SuzukiSavage.com - New Harley....

Chopped Senior Member Offline Hurts Like hell when you shoot yourself! Posts: 499 Stafford, VA Gender:	New Harley.... 05/26/09 at 12:34:50 So... I down graded to a 1979 Harley Iron Head! Now the kick starter won't engage... any ideas? Don't worry... I still have my Rat Savage!
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Savage_Amusement Serious Thumper Offline On this steel horse I ride. Posts: 1004 Omaha, NE Gender:	Re: New Harley.... Reply #1 - 05/26/09 at 12:39:49 It's a Harley, its broken. HUH. It might be slipping on the shaft.
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Chopped Senior Member Offline Hurts Like hell when you shoot yourself! Posts: 499 Stafford, VA Gender:	Re: New Harley.... Reply #2 - 05/26/09 at 12:41:00 Its leaking oil where the kick shaft goes into the left crankcase...
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Savage_Amusement Serious Thumper Offline On this steel horse I ride. Posts: 1004 Omaha, NE Gender:	Re: New Harley.... Reply #3 - 05/26/09 at 12:42:58 Might have to break it open and see. Pin/key could have come out or rounded off. Teeth could be bad.
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marshall13

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Re: New Harley....
Reply #4 - 05/26/09 at 13:19:09

Chopped wrote on 05/26/09 at 12:41:00:

Its leaking oil where the kick shaft goes into the left crankcase...

if you see oil coming past that shaft, DONT KICK IT!! a couple thousandths of wear on that bushing can cause the kick shaft to snap off when kicked... a buddy has a nice 8 inch scar on his leg from a 72 ironhead... there was only 0.0015 wear on his bushing... if you see oil seeping past the kickshaft, never kick an ironhead

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photojoe FSO Serious Thumper Alliance Member Offline I did warn you to brace yourself Posts: 1379 New Jersey Gender:	Re: New Harley.... Reply #5 - 05/26/09 at 18:12:32 No electric start on a '79? I had a '72 Sporty that had both kick and electric start.
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Chopped Senior Member Offline Hurts Like hell when you shoot yourself! Posts: 499 Stafford, VA Gender:	Re: New Harley.... Reply #6 - 05/26/09 at 18:30:09 I have an electric start on mine with a 40 amp starter, but the battery only puts out 30... it works for about five tries and then the batter is done!
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Rocco Serious Thumper Offline addicted 2 riding TcB Posts: 1049 south florida Gender:	Re: New Harley.... Reply #7 - 05/26/09 at 18:41:47 harleys sound good.....but i want to ride not repair lol
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verslagen1 YaBB Moderator ModSquad Offline Where there's a will, I want to be in it. Posts: 28884 L.A. California Gender:	Re: New Harley.... Reply #8 - 05/26/09 at 18:58:43 Well Fred, you knew the job was dangerous when you took it.
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Duane Senior Member Offline Creatively Maladjusted Posts: 335 Terra Plane Gender:	Re: New Harley.... Reply #9 - 05/27/09 at 11:38:24 I've been told to never take a harley unless it has a evolution motor. All the others are crap unless you like working more than riding.
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BurnPgh

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Re: New Harley....
Reply #10 - 05/27/09 at 11:52:57

they arent all crap but you can expect to do more work on an older harley than you would a new...anything. 70's are when quality control went south though '72 is pretty early from what i understand. My dad had a '74 electraglide that never gave him any real problems until he decided to take it apart and give the whole thing a general repair-replace of various little parts. Half of it now resides in the basement, the other half in the shed.

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marshall13

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Re: New Harley....
Reply #11 - 05/27/09 at 12:49:28

Duane wrote on 05/27/09 at 11:38:24:

I've been told to never take a harley unless it has a evolution motor. All the others are crap unless you like working more than riding.

pre-evo's the rule is buy black boots, as the leaking oil stains brown ones green...lol pre- evo harley big twins are the design peak of an engine first conceived in the 20s, made more user-friendly over the ensuing decades, but basically the same "lucky lindy" era iron... the sporty's are the mechanical descendants of the k-model flatheads of the 50s(which was a pre-ww2 design, finally marketed after the korean hostilities ceased)... very old school stuff... of course they require constant adjustment and repair... poncho straight 8s do too...lol

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