Hi,

I'm looking to buy my first bike and have found a 1991 Sportster 1200. The bike is all original, right down to the tires, and has 5777 miles on it. The asking price is $3500. I haven't driven it yet because I talked to the previous owner and he said it had a knock. He stated he had it fixed once for $400 but he didn't know what was done, and then he said the knock came back "after awhile."

The bike is at a car dealer, so I told him I would not be interested unless they found out what was causing the knock. He called me back this morning and said it was just an adjustment, nothing major, and they had called the previous owner themselves. He informed them that he had to have something adjusted every year.

Does this make sense or is the dealer maybe covering up a more serious problem? If I took it to a shop before purchasing would they be able to tell if there was more serious issues very easily?

Thanks for the help,

Marshall

 

An EVO-powered Sportster with 5,777 miles on it does not need "...to have something adjusted every year" - that is absurd! Any reputable Harley-Davidson dealer should be able to tell you if there's anything wrong, and what it is, for a diagnostic hour of labor ($65.00 - $80.00 depending where you take it). It's well worth the expense if you ask me.

As for the car dealer selling it, just do yourself a favor and don't believe a word he says.

Thumper26

 

And don't ride on those tires!

You will want new ones, preferably before your butt every sits in the seat to ride it.

 

I would walk - - no, run away from that as fast as I could. There are too many good deals out there to buy something that questionable.

 

DO NOT and I repeat DO NOT buy that bike without having a dealership look at it. Paying them $100 to look it over is a much better idea, than buying it and finding out it has to have $4000 work of work put into it.

 

Thanks for the input guys. I'm going to check it out further on Monday and I'll let you know what I find.

 

If you have to ask if your being screwed you are being screwed.Just my opinion though.You will always wonder if you took it up the pooper so I say pass on it and look a little more.The wannabees will start selling their bikes in a few weeks so keep your eyes open.

 

I have a 91. These have rigid mounted motors, which can cause secondary vibration anywhere on it.

Is the problem a knock or a rattle?

Mine has a persistant rattle in the forks at 3,000 rpm, springs in the worn fork tube I am guessing.

Beware that oil seals and bushings tend to dry up if a bike is not ridden, and that one sounds like it wasn't. Mine had 6,200 miles on it and looked real nice. Dry seals were a problem at first, and still are in the forks.

The price of $3,500 is a good one, even if you need to put $600 in it right away. The newest ones are less expensive than the 91 was new. I wonder why.

 

I dropped in today and started the bike. They did not know I was coming, so it wasn't warmed up or anything. The salesman warned me the battery might be down because it hadn't been moved lately, and it was in the exact same position as I had left it, so that jibed. It started instantly with the first push of the button.

The "knock" is more of a rattle. I used a screwdriver and listened to both cylinders and they sounded ok and were both the same. Placing the tip on the left front bottom resulted in me quickly jerking my ear away as that seemed to be the source of the rattle. It was pretty loud through the screwdriver.

The dealer said they would flatbed it to the shop of my choice to have it looked at. The shop said $55/hr to look at it and just under $400 for new tires.

So, with the new information does it still sound like a pass?

 

Make them pay for the check up if you decide to buy the bike. You pay if you do not. I think that is the normal deal.

Then get your best friend to listen in when Harley gives you the bad news. Really listen to both of them