Better Beaters - Building Cars and Daily Drivers

 Could this bike be the beginning of my Dream Build? 

The Sportster was always a very basic motorcycle.

Maybe. It does get some things right. 

This bike showed up on Craigslist months ago. I found it interesting for two reasons. One; it's a mid '70's Harley Sportster, and two, the builder was going for the narrow stripped down look that I find appealing. They also tried to move away from the iconic XLCH look and give it a bit of a European vibe. The seller describes how he managed to reduce the weight of the bike by forty pounds or so. 

However, that battery mounted under the seat is really a sore point! The builder attached a British style fender to the swing arm, that lends a vintage touch. A la Vincent. But by eliminating the fender struts, he eliminated the possibility of a pillion seat and the mounting points for a set of soft saddle bags. The use of a custom tubular oil tank eliminates the O.E. battery mount, which was located above the back end of the primary cover hump on kickstart models, On electric start models like this, a large battery was housed where this oil tank is currently, the O.E. oil tank was located on the right side of the engine, just above the sprocket cover. 

The battery should mount where the 
oil tank is located.

This angle emphasizes the narrow width of the Sportster. The different fender, wheel, fork springs, headlight and handle bar profile mask the O.E. appearance. 

Sportster front drum brakes were not outstanding even by 1960's standards, so the transplanted Triumph drum could have been considered an upgrade. But by 1971 Sportsters were equipped with a disc front brake, and by '76 or '77, the vintage of this model, they were equipped with dual front discs. The builder may have pieced this bike together, and the basket case he started with was missing the front wheel. Or he might have wanted an earlier vibe for this bike and the drum brake looked more traditional. Though the original Sportster drum unit was more attractive.

The exposed fork springs and the British style fender lend a more European look, but the fork has internal springs and the exposed springs are just a styling touch.

There isn't much wrong with this '76 -78 HD mill. The 1,000 cc. (61 C.I.) engine produced approx 61 hp. when stock, and they can be modified for quite a bit more output. The crankcase mounted foot pegs are a dead giveaway in dating this particular engine. The Sportster engine is an attractive unit. 

The classic Sportster gas tank is iconic, but I'm surprised that the builder didn't change this for some other type, as it strongly reinforces the traditional American look of the bike. The small 2.2 capacity has always been a sore point with Sportster aficionados. I used the "King Sportster" tank on my Sporty, which retains the same profile and mounting points. but is four or five inches wider. That tank was sold by a company named Drag Specialties, but I don't know if it is still available.

The home made carb shield will keep the rider's pant leg, and rocks and other debris from being ingested by the engine. It won't protect it from dust however.

The speedo is mounted off the original head light mount, and new handle bar clamp straps replace the larger original cast aluminum unit. The tie wrapped indicator light panel could have been handled better

Staggered dual exhaust pipes are a popular design but they contribute to the 

typical American style of the bike. 

The OHV Sportster debuted in 1957, after a couple of years as the side valve K model. The basic frame was used by the K, and continued in modified form up until '78. Then a newer tubular triangulated design based on the XLCR was adopted. The older designs used forged tube connections behind the seat that hold the fender struts and mount the top of the shock absorbers. This is a much narrower design that features the large canted forward shock absorbers. 

Shotgun pipes for rigid frame Sportster

I would like to see a different style of pipes used, maybe a shotgun style exhaust. The rear pipe may need to be modified to fit around the shock absorber. 

These are the up sweep pipes. also available from Paughco.

The up sweep pipes would also need modification. I like these pipes because they are different and break away from Sportster styling cliches. There was also a high mounted scrambler pipe that featured a single muffler used on mid Fifties Sportster XLCHs. 

Low Brow Customs makes a pretty mean looking set of shotgun pipes.

The best example of the simplicity that I desire is exemplified by a 1920 HD board track racer.

The essentials; two wheels and a motor.

This bike just grabs me emotionally.

I realize that it would be impossible to duplicate these minimalist lines in an actual street ridden machine. This board track racer has neither front or rear brakes, lighting equipment, foot pegs or even full length exhaust pipes! I find the shape of the gas tank to be so attractive. HD once built a modern bike that had a gas tank which channeled that look; the 1977 XLCR. I liked that bike so much that I even bought one!

This model also featured a unique Siamese dual exhaust.
This was also used on the regular '79 models.

I must admit that the dream of building a board tracker influenced bike has long been a huge object of my motorcycling fantasies. Even though I quit riding bikes over ten years ago because of my back injuries, and will never probably never go back to active street riding, I will often still think about building a bike.  

I have a lot of experience with Ironhead Sportsters. The early models are very simple, basic machines and they can run without electronics and a lot of extraneous wiring, relays and control boxes. The early swing arm frame can be equipped with a hard tail rear end converting it to a rigid frame.  Actually there are hard tails available for recent models also. An XLCR, or XR750 style fuel tank can be used, which will take the appearance in the proper direction. A 21 inch spoked front wheel, equipped with a single disc brake, could be mated with a 19 inch rear wheel, and would provide a light and airy appearance. That's as big as you could go in that department.

I don't know if I would ever get started on this project, as I think that it would be hard to get too excited about a vehicle that I wouldn't be likely to ever ride very much. 

However, I think that most enthusiasts have a "Fantasy garage" area in their mind. Even if it might never be filled up with desirable machinery, it helps fuel the imagination and fire up the enthusiasm, and is a great antidote to our mundane everyday lives.

As with all things, only time will tell!