Hey guys, first time Evo owner here and I've got a few questions before I start putting miles on this bike. 1992 springer softail converted to an aftermarket wide glide frontend (absolutely no idea why, your guess is as good as mine) 18,000 miles and looks to have been taken fairly good care of other than the fact that the PO had taken it apart to customize it.

Its together enough now to make a short hop outta town and seems to ride pretty well, tracks straight, good power and shifts fine. BUT... this bike had sat for about 5 years before my buddy (who bought the bike in boxes and who I'm buying it from) got it running again. It had sumped all of the oil into the crankcase, but the fella did think to drain the tanks and carb before parking it!!
Now for the real questions. Since you fellas are Evo gurus, what would be some of the priority items in the engine that should be checked out or changed before an 18 year old bike is put back into service? Cam bearing? Yank the primary cover and check the stator and clutch?

It's had all new fluids except for the fork oil which is fine because the seals weep and I'm going to polish the legs anyway. The primary leaks a little around the derby cover after its been ridden, o-ring is shot I'm guessing. Are the wheel bearings ever a problem in these bikes? How about the steering head bearings?

And yes, I've been using my search fu, but I wanted to introduce myself and bend your ears for some advice. And any excuse to talk about bikes is a good one!

 

Steering neck bearings may need adjusting occasionally (a lot more often if you pull the front wheel off the ground), but otherise never go bad. Wheel bearings go bad a lot if you don't use Genuine H.D. Wheel Bearing Grease. They also need to be repacked at each tire change. I don't remember if 92 had the "good" or "bad" cam bearing. The changeover was close to 92. If the "bad" one, then change that. I wouldn't mess with the primary at all besides changing the oil (I use Mobil 1 ATF) and replacing the derby cover gasket.

My SWAG on the front end is that a DPO punched something and busted the springer. Wideglide was probably cheaper, also, that would explain the baskets.

Otherwise, get out and ride it.

 

Welcome from a fellow 92 Softail owner!! I would run a compression check to see how the motor is doing and with MY recent season ending challenge, I would pull the nose cone and check out the lifters!! IF they are still OEM a possible change MIGHT be in order. You could even check out the cam bearing and even throw in a hotter cam as well. I would agree that a tire to tire look over is in order as it had sat for quite some time AND was recently reassembled. IF you have an off season it would be the perfect time to slowly go thru everything, just for piece of mind.
I agree that if the primary isn't leaking itself just open up the derby cover to change the gasket and take a peek inside. You could also locate a factory service manual so you have all the specs as your checking things out.
Take some pics and have fun with it!!

 

Ok, what would you recommend for fork oil? Im sure thats in the manual that I havent gotten yet, but I'm also pretty sure the manual doesn't suggest syn ATF in your primary either, lol!! Anything better out there?

Oh!! What about the bushings in the swingarm (tail?) Just switch to bronze when I have it apart? Progressive springs in the front? Race Tech Gold cartridge emulators? lol And I've witnessed TWO stators granade in low-mile motors that had never been opened up, so I'm a little jumpy about that. 1st one had the magnets break, second one had the splines strip off and damned near ruined the crank on a 30,000 mile motor!

If I were to change the cam to an EV27 or something along those lines, would the KeiHin carb be worth a damn? I hate to start the jetting guessing game again, just got done with it on my CB750!

 

The Keihin carb is fantastic. As a door stop. Well, actually, it sucks at that too. I'm sure it's good for something. Maybe the float bowl is useful to hold nuts and bolts while you take stuff apart or something. The CV carbs are real popular. I like my S&S, but I'll probably eventually change it to Megasquirt EFI.

Fork oil, I've used PJ1 and genuine HD, depending on if I was near a dealer or not. The stators are really pretty reliable if you don't have a short somewhere in the rest of your system and only use genuine H.D. voltage regulators. Note that HD doesn't make primary oil anymore, so you are stuck using their "all in one" wonder products or ATF.

 

I like the Screaming Eagle heavy fork oil in my '94.

While you're checking the cam bearing, consider replacing the lifters for peace of mind. They don't last forever, and when they go, it's not pretty. If you install "quick install" adustable pushrods, changing the lifters is a snap.

 

Rods and lifters are already on the list

 

Checking the cam bearing should be your first concern.If its the INA bearing and it comes apart on you,it could ruin the crank case.

 

Stators: look for a stator that has the magnets encased in epoxy "molded". that will eliminate the problem with the stators coming apart. look for cracks around the crankcase boss underneath the stator; that's a common problem, too.check out Total Performance's Oil Pump line, and see what they have to say about the stock oiling system; you'll be surprised. Hope this helps.

 

Neck bearings in springers DO go bad, trust me I know, I've done mine twice. Hopefully they changed them when they put on the wide glide, otherwise they might need a look. JMHO,YMMV, etc.

Bob