Ribbed Primart Cover

[CosmoTG]

My 81 primary cover has ribs (or fins?0 on the cover. My parts manual doesn't show any. Was that an option or is my cover a different year?...Cosmo

[IronMick]

The parts manual shows 25424-xx, with xx being 80, 81; 25430-xx with xx being 81, 83, 84; some black, some polished, some aluminum finish.

I believe the ribbed ones are 1983 or 84 plus 1985.

[83XLX]

I have an '83 XLX and it has a ribbed cover. The '83 and '84 XR1000 had a cover without ribs (with an orange and silver insert in that space). I looked in my parts book and the same part number is listed for both, so who knows?

[wildmike_ftw]

My 81 has a black ribbed primary cover also

[boilermaker]

Originally Posted by wildmike_ftw

My 81 has a black ribbed primary cover also

As does mine....

[RcRacer]

My '81 XLS has a ribbed polished aluminum primary cover. My parts manual lists a black and polished aluminum cover for '81 and up. In the 1981 catalogue, the Sportster is pictured with the polished aluminum ribbed cover and the Roadster has the black ribbed cover.

[wildmike_ftw]

sorry misunderstood, I have a polished cover with black ribs.

[ridged warren]

can i see a pic? just curious on just exacty what you're talking about.

[1983XLH]

This is one mystery I do not think the 1979 to 1985 XL Parts Catalog is going to help solve. The MoCo may have the answer locked away somewhere, but how does one go about asking for information on obsolete parts for models that are old as 29 years? I would think maybe Willie G. could find out, but an ordinary P&A Division customer does not have a chance. So then what to do? There are a lot of books, owners manuals and original brochures out there with photographs of pristine Ironhead Sportsters for reference that may help (most photos are of the right-hand side however). Then there are the actual bikes that we the faithfull either had or still have, but how many of those had the original covers replaced with shiny chrome ones from Taiwan . So here is what I know for sure:

1. My 1983 XLH, which I purchased new in June 1983 and sold off in September 1984 so I could get a 1985 FXRT had a ribbed polished primary cover. My dealer convinced me to ditch the "girl's bike" for a nice new BT EVO.

2. My winter project bike, another 1983 XLH came from eBay with a chrome Taiwan cover installed. It has the ribs, but being a replacement aftermarket part this does not help. One of my project goals is to replace all the covers on the engine with polished nos covers. So the Parts Catalog said I needed a 25430-81 and that is what I sought out about 2 months ago. I found the needed primary cover as well as the gear case cover over at NOS Parts (Big $). I received a new looking, polished primary cover in original packing. The P&A label said 25430-81 Chain Cover 10/07/97. This tells me that as late as October 1997 the MoCo was still selling this part at its dealerships. I opened up the box and guess what - NO RIBS. After calming down and realizing that my restoration may not be all that perfect using the insert type on a 1983 XLH at least I had a real H-D polished chain cover in showroom condition. Another thing that bothered me about this part was that someone wrote WARR. above the label on the box. Was this a part to be used for an warranty issue? Doubtful, since these bikes were long out of any warranty period by 1997. Then maybe there is something wrong with this particular part that will show up months from now when I have all my work completed. It looks ok to me - maybe the original buyer was just unhappy with the polish job. It also shows traces of dye penetrant in one area, sealed over with the clear coat finish they put on the polished covers. Maybe the factory repaired this cover and then returned it to stock. Who knows where or how NOS Parts gets their stock. One last piece of info on this nos part - on the inside it says H-D 34950-73B and the markings indicate it was cast in December 1989. Does this make any sense to anyone? I think the part number changes when they add something, in this case the bronze bushing for the shifter shaft, but why the -73B for a part that is for left-hand shift?

Anyway, I know this is a bit wordy, but I hope some of you guys will find this kind of detail interesting.

[scottgearman]

RIBBED for HER pleasure