Some may recall my previous post on the 99 heritage, and I've pretty much given up on that idea. I'm currently looking at an 88 softail custom. The bike looks to be immaculate, and the seller says it is. Claims 26k on the clock, and owner swears it rides like brand new. Was in storage for several years and recently gone through top to bottom at HD dealership. Asking price is $5800. Is this too much for a bike that old, as in drawbacks to that year evo? Any suggestions/comments greatly appreciated!

 

If it's as nice as it sounds, Seems like a reasonable price. Offer 5k and see what happens.

 

Fwiw i just picked up an 89 for bout that price with 29k on er. Very happy with the bike and its in really good shape. My ,02 tho call the dealership that went through have them pull up the service record on the go thru to verify that then go ride it!

 

So...no major issues with '88 evo I should worry about?

 

Negative, sorry, second one of yours I said that to...Tapered trans shaft, Old style carb, bottom breather, not sure when they stopped having case issues...Try to stay above 1992-3 as many/most of the issues are worked out after this time and everything is still available. There are a ton of bikes for sale, many garage queens, the season is about half over so sellers should start getting motivated...

BTW: I love the FXSTC, had two of them, the one in my sig pic cost 6+change 4 years ago with 20K on it and I would not pay that much for it now, prices have dropped. I doubt I'd ever willingly sell it either..great ride..

Ds

 

Nope! Life's too short to worry! Ain't nuttin' we can't fix in here. Or put another way we can find reasons to not buy this year or that one, but the bikes still roll on, as if they don't read the internet......

 

From what the boys were all saying before I bought my 95, I became scared of early 90's and beyond. So far, they heave been right. There are enough of them out there for sale, that's where I'd be looking. That $6k bike could turn into $7 k or $8k real fast.

 

On the plus side they do have the good Torrington cam bearing but probablly need lifters at about 40,000 miles. Also, later CV carb can be gotten for not so much money. I am a big fan of the EVO Softail customs.

 

I personally would avoid 86,87,88 Softails. They had just changed to the 3 piece crank...and had several issues. The primary is a morphodite/bastard setup that uses a 5 speed trans and a 4 speed starter...no one makes a replacement for the inner primary...unless you can get it dirt cheap....pass.

 

The biggest drawback to an 88 and earlier evo is the starter system.

These early evos used the same configuration as the shovelheads, the solenoid mounted on the primary case, the actuation mechanism inside the primary, and the weak direct drive starter.

89 and later use the modern starter configuration.