Hey guys.. Friend of mine brought this to me to try and get it in running shape for him. first thing I notice is the center of the case underneath is leaking oil like a sift so obviously that has to be fixed. There are a ton of other things on the bike that need to be addressed as well. To me it looks like whomever had this bike did quite a bit of "rigging" on this thing.

First off, here is the VIN # on the motor between the heads. 67XLCH5828

Here are the pics of the bike
http://s411.photobucket.com/albums/p...ake/67%20XLCH/

Can someone point me in the right direction on
1. obtaining service manual
2. Take a look at the pics and tell me if this frame has been modified
3. locations where I might find parts for this bike
4. give me tips on how to start this thing (obviously at the appropriate time). It's been 35+ years since I've kicked a bike over and it certainly wasn't a HD
5. your opinions on whether it's even worth fooling with this.
6. anything else you want to share that might be useful to me in this endeavor.


Thanks in advance.

 

1. You need both of these ...
99484-69 Service manual. 1959 to 1969
99451-78B Parts Catalog 1954 to 1978

Order from an HD dealer, indie motorcycle shop, eBay, internet sellers, J&P Cycles, etc.

2. Someone else will have to help with the frame. It would help if the pics were rotated so that the top of each is up. Perhaps put the frame pics in a separate album. It is a hardtail frame, no rear shocks.

3. You need to have the parts catalog to order parts. It has the part numbers, diagrams, etc. eBay, local indie shop, J&P Cycles, etc. All of these require that you have the correct part number. These are the ones to try for OEM NOS parts that i know of. ...

http://www.tomsnosparts.com/
www.OldDude.com
www.SportySpecialties.com

rdns@genesco.net <- decals & transfers

www.NOSParts.nl <- does not ship to North America
www.JWBoon.com <- does not ship to North America

4. You must research kick starting an IronHead Sportster carefully. It is not like any other bike in this regard. The expression "Sportster Knee" is serious. You can litterally be thrown over the handlebars.

5. It is a money pit. Your friend will have to really want it, and be willing to either do a lot of technical work himself or pay a lot of money over a lot of months. It is a labor of love. I would not do it even for the very best of friends. If he wants to own the bike he must do it himself. If he merely wants a bike to ride an IronHead is a bad choice.

These are my opinions. See what others say.

 

IronMick thanks so much for the links, they are a great help.. I've put all the pics in the proper orientation, sorry bout that. actually meant to do it prior to uploading.
another question please. since the case is going to have to be split to correct (or try to) the leak that's coming from the center bottom of the case, should I simply pull the engine out of the frame altogether, do the work, then put it back in it's original softail frame? I ask this with the assumption based on other pics I've seen, that the frame this thing is sitting on isn't the original frame or a hacked up version of the original frame...

 

Hope this answers some of your questions and I also hope you will contact Southern Motorcycles. They are the best ironhead shop in Houston.
pg

 

man I love this forum! PG thank you so much for the information. I will most certainly talk to Ronnie @ Southern.

At this point I'm not sure if my friend is willing to spend the $$ it's going to take to rebuild this but if he doesn't, I think I'll try and buy it from him and rebuild it myself. This is something I would be willing to do for myself if for no other reason than to gain the experience/knowledge of these older HDs and pride of owning this piece of HD history. So with that said and in this condition what do you think I should offer him.

 

It's worth really depends on what you want and how much you want it.
All I can give you is my viewpoint.........
I would LOVE to have a 1967 XLCH with the magneto but I find several things wrong with this bike as far as I am concerned.
You may view it quite differently.

First is the frame problem.
It is an aftermarket rigid frame that someone has tried to turn this fine machine into a sort of chopper look. That is not my cup of tea.

The other glaring thing is the front end someone hung on the frame.
The disc brake tells us that the front end is 1973 or later. Most likely 1974 or later. Nothing wrong with a disc brake, but I would not want to see one on a 1967 CH.

