G'day Fellas, I'm new to HD Forums, any help you can give me will be greatly appreciated. I'm looking to buy a 1998 XL1200S Sportster Sports. The one with the twin plugs and twin front disks. I have years of experience working on bikes, but this will be my first HD. I would really like to know the things to look out for that could be come expensive to fix later. I'll check the oil levels and condition and the service books for proof of service and kms. I'll look for oil leaks and smoke out the exhausts. Check the headers for the blue stains from getting too hot. Check the brakes and suspension for leaks. What other things should I be looking out for? Does this model have any specifiic problems? What would be a healthy cylinder compression reading? Are there any hard and fast rules to check the health and life of the engine? How do I check the drive belt and sprockets for wear and replacement? Is it possible or easy to disconnect the electronic speedo, I don't want to do this but have seen it done on cable speedo's to give a false and misleading amount of kms. I'll check the wear on the switches and the brakes rotors and see if looks right for the number of kms. Last question, phew, what tyres are you finding give the best value and miles?

Thanks in advance.

Dude

When I bought my sporty I checked pretty much everything. Brakes operation and condition,rotor condition,clutch use slow and fast release.oil leaks and color, color of the engine,string alinment of wheels to check for frame twist.checked with eyes for any other evidence of frame damage eg welds ect looking under the bike at places for scratches and repairs incase it was dropped.steering,tyres and I had the front one replaced before I bought it at the shops expense.condition of belt and sproket.cables for degradation,levers for cracks,tank for dents or repairs and checked inside for rust(look and run fingers inside to see if any residue). make sure all electricals where working. I think thats it ,
hope that helps

Buying a second hand car or bike ,its all pretty much the same people can cover anything up they dont want you to see, pretty easy but as a rule i think most people look after there H.D  and at a glance you can  tell wether someone has looked after it or not low k,s is good though, good luck

Sporster owners dont talk it up go through this forum and see how many times a non sporster owner has mentioned sporsters or mentioned something about sportster owners on the other hand check out how many times a sporster owner has mentioned anything about other models and on the other hand how many people who want to buy a H.D other than a sporster ask which model they should buy surely if your going to spend that sort of money on a bike you know what you want and you dont need someone else to tell you, very strange

I bought my 93 because it was in stock standard condition. Had a look at all the usual things, checked what bolts had spanner marks, and wether the general condition matched the k's. Mine had a new avon venom rear tyre, the front one was the standard issue which added up. Anyway, quite a few very plesurable rides on it now. As far as the vibes are concerned my other road bike is a 69 triumph, so I dont notice them!

G'day, Thanks for your replies fellas. I took your tips, made a checklist and had a look at all the things you suggested. I bought the bike. I had it serviced and checked over by K & M Motorcycles in Richmond, Adelaide. They did a fantastic job, squeezing me in so I could have new tyres fitted ready for the 500km ride home. They think it was a good buy, it just needs some TLC. I'm now the proud owner of my 1st HD and I'm certain there will be more to follow.

I had a testride (more like a joyride) on a 2007 1200 at Peter Stevens in Adelaide. I thought it vibrated more than the other bikes I had tried. I felt it vibed more than my 137cc Stihl 090 chainsaw and I can't use that for more than 1/2 an hour at a time. The salesman said he would get a tech to have a look, could be an unbalanced front tyre. I've found the 1998 to be not too bad, I just wear thick gloves, at least it's got character.

One thing I would recommend to any one looking at a second bike is ring the dept. of transport in your state and have them do a rego check, you need the rego no., vin no. and engine no., ask if they have any history on the bike like reported accidents etc.

Thanks again for your replies and help.

Dude