Hello all, I just bought a new to me 99 Electra Glide Standard with 30k on it, I am not new to HD's, had a couple of sportsters and recently just traded my 05 V Star 1100 Silverado in for the HD. I would like to ask all of you experts what I should look for in the way of any problems and service requirements. The used bike dealer I bought it from told me they are doing a full service on it and putting 2 new tires on it. This is my early 50th birthday present, I can't afford over 20k for a new touring HD and this was the best I could do for now. Hope it was not a bad move, my V Star has been bullet proof, I just wanted to get back into the HD life and experience.

Thanks for any and all advice

 

My friend is a millionaire and has 5 Harley's. His 99 Standard is his favorite, and is still a sharp looking bike. He has 60 k on it with no problems.

It was the first Harley I ever rode, so I have a special affection for it. You are going to love it. Have the cam chain tensioners been checked?

 

Welcome to the forum and.......Happy birthday (keep it for later)
You could do far worse than a '99 EG. Enjoy it man!

 

I have a '99 RK with 55K on the odometer.

Some very important service issues regarding the '99 Twin Cam engine is that this was the first year for this motor. The cam bearing on these bikes were badm and needed to be replaced. I would assume if the bike has 30K on it that it has been addressed, but it wouldn't hurt to ask. My cam bearing failed at 10k miles, I was lucky no further damage occured to the engine.

Also, this motor (and up to '06) has the poorly designed cam chain tensioners that if not replace in time, can desinigrate and potentially harm your engine. I would have the dealer in his "full service", check the tensioners for wear. At 30k you may need these replaced and it can cost some $$$. And as far as the cam tensioners go, many people upgrade to improved options like geared cams or the hydraulic tensioner upgrade from HD. I did the hydraulic upgrade and put in an Andrews 21 cam which I can not say enough good things about.

My '99 has been/is a fantastic bike. Very reliable and runs very strong. I hope you are getting the carb model as I really like the carb on my bike (vs. EFI).

Enjoy the new bike!

 

the pre 10/98 models may have the cam bolt shear- this was a recall.

the pinion bearing also went through changes the spec for tolerance/clearances was changed due to crank venting through the bearing

so lots of first year growing pains.

Mike

 

Thanks for the responses, I did call the dealer and one of the reasons for the full service was they wanted to check the tensioners before I picked it up. It is the carb model and in very nice looking condition, I was lucky to get to it first as 4 or 5 people after me wanted to buy it. I plan on riding it a lot and turning it into what I want it to look like. My wife thinks I am nuts, I was so excited I could hardly sleep last night lol.

One other question, how do I find out if the recalls have been done?

 

I cant tell you anything about a 99, but welcome and enjoy.
gotta ask, is it the pretty black one with the sold across the picture on the web sight?

on a side note: I was just in your neck of the woods on saturday at waugh.

 

Wellcome !Good luck to your new Adventure. you are on the one of the best smartest, smart asses , nuts, Etc. HD Forum

 

Congrats on your model t standard. I've had one for 10 years,and it's got 78,955 miles on her. The only thing that I've had to do was replace cam chain tensoiners,and replace battery,on her.I had a starter relay bite the dust,in Marshall Texas.Myself,and another dude,pushed it to start,and that's not easy on a 758 pound bike The whole time, I was thinking God I would love to have a kicker,,so I did the next best thing.Which is put a push button(chrome) soloniod manual start on her,and it work's everytime.If you don't have one of these they are the closest thing other then spending the cash to install a kickstart,but for around 20 bucks and 10 minutes you can do this.Also get her on some good synthetic oil ASAP,I use Amsoil,but just make sure it's a good synthetic,trust me a must have on a air cooled V.Great buy you will love her for sure. [IMG]http://i295.photobucket.com/albums/mm126/buckmc/IMG_0008-2.jpg[/IMG

2001 FLHT-1550 big bore-204 cams-true duels-head work done by HD

 

Yes, it was the one from Classic Iron Motorcycles, and was also at Waugh HD for the Big Dam Bike Show, is ten minutes from my house. I am really excited, I get to pick her up tomorrow morning. It probably will not come with a manual, do you use the same oil in the engine, trans and primary, can't remember, my V Star had everything together, just put oil in one place. A lot of people told me not to use synthetic oil because the clutch will slip.