haven't studied the wiring diagram yet, but unless I need it for the bike to run, I might not put it back on. At least not right away.

IMAG2061 by David Arens, on Flickr

IMAG2058 by David Arens, on Flickr