Another minor thing I see is that someone installed an S&S carb on the bike.
That is a carb that I would remove myself.
There are much better choices of carb and those will fit the year model better in my view than an S&S.

So, to determine what I think this bike would be worth to me I have to use the views I have stated to come up with a price.

I just have to consider the engine needs some serious work inside because of the looks of the bike.
It appears to have been chopped and perhaps ridden hard, so I figure a rebore with new pistons and a top end job with valves and guides at minimum.
I am thinking that is about $600 to $800 worth of parts/machine work to repair it, doing the work myself.

I would offer him $1000 max at most for the bike just as it sits. If I were lucky, then I may find myself having a good running 1967 XLCH for a total of $1600 to $1800 but it would still have a frame and front end that I do not want, so more funds would be required to get it like I would want it.

On the other hand, if the bike had the original front end and frame I would make an offer of $1800 as it sits, taking a chance on what the engine condition is.

Hope that gives you some idea of what it may be worth.
It probably will not, but at least you know what it would be worth to me.
Good luck!
pg

 

Well if it turns into a project for myself vs someone else, the goal would be to restore this bike back to it's original configuration and shape. I too am not a "chopper" kinda guy and based on pics I've seen, I would rather have this back to it's original configuration. I know that will take some time and $$ but I'd be willing to do it for myself.

 

Yes indeed! That would be my goal as well.
These old bikes get a few miles on them after they are new and then the bikes begin getting sold.
People want newer machines (more expensive with an FLH prefix) and do not care to work on the ironhead themselves (they do not have the knowledge and/or incentive) so a younger rider buys the ironhead as it is low in cost.

A few more owners and now the bike is starting to look ragged.
Someone comes along and decides to chop the bike. So they throw away the swing arm frame and use a rigid frame. The bike get rattier and rattier. Springer front end, bobbed off fenders, yada, yada, yada.

Pretty soon a new owner takes it apart and then cannot put it back together.
So the bike is sold as a basket case.

Parts are scavenged and before long you don't have a bike any more, just a few odd parts in a cardboard box.
This is a crying shame!
But it is typical of what happens to many old ironheads.

Today you will find a few 1970's and more 1980's models being ridden around.
It is very, very rare to see a 1960's model ironhead around though. Most have been junked out in the manner I describe above.

The ones that survive are pristine examples that some collector has restored to exhibit, not to ride. So it becomes a trailer queen.
Well, at least it was saved.

In the early 1960's I had a 1959 XLCH and a 1962 XLCH that I rode and took those old bikes for granted, never thinking that a day would come when there were none of them around.
That day is sadly here today.
pg

PS: Here is a short video of my 1971 XLCH and you can listen to how smooth the old girl runs. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IROxfHFMJ6o&feature=plcp
I made the video for testing a members Mikuni carb out. He could not get his boke started and sent me the carb to see if it worked on mine.
I found a jet that was not drilled out, so I fixed that and installed it on my bike.

 

Best is to dismantle most of the engine while it is in the frame. The whole top end plus the gearcase, primary and transmission can be removed. Then you have only the cases and the crank to lift out. Put it back together in the reverse order of this same procedure.

First be absolutely certain it is actually leaking thru the seam between the cases. Oil migrates and you can easily be misled about the source. A common occurence, for example, is for fuel to leak from the carb, pick up dirt and grease, and appear on the bottom of the bike like an oil leak. There are many versions of this so you have to be thorough.

Best is to thoroughly clean it up, attach paper towels to suspected areas, let it sit overnight and/or go for a ride.

 

PG, I haven't been able to get ahold of Ronnie yet but I'll keep trying in the next few days. If I stick to my guns on what my intentions are to rebuild this bike back to it's original stock shape, is this what I should be expecting it to look like when I'm done?

Reason I ask is I've done quite a few searches and each search produces a different looking 67 XLCH for one reason or another.