...He's talking about the oil pump here.....need to pull engine on the year you have to replace pump.......it can be messy all right......BINNY

 

That is one great looking bike xxxflhrci. Looking at your pics has made me all nostalgic for the '76 XL 1000 I had back in the late 1980s.

For what it's worth, here's my contribution to this Ironhead discussion:

I loved my XL 1000. It would virtually never start on the starter motor so you it had to be pushed or rolled down a hill to bump start it ... but I loved it. It used to run on one cylinder as often as it did on two ... but I loved it. It holed a piston and I had to take the entire engine apart and rebuild it... but I loved it (n.b. here I must disagree withanyone who suggests that Ironhead engines are hard to work on. I am not a skilled mechanic, but found it pretty easy). The impractically small tank meant even the shortest of runs involved a visit to the gas station ... but I loved it.You had to use the engine and gearsin order to slow down because the brakes themselves diddiddly-squat ... but I loved it.I loved it but, ultimately, I wanted a bike I could rely on for getting to work, going on rides with my mates, going for long distance vacations in continental Europe.I also needed a deposit to put down on my first property so, sadly, she had to go.

If I could afford one now and could find a '76 or '77 in reasonable condition I would buy it, just to look at and tinker with. Who could ersist a bike that looks as good as the photos posted by xxxflhrci? Trobule is, I can't afford it, don't have a garage to store one in anyway, and there aren't many around over here in the UK, so I'll have to stick with my memories for now.

I don't know if it's just that time plays games with your memory, but I seem to remembermy XL 1000 being a damn sight more powerful than my current 883R. I know that ifI opened the throttle wide I had trouble keeping hold of the grips and it always felt like the bike was going to rip itself out of my hands. Perhaps that was just a consequence of the buckhorn handlebars that were standard fitment back then.

 

It's not your memory. If all things are similar in each bike...pipes, air cleaner, carb mods and so on,....an Iron 1000 will run with if not out run the pre-04 1200's.

 

Ironheads are great bikes, i ride my 65 xlch 5k a year. built it in 2001. Y cams, magneto, mikuni 38mm carb, 65hp at wheel. Problems with ironheads are user induced, they do not know how to properly work on them. Click here to upload!

 

Man, I don't know what some of these people are going on about. I have a '74 XLH Ironhead 1000 and it is AWESOME! The Ironhead is the loudest, baddest-*** sounding motor you can get IMO. No fuel injection worries on an Ironhead like you have now on the new Sportsters. They are EASY to work on, much easier than the modern engines with all their modern technology (that goes bad and cost money).

My Ironhead starts right up within 1 second of hitting the start button.
Dig this video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RHb3o42DpUM
(Skip to 1:35 to see how it starts.)

Ya, they, like most any hog, will leak a little. Mine leaks about 7 drops per day. The leak is predominantly from the primary drain plug and I can easily fix it with a heli-coil, which I will do this winter. Also a common Ironhead leak is from the paper gaskets. Granted, the Evo leaks less, but really that is one of the reasons so many people considered the Evo to be a "sell-out" on Harley's behalf. Too many non-wrenchers were jumping into the Harley game and never learning a damn thing about their bike. What about the Biker's Creed?

• I strive to understand the inner-workings of my machine, from the most basic to the most complex.
• I will learn everything I can about my machine, so that I am reliant upon no one but myself for its health and well being.

http://www.weaselsspfld.com/gaggles/bikerscreed.shtml

Sure, back in the day the inferior primary drive chain would snap and ball up causing it to burst through the front of the primary cover like a grenade. They even called it "the grenade," but anyone who experienced that would replace the parts with superior parts and the bike would be fine forever after that like mine has been. Mine has the battle scar from the grenade. I could have replaced the primary cover for $65 bucks via Ebay, but I declined as I like the battle scar and the cover is original.

This engine has WAY more ***** than the new sportys. I've compared. None of the newer Sportys can touch me. Very few Harley or Harley-style bikes can touch me light to light without serious high performance work. Mine is a 4-speed (right-hand shift) and the gearing is awesome.

So why would you want an Ironhead? Because it's LOUD, it's BAD-***, it's NOT fuel injected like the new ones, it's collectible, it's coveted, it's easy to work on and you can pick up a classy vintage Ironhead Sporty for less than half the price of a new Sporty with an Evo and enter the world of Harley Davidson with some unique style instead of riding what every other entry level Harley guy is riding.

Can you tell I'm an Ironhead fan?

 

Boy's
Don't knock an Ironhead till you had one
RESE

 

Loved my old Iron head 69 XLCH a little wrenching yes but a lot more fun .. Still Miss it ... Will always keep fond memories of it .. Even from near 40 years ago ...

 

I own a 1977 AMF / Harley Davidson XLCR CR1000 Ironhead Sportster that I bought in 1982 from the original owner with a little over 1,500 miles on it and it doesn’t leak a drop of oil and I have put over 37,000 miles on this bike without any problems. I LOVE my bike and would NEVER sell it or trade it away. I have lost count of the number of times that someone has walked up to me and said “I used to have one of those bikes and I wish that I still did.” This bike has a 4 gallon gas tank and dual disk brakes up front and a disk brake in back. I have taken this bike just about everywhere. In ’82 I went on the very first Laughlin River Run event in Laughlin, Nevada with this bike and went on the next 14 years in a row on it as well. It’s only about a 330 mile ride one way or so to that show. I also went to the first three Street Vibrations events in Reno, Nevada and that is about a 500 mile one way ride or so for me as well. The longest I have been on this bike is about 700 miles one way and I really enjoyed the ride. I have been to San Francisco on it which is about 500 miles one way and I feel that it would take me anywhere I wanted to go. I always hear about how crappy AMF bikes are so I guess that mine is just the only one in the whole world that they ever made that had any quality built into it. I also hear about how bad Ironhead Sportsters are and again I must have the only one that was ever any good. I just don’t get it. I do all my own P.M. work on it and it is not a complicated motor to work on. I do have to adjust the valves every 3,000 miles or so but that is a normal maintenance issue. I have to adjust the valves on my ’73 and ’75 Norton Commandos as well so it’s no big deal to me. I like to go to a lot of bike shows and bike events and I see a lot of Ironhead choppers showing up and when I talk to the owners they seem to say the same thing, that Ironheads are like hammers, and are hard to break. I am already looking for a good deal on an old Ironhead Sportster to chop and I know that I could just as easily find a good deal on an EVO Sportster but it’s not the same thing or the same look. To get that real old school look you have to start with a REAL old school engine! (IMO) In the mid 70’s when I first started riding street bikes, to work on your bike was just a labor of love and unless you had boat loads of money to give to the dealers (and I didn’t) you learned how to do it and you did it because you wanted to know how to keep your bike running and be independent. The modern EVO Sportster is a GREAT engine, don’t get me wrong here, but there is something special about the Ironhead Sportster too that makes it a keeper too!

 

I added an oil filter as they did not come from the factory with one and they didn't have a rear chain oiler and that is why they don't leak any oil!

 

I had a limited edition 1982 Non AMF Sporty. I put 36,000 miles on it and it only stranded me once in4 yrs and that was because I put a belt primary on it and left the clutch wet. DS said the belt would take it, and it did. For 3,000 miles! I put cams and Stainless Steel valves in it at 32K because I wanted to not because it needed them. The Ironhead sporty's were far superior to the shovelheads of the same era IMHO. I would love to have that bike back just to see how it does compare to my evo sporty power wise...