Since there were a couple of bike pics posted today, I was showing somebody at work and they told me of a basket case Sportster, supposedly it has a hardtail frame and a ***le. $400. no idea how old, no idea what might be missing Girl wanted $800, but will take $400, it was her ex's. Sounds almost too good to be true, so what numbers need to match (and what are telltale signs of forgery) and what parts are too pricey to replace to make the deal worthwhile if they are unusable or missing. I've only bought complete, running bikes in the past.
Finally - something I can contribute to. Check the year on the ***le. Pre-70 HD's are ***led by the motor, after, by the frame. Numbers on the motor should be on a pad just below the cylinders and shouldn't look like they've been altered/welded/restamped. Post 70, the numbers should be on the neck of the frame if it's an HD frame, not aftermarket. Ironhead sporties are famous for blowing out the transmission area of the cases. Inspect the area around the output sprocket for evidence of previous repair. If the cases are clean, no welds, they are worth the $$$ she's asking by themselves. I can give you a source for BEAUTIFUL case repair if needed (but it ain't cheap, either). Is the motor together? If not, is EVERYTHING there? (betcha it ain't!) Good heads are getting harder to find. Cylinders are being repoped. Some of the parts are getting to be hen's teeth. Frame and motor, that's a good deal. Anything extra is a bonus. Ironhead sporties are also notoriously finicky to start if not in a good state of tune. Kickers slipping through lead to hyperextended knees (sporty knee, the cause of a lot of greybeard limping), backfiring leads to feet folded forward against your shin when the kicker kicks back. I've been put on the ground by an ironhead more than once myself. Hope this helps. Let me know if you need any other info. Chuck
yep a set of cases with a ***le is worth the $400 on its own even if you dont want it if its real grab it a baskit sportster goes for between $1000-2000 round here & on Egay but its hard to build a sportster on the cheap but you got a nice bike when done
46 - sounds like a smokin deal - hell buy it if for nothing else you can part it out and make money. Be sure to double check all the bearing surfaces esp for the multi cam set up they used. I have an old Clymer ironhead book if you want to borrow it. I had one about 10 years ago and it caused me to swear off ironheads.
I can attest to that one . I have bad skateboard knees & while trying to fire off this one heap , I blew out my knee once and was on the ground rolling around for 10 minutes . I hopped up on the kicker and stepped into it , gave it a few little pumps to make sure it was good to go , and let her have it . It didnt even catch the gear and swung all the way around , taking me with it . I almost kicked myself in the face . . . yeah that hurt alot . As for the question , $400 ?!?! buy it and worry about the details later , that's a score ! Then you call your DMV and tell them about a bike you are " thinking about " buying and have them run the numbers so you don't get pinched with someone elses liberated bike .
Jump on it ,,,I have a friend that bought a basket case sporty in 1999 for $500.00 and was almost all there,,,execpt the ***le,,,,, He built the bike and when he applied for a lost ***le he discovered the *** clown he got it from had borrowed money on it and the ***le was at a loan company,,,,,,,,,he went thru a world of Sheeeet! the bike was finished in 2001 but never ridden anymore than around his neighborhood,,,,,,,I don't know what it cost him to get it cleared up but he did get it ***led last year! HRP
had same ***le thing on first sporster i got back in winter of 92 got for a song $900 was a running sportster 79 in a earlyer frame with rake junk 6 overs lots of rust & no ***le dude i got it from won it in a card game spent a winter changinging front end tank fender pipes rear wheel got a DMV friend of parents to run numbers came back to a bank i called them ***holes for a soild month to get its ***le relezied was only $600 owed on bike witch i would of paid but they refused & wanted bike no ammount of talking would get them to take my cash & give me ***le relese so parted it out for allmost 2K & bought a clean ***led 0mile rebuilt 68 sportster motor with clean ***le so bank got zip when they could of had it paid off
i have paid $1000 for a good ***tle . this is a comon repair to a sporty trans case. I have had this bike for over 10 years and many miles. if the repair is good most times the case is stronger then before.
Most of what GumbyChuck said was right on, 1970 and earlier had no frame numbers motor number is located on left side between the Clynders on the case. Should be a raised boss area that is about 1/4 inch high. Starting in 71 frame numbers matched the motor numbers. The frame number is on the neck right side, the motor numbers were moved to the right side at the base of the front cly. Other than that the gear box is weak and does tend to rip the cases just under the drive sprocket. Good luck, 400 is cheap even if it needs case repair.
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