Thinking Of Resurecting My '73 Sportster

[Poacher Bob]

Originally Posted by lake_harley

Went to the local HD dealer today to pick up a new pair of spark plugs. Simple enough, right? Nope! The first fellow at the parts counter struggled to find anything, much less a pair of HD #4 spark plugs. With the help of a co-worker they brought out 3 sets of plugs, with the closest thing to what I wanted being a pair of #3 plugs. They said the #4 plugs are discontinued. Could that be right? The other two pair they brought out were a slightly longer reach plug with a seemingly long protruding tip, and a plug with a way-too-long reach. Feeling I had stressed them excessively for the day, I thanked them for their time and left.

Anyone with a 1000CC ironhead Sportster have any input on good spark plugs to use? Are HD #4 plugs still available? Thanks!

Lynn

Maybe J+P Cycle?

[83XLX]

How does the 4R5 plug compare? That's what came in my '83 Ironhead, and I can still get them. It's a resistor plug, but I don't think that would matter.

[lake_harley]

Originally Posted by 83XLX

How does the 4R5 plug compare? That's what came in my '83 Ironhead, and I can still get them. It's a resistor plug, but I don't think that would matter.

I'm not sure, but that might be the plug the HD dealer had that had just a little bit longer threads than my plugs do. I also posted my questions over on the XL Forum and have several "leads" to follow up on. I'll report back.

Lynn

[anotherguy]

Champion H8/NGK B6L/Autolite AU996.

[Reryder]

Hey great you got your old Sporty going again.
I got mine out of the shed after 20+ years a while back and have been having a blast on it ever since. They don't make em like that anymore (thank god!). Mine took a lot of work as it was rode long and hard and put away wet but well worth every cent and every drop of blood sweat and tears it took. They are a great old bike.

Don't waste your time at HD dealers they mostly have nothing, know nothing.
Try www.sportyspecialties.com

And keep us posted with pics on how you go with riding the beast.

[lake_harley]

OK....Since I started this thread I'm going on a rant! I've about had it with this antiquated, paint-shaker, POS, sorry excuse of a motorcycle from Harley F***ing Davidson. I've cleaned, rebuilt, replaced and adjusted about all I'm going to on the Sportster that I've been the caretaker of for 38 years.

It has been on several shake-down runs, generally followed with a few more "fixes" and new parts. All seemed well on the last short ride, so, after finally licensing it again, I took it out for it's "welcome back" ride. It was really low on gas so the first stop was a gas station 3 miles from home. Everything seemed pretty good, but didn't get too carried away with the R''s since the bike was still "cold" even in the 90 degree temps. I was quite pleased it started on the 2nd or 3rd kick at the gas station. Since all seemed to be going pretty good I picked up the R's a little bit leaving the station, only to be rewarded with backfiring, and bucking at anything over 3500 RPM. I don't remember this freaking thing having a rev limiter or governor So...now I'm thinking what's wrong THIS time? I've about had it.

I am no mechanical slouch and have brought plenty things back to life, but I think I've had it with this bike. Even my wife said I looked like I pushed it back home the way I was sweating just from riding the damned thing.

A long-time aquaintance, who is a Harley rider, recently expressed some interest in the bike should I ever want to sell it, since his first bike was a '73 Sportster. I think his big chance is about to come! I have better things to do than waste my time on something that's nothing more than a hold-over novelty of my youth. I'd rather spend my time with the new-to-me '75 BMW R75/6 project bike I bought about a month ago. At least when it's done I may actually have the nerve to ride it somewhere.....probably a lot farther than 3 miles to the gas station! I'd almost bet it'll outrun the Sportster anyway!

Harleys.....Pfft!

Lynn

[Poacher Bob]

Negative battery cable broke? I feel for you...got a 96 Ural i'm ready to push off a fucking cliff!

[anotherguy]

If it's not related to throttle position I'd say loose ground cable.

[lake_harley]

Thanks...both of you. I'd say the sputtering is related to throttle position. I was thinking plugged jet or air bleed holes, even though I gave the carb a good cleaning, but just to cover all the bases I'll check the carb again and I'll check battery and coil grounds too. Thanks for the suggestion.

I already talked with my son (21 year old) who's away at college to see if he has any interest in the bike for sentimental reasons. I think he will after he thinks it over a few days. I've cooled off somewhat since my last post. If I know me, I'll probably give it another go...and another....and another. That doesn't mean that I hate that fossil any less though.

Lynn

[Reryder]

LOL. Patience Grasshopper.
Remember the bike sat for 17 years. It is not going to just come back to life straight away.
They all need a month or two of "commissioning work" to get the initial bugs ironed out.

Common cause of such problems are:
Crud in the tank finds its way past filters and into the carb. Pull the bowl, clean carb again.Check petcock flows ok. Check filler cap vent works ok. Use only genuine Bendix-Zenith rebuild kit for carb. Available here http://www.zenithfuelsystems.com/dealers.htm

Intake manifold seals have gone hard with age and are leaking. Replace seals and clamps. Use stainless T-bolt clamps.

Pushrod adjustment has tightened up after initial riding. Check pushrod adjustment.

Weak spark: Treat the old girl to new points, condenser and plugs. NGK B6L works good for me. Reset timing.

There is a good thread here on things to check on an Ironhead that has been stored for a few decades:
http://xlforum.net/vbportal/forums/s...ad.php?t=69876

And don't think for an instant that an old Airhead BMW will give you any less trouble. I can tell you from experience those Airheads can be a black hole for money and drive you insane just like any other 30+ year old bike.

[flemsmith]

Harley engine in a Norton? got some pix, details of any problems, which norton frame, stuff like that?

Back to AMF paintshaker thread.

roy

[Scrivens]

If it is misfiring and jerking at 3500rpm you will be running on the main jet and it is rare for them to get totally fouled if there is no evident junk in the carb bowl. (Tiny rust flakes will do it, and a cheap auto inline filter plumbed in for the first dozen tank fills will clear that up.)

With a misfire at those revs I'd be more inclined to an ignition issue - worn points, points plate loose or the wires shorting out under vibration, points timing out, tappets out of adjustment, advance/retard mechanism frozen or faulty or the points condenser dead. The condenser is a quick fix and yours is old enough to have died; you can (generally) use a condenser from any similar voltage system and they are only a couple of dollars at your local auto spares place. Might also be coils or HT leads failing under load. On a bike that has sat for a long time you may have oxidisation in the wiring and it is usually easier to spend half a day and $20 for new wire replacing the wires in the whole ignition circuit as they get very brittle once the copper starts going green.

[Reryder]

Originally Posted by flemsmith

Harley engine in a Norton? got some pix, details of any problems, which norton frame, stuff like that?

Back to AMF paintshaker thread.

roy

Atlas frame. Fits right in if you lay the engine on its side, place frame over rocker boxes then jump on frame to spring it out around the oil pump.
Built it years ago but sadly has had the Triumph disc front and rear wheel robbed off it for the restoration of the Triumph, so it is awaiting a bit of a tidy up.

[Poacher Bob]

[small_e_900]

What kind of exhaust are you running?
If it's straight pipes, right about 3500 rpm is where they will stumble and sputter for a couple hundred rpms.

The exhaust needs some back pressure.

If you're running straight pipes, buy a couple 4" long exhaust baffles and bolt them into the pipes. It'll smoove right out.

If you are running a muffeled exhaust, investigate the ignition for points bounce or a faulty condenser.