Build. Tinker. Ride. Trials and Tribulations (and good times) of my motorcycle projects and other garage tinkering. Learning and building things. Building, wrenching on, and riding Harley Davidson Evolution Sportsters, Big Twins, and anything else with two wheels. Currently working on restoring and preserving a 1988 Harley Davidson Sportster chopper. I also post information on other DIY projects I tinker on.
1988 Harley Davidson Sportster XL1200 with a custom Swedish Style or some may say a St Louis Style Frame. Previous owner was going for Swedish style. Very dirty, real crusty, and has not run since 2006. Going to change that. Looking to restore and preserve this bad ass survivor bike. Will keep some of the crust, but hope to get her running and back on the road. Started this Sportster project in April 2021.
Hope everyone had a great Father’s Day weekend. I got a lot of stuff done around the yard, the grand babies came over to swim, and I spent some time tinkering in the garage. Spent a little time organizing some things and…
The tube for the front tire showed up yesterday afternoon so Cory stopped by last night and we got the tire mounted and put the wheel on the front end. The new 8 over fork tubes and 21″ spoke wheel look real…
I had planned to strip down and repaint the sporty tank which was already on the 88 Sportster, but as I started working on it there was so much body filler and rust I decided to just go with a new tank….
I thought the front fork tubes were 8 over, I should have measured as the fork tubes which were on the bike are only 6 over. They are getting replaced with the 8 over fork tubes from TC Bros Choppers, so it…
The fork tubes on the 88 Sportster are 8″ over and they are pretty crusty. I was hoping I could save them, but they are too far gone. Lots of pitting especially under the dust cover and just at the seal. So…
On this 88 Sportster both of the mounts on the oil tank which the battery tray bolts to are broken. Forney Easy Weld 140MP to the rescue! Removed the oil tank, cleaned it up, and did a piss poor job of welding…
Last night I had some time in the garage and I made a mount for the key switch, oil pressure indicator light and neutral indicator light. The bike did not have oil pressure or neutral indicators. Since I am adding them I…
The last time this 1988 Sportster was started was around 15 years ago, back in 2006. Well Friday night, that clock was reset. Finished putting the motor back together, added some oil and primary fluid, threw on a set of pipes, wired…
Rode motorcycles, smoked cigars, and made a lot of progress on the Sportster over the weekend. Everything is pretty much cleaned up and going back together. Got the pistons and cylinders assembled. Then put together the cams, pushrods, and rocker boxes. Cleaned…
The 88 Sportster has been in the garage for about a week now and it is pretty much tore down as far as I want/need to tear it down. Getting all the gasket material cleaned off of her and working to figure…