Which Harley to buy?

Flipfly · Jul 9, 2016

I am looking for some advise on what to buy.

Little un wants to go on daddies motorbike and I am also looking to relax my riding style (although I'll keep the T595 for the odd blast out).

I'm quite smitten with a roadking/streetglide style of Harley but in typical flipfly tightwad stylee, I want to do it as cheaply as possible. I'm not bothered about hot cams etc, I want a plodder, but I do want reliability though.

My only no no is that it doesn't have the horrible clocks mounted on the bars, I want a tank mounted speedp.

So, what model should I look out for, what was a good year and what sort of price can I get one for.

I could spend 10k, but would rather spend 5k if I can.

Thanks for any advice (or abuse in the case of ATT

).

Deleted account 230523001 · Jul 9, 2016

I would go for a model that has a tank mounted speedo then

Flipfly · Jul 9, 2016

att said:
I would go for a model that has a tank mounted speedo then

Ok clever feck.

I was thinking more, evo or twin cam. I believe the cam tensioners on the pre 2007 twin cams are suspect and can wear out quickly. Is this true? How much are they to replace and is it a bargaining chip when buying one? Are the Evo motors more reliable or is the best choice a 2007 onwards twin cam?

I'd like to tour in a couple of years with the bike so again, I'm leaning towards a Glide or Roadking, but whats the best bike for the money and what is out there. Looking at ebay and the likes shows 2003 bikes at 8,500 and 2008 bikes at 8,500 and there seems to be very little in the way of decent older bikes at sensible money. I don't what to be bum fucked buying the wrong one at silly money.

Shep · Jul 9, 2016

Steer clear of dealerships, there are plenty of underused HD's in the private garages and often bargains can be found, I'm a bit biased but I like the Evo (1340) Road Kings, comfortable and reliable, £5-7k should get you a nice example.

jackassdave · Jul 9, 2016

it has to be a road king or heritage softail horror stories of cam faliures are not allways true like most on here i have had evos single and twin cams all have been fine (allthough thet would say i have to ride them first before anything goes wrong).
for your budget you should get a decent one /the guy who i bought mine from allways has good low(ish) milage ones in

Doris · Jul 9, 2016

Clocks on the tank may look better....but in this day and age of speed camera/vans everywhere are bloody awkward....not easy to flick yer eyes down to whilst staying focuses on the road.......

Cam chain tensioner pads do fail on earlier twin cams ...at vastly variable mile ages.....to change them yourself you need access to a press...and the very early ones have another problem associated with the cam sprocket bolt.
Not particularly difficult...look it up on YouTube......
A well looked after Evo will last for ever....as will a sorted twin-cam.
Condition and mileage is everything...not age. You can tour on any of them, it's just easier if you have the fitted luggage/screen etc, but take a gander at what is available for every single Harley...

Harley's are generally not bought using one's head..........being from Stoke, you should be thankful for that......

twizzle · Jul 9, 2016

Avoid the early FI bikes - my Carb 1340 EVO runs as sweet as a nut... Prices range wildly, do not pay loads extra for chrome tat... Stage 1 decent Pipes (V&H etc) is all you need.

Doris · Jul 9, 2016

twizzle said:
?... my Carb 1340 EVO runs as sweet as a nut... .

...and much easier to fix at the side of a French road...... Yup, I'd forgotten everything about the early FI ..... Carbs are much nicer anyway....

DC · Jul 9, 2016

I'm new to the harley scene and wasn't sure which model to get …i thought i would try a sportster but that didn't do much for me…then i tried a heritage softail.. the weight was horrendous, very heavy bike indeed…i finally opted for a fatbob. i can bimble around on this the odd sunday, its not too heavy , handles well too.

I got it std, so first thing was to have some harley tunes playing , for this i put vance and hines slip ons on. i was going to go the full stage one but not to bother about the extra ponies it might add

have fun trying a few

Doris · Jul 9, 2016

Ooo....we have a Harley "scene"......fantastic! Where does one find this scene and what does one wear to fit in? I think I need to seek out Dave's advice.....I'm obviously missing out....

Flipfly · Jul 9, 2016

jackass dave said:
it has to be a road king or heritage softail horror stories of cam faliures are not allways true like most on here i have had evos single and twin cams all have been fine (allthough thet would say i have to ride them first before anything goes wrong).
for your budget you should get a decent one /the guy who i bought mine from allways has good low(ish) milage ones in

Anything online for the guy you bought yours from?

Doris said:
Harley's are generally not bought using one's head..........being from Stoke, you should be thankful for that......

I'm from Cheshire darling, it's taken a long time for me to get this common

Jason P · Jul 9, 2016

My Evo Road King just took me and the missus round Ireland for 10 days with nothing falling off or going wrong. Lovely strong engine that pulls well enough 2-up, and just keeps plodding along. Cruises all day at 75-80, and seems to return about 55mpg no matter how I ride it or how loaded it is. I love it.

Shep · Jul 9, 2016

Go on, you know it makes sense!

Joe narvey · Jul 9, 2016

Just got back from my Saturday bimble on the road King ( GS is on its way to Iceland ). The grin factor is worth it.

My thighs are burnt and when u asked the dealer if it's normal he tried to sell my extras to compensate for the engineers flaws.. Brilliant!

Had to buy a pump for the suspension because the descent after traversing white lines was breaking my spine.

jackassdave · Jul 9, 2016

Flipfly said:
Anything online for the guy you bought yours from?

I'm from Cheshire darling, it's taken a long time for me to get this common

sorry i have no computer at the moment so as said before i have to trapse over to the office and this is an apple mac so still trying to figure out how it works , i will see if i can find him from e bay i cant figure out how to open another window of this thing or put up a link give me a bit of time

Flipfly · Jul 9, 2016

Shep said:
Go on, you know it makes sense!

Let me know if you want to sell it :augie

jackass dave said:
sorry i have no computer at the moment so as said before i have to trapse over to the office and this is an apple mac so still trying to figure out how it works , i will see if i can find him from e bay i cant figure out how to open another window of this thing or put up a link give me a bit of time

Cheers

jackassdave · Jul 10, 2016

ok the guy i bought my road king from was or should i sau is esacs56 on e bay try that i cant figure out how this apple thing works

Doris · Jul 10, 2016

http://www.ebay.ph/sch/esacs56/m.html?item=252420471701&rt=nc&_trksid=p2047675.l2562

jackassdave · Jul 10, 2016

Doris said:
http://www.ebay.ph/sch/esacs56/m.html?item=252420471701&rt=nc&_trksid=p2047675.l2562

good man i will have to go and buy a cheap pc for now as i cannot get on with this mac

Flipfly · Jul 10, 2016

Cheers Dave, quite like the roadking, looks tidy.

Which Harley to buy?

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