What are the Pro's/Con's of this engine?

Thanks

 

thinking of buying one?

 

Ironhead Sportster riders shouldn't read this:

Pros: Right sound, right look, plenty of power. Cheaper than a blockhead Sportster.

Cons: You don't want one of these. Work on it 7 days, ride it 1/2 day. Repeat. If it was 1/4 the cost of an 883, it would be 4 times what it's worth. With 883's as cheap as they are now, you would be foolish to buy an ironhead Sportster, unless you just wanted to look at something leaking oil.

But, people buy anything, so have phun.

 

Pros....uh..........they move the wheels and look like mini shovelheads......?

Cons....LOTS. They suck to work on, they leak like a son of a bitch, they're unreliable, and need constant maintenance. I'd only use em for bar hopping, and even then, I'd make sure I had a nice tool kit and some spare parts strapped to it. That's not to say they're TOTAL junk, but they do tend to have problems and split cases pretty easily.

 

I have 2 buds here in my patch that have them,a 77' & 78' and they both have been running good for years,they also know how to work on themI have a bud with a 66' and that thing is never ready to ride even though he has replaced about everything on it,he rides my Shadow more than his Harley[&:]

 

Pros: Great looking engine. Best sounding HD at WOT, IMO. Great power. Easy to work on.

Cons: They are now 2+ decades old and will need some TLC every now and then.

I've had one since 1992. I bought it from the original owner with 11k miles on it. It now has 53k on it. I can ride it anywhere. No leaks anywhere,either. I have never had any real trouble that wasn't my fault.

Mine starts easily, everytime. This is a cold start after it had been sitting for a few weeks.
http://s34.photobucket.com/albums/d1...t=MVI_3517.flv



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I love Ironheads.They're not nearly as bad as some of the posters make them out to be.They'reNOT hard to work on andnot as unreliable as some would make them out to be.As someone mentioned above they're older bikes now and will definately need some TLC.And yeah....it might leak a little but so what.I have to constantly wrench on my 19 yr. old Evo Sporty and it leaks some.To me this is just part of owning a Harley Davidson.I wouldn'tconsider anyonefoolish for buying one

One thing the Ironheads are notorius for is the ball valve wearing.If the bike sits too long the oil seeps into the crank and when you go to start it it'll spew out a puddle of oil on the ground.Not a problem if the bike is ridden regularly and it doesn't always happen to all of them

 

I've been looking for an iron head for a while. Of course there out there, I can pick one up. Not only would I dig finding a deal, but I got feel it. I'll get one soon or a later. I can picture the build in my head !

 

Well, like I said in the other thread, I've been playing with the idea of picking one up myself. I'd prob build a bobber.

 

I never said they were HARD to work on, I said they SUCK to work on. And they do. You have to use spacers and shims for every damn thing, and there are a million pieces for every part on it...that tend to break....ALOT.

And as far as what they're MOST notorious for...SPLITTING CASES. I can name at least 5 people that I know that either own or have owned them off the top of my head that have had to deal with this at one point or another. And if you search on the forums, there are countless others.

Most IH's are more trouble than they're worth. Literally. And the ones that aren't usually have half their guts replaced with aftermarket parts and aren't anywhere near stock configuration. The only thing I really like about them is that the earlier models had the ability to use a kickstarter.

I have a '73 right side shift IH sitting in my garage right now...and I'm gonna get rid of it soon.