Thx DJL.. Thats the kinda info Im needing...

 

I like EFI. Easier to tune than a carb, and you don't have to smell like gas. The downside is you have to buy a tuner.

 

Im FI and love it every damn minute of it!

 

I agree with what DJL said. That said if you are planning on just adding an exhaust and air cleaner and not doing any hot roding you should be fine with a newer bike. 2002 is the best year for all models in my opinion, all info DJL said plus had Delphi. Dont believe softails had F.I. before 2001 so you should not have to worry about Magnetti-Marelli, someone correct me if I am wrong. The cam tensioners all depend on how previous owners rode. If they did a lot of bar hopping light to light stuff I would get them looked at. If it was all long distance riding it should be ok. The issue with the tensioners are that as the motor heated up the spring applied pressure to the shoe. The shoe is then warm and if the motor is shut down it is still applying pressure. When said person get back on bike say 10 minutes later and turns motor over the shoe has allowed the warm chain to melt into it. Not bad but it does. Do this over and over again you can see where the problem comes from. New design only applies pressure from the oil pressure. Shut down motor and pressure releases. With all of this said I love my 06 and had 25k when I did my motor work. My tensioners looked great and could have gone to 50k plus. But I do a lot of long distance, country road riding. Only a few bike nights a season. If I had it all to do over again I would look at a 2002, mainly because I knew I was doing motor work. I hope that this has not confused you any more.

 

Thx 06... useful stuff

 

Hi Sharpshooter, you've received a lot of good information from the other folks on some technical aspects. Some things that I was looking for when I bought my '05 second hand was documentation of service over the years, chain of ownership, etc.

Also, I was less interested in chrome and performance accessories than I was in getting accessories that would work for my riding needs, so I wanted saddlebags, upgraded seats, and a windscreen. Didn't get everything, but I was able to get most of the things I wanted.

To me those upgrades were of greater value than new pipes or rims, and I factored that into the purchase price, as I did the service records.

Good luck and enjoy, Paul

 

For 11 or 12k you could get a later model. '99-'06 Twin Cams all have the cam chain tensioner issue, which is to say that the 2 tensioners on either side of the cam plate wear out and need to be replaced every 20k-50k miles, unless the bike as been upgraded with hydraulic tensioners or gear-driven cams. If you get a '99-'06 TC model, chances are you will be having to pull your exhaust, cam cover and cam plate to check these periodically, and replace or upgrade them eventually.

As far as carb vs. EFI, well that really depends on what you want. Do you want your bike to start right up in cold weather and be basically maintenance-free? Or do you like the simplicity of a carb and the ability rebuild and rejet at will and adjust idle speed without pulling out a laptop (note that no Twin Cam motor is designed to idle below around 950rpm). Don't let anyone trying to talk you into a carbed bike, saying that EFI will leave you stranded 350 miles from home cuz you can't work on it on the side of the road. When was the last time an FI car left you stranded (because of faulty injectors/ECM)? EFI is more dependable, period. But yes, carbs are easier to pull off and work on at roadside, provided you have the tools. Both have their merits and demerits. It just depends on what you want.

As far as the forged cranks go; yeah, they were probably better, but I've never heard of anyone having their crank scissor on '03 and later models. This is an imagined "issue" and not one you will need to worry about.

'07 models had the offset front wheel, which has been known to cause problems for some people.

Now, I personally like the look of the older ('06 and earlier) Fatboys better. They had the longer fender and the solid wheels - the look that made me fall in love with them when I saw Arnold kicking *** with one in T2. But I got an '08 because I wanted the 6 speed transmission, the 96ci motor and FI, among other things. All of this is up to you to consider, of course. I'm just laying it out as objectively and as unbiased as possible.

All that said, if you want something that's pretty well bullet-proof, and still has that classic Harley sound at idle, get an Evo Fatboy.

 

People usually love what the have and don't like what they don't have.

In those yrs at least U have the choice of FI or not.
Since the Delphi FI came out in 02, most perfer those over the MM.

Most reason's are stated above on different bikes.

IMO just find the one U think that''ll fit Ur needs, (price and looks) as long as the bike was taken care of and not wrecked, Make the deal that makes U happy and start riding her.

 

If a pre 2002 get a carb. There have been known issues with the mm efi. Cam chain tensioners are the main known issues. Look for bike with gear drive cams already installed or the upgraded se cam plate and oil pump. Both are fixes for the problem. 2002 wS the last year for the timken crank bearing as well. I have a 2002 and love it.

 

Haven't seen the valve seal issue mentioned yet. A bunch of the '05's had a batch of bad valve seals from the factory. It wasn't all of them, the moco caught the issue midway through the production year. A buddies Ultra had them crap out at about 10k, mine made it to almost 19k before takin a ****. I believe the dealer can tell based on vin if you're likely to see issues, but if it's got over 20k on the clock, it's likely it's either been repaired or has the good seals. Good luck!