I have a 1980 Sportster now and it came from the factory with a 1979 Engine, XLCH Engine ( can have a Kickstarter installed on it). I had a 1979 XLH. Rode her from 1979 to 1996 up and down the east coast and in Europe., cases wore out. I did try one of the Harleys new EVO 1984 FXST Softail in 1984. I gave it back to Harley and kept my 1979 XLH. The 84 leaked more oil than my 79, the kicker gears sherd, and the transmission shaft sheared all in less than 6 months. Harleys automatic Primary Chain Tensioner tears up their new engines, making the primary chain too tight. The Twins Cams chain wears out, the aftermarket came up with a gear kit to replace it. Who needs to plug your bike into the house current to be able to start it in the morning. Then needing computers to troubleshoot it. I will keep my Ironhead As for dependability my 1979 let me down very few times, it was my main means of transportation when I was in the Army for 20 years. I could all ways fix her if needed.

 

Never heard of it, unless the owner never paid attention to the sounds of his engine. I have heard of the primary chain going bad, but that is usually due to an idiot over adjusting the tension adjuster too tight on the Primary Chain. Or downshifting to first at 60 MPH.

 

Wish I still had my "60 XLCH, but the "93 EVO Sportster I am riding is nice too. The "60 was a much simpler machine and not difficult to work on. After 1969 the Iron Heads went downhill for a while. I would not buy an Iron Head newer than '69.

 

Check out the Wicked Sportsters group on Facebook.
Some great prices on Ironheads.
Just saw one there for $3k that would make a great project bike.

 

The Ironheads are old bikes., and have earned the right to leak, just like my Panhead. That does not mean they have to, though. You have to remember they are old tech, and if you run the stock brakes and stuff, they are probably a bit inferior to the new stuff. Face it, technology has marched on. But they are great bikes. I used to ride with a couple of guys back when they were "girl's bikes" but I never gave a damn about that. The guys were solid and the bikes were quick. One guy took good care of his, and it seldom had problems. The other guy, well he did not do a lot of maintenance, and I have stories about that. The only time I heard of cases splitting on one of these is when my buddy's girlfriend got her long knitted coat (anyone remember those?) caught in the chain and it got sucked in the sprocket. That required some welding. Ironheads are great bikes. If I had room, I would buy one, but as it is I have to get the XR-1000 dialed in, it has a top-end knock. If you do get an Ironhead, you may have to learn a lot of the old skool tricks to fixing these, they are from the age of mechanics and not electronics. But they are pretty straight forward if you read up on them. And as was stated before, you really cannot beat the look of one of these engines. Look at that art that tommygun211 dropped....

 

Geezus, just realized how old this thread is. Lazy night of drinkin'......

 

Can't beat that 38mm Mikuni!

 

I was looking something up and found this old thread... I don't know about no one else.. but i got an 85 ironhead 6 months ago... I've no problems at all except one electrical issue... I've read nothing bad about these till this thread.. Mine leaks 3 drops of oil a week... so yeah... like i said I don't know nothing bout no one else's but my "crazy b****" runs like she's on fire most days... i still got throttle at almost 100... so yeah no clue what the issue is with the others.. she needs rebuilt.. I've found out knocks, rattles and all that.. well they are ironheads what do you expect... these bikes were made to keep up with cafe racers... screaming little old bikes

 

They're not really as bad as all that,just a very dated design going back to the 1950's so a lot more maintenance required than a modern bike.
As was with Shovelheads the 1970's bikes were hit and miss in quality under AMF, some were a lot better than others,it was said don't buy a bike built on a Monday or Friday.
I've owned a few Irons and still have one as a stablemate to my '89 FXR and '19 FLHT.
I rode a '75 XLCH daily for almost a decade,yes it needed love every weekend but I managed to live with it as a daily ride.
Points ignition,solid lifters,chain drive etc. but mine never leaked much oil,I shut the chain oiler off and put an o-ring chain on it.
Chain oilers are often what leave oil on the ground with these bikes,I had to replace a gasket here and there once in a while but overall it wasn't a leaker.
My '74 XLH isn't either,fun little short hop bike,back in the day I'd ride one 400-500 miles in a day on a weekend but it would kill me now.
My advise OP is if you like to tinker and don't mind doing the work it takes to keep one running it can be a fun bike to own.
If you want to ride a lot and not deal with wrenching etc. buy an Evo with belt drive.

 

Breakfast this morning with some motorcyclist friends. Look ma, no oil leaks!…lol