1962 Sportster - Barn Find

[hennesse]

Hi,

I found this 1962 XLCH which I am considering picking up if the price is right - and I would appreciate any comments about the price range I should pay for it.

The first owner was the brother of the previous owner of my 54 KH. He sold it to his best friend around 1990, and it has been parked ever since. It has been stored indoors. The gas tank was drained and is not rusty, and the oil is clean - it appears that it was prepped for storage. It kicks over nicely, but no spark from the mag.

The fenders are uncut, but the bottom of the front is bent a bit. Small dents in the top of the rear. The generator and regulator are missing. The horn is missing. The speedo is missing the odometer numbers. It has the solo seat (off the bike), and the plunger/spring setup, which is on the bike. The shocks are unusual.

I spoke to the original owner, and he said he used to race it at Summit Point, WV - hence the removal of the gen and horn - which are long gone. He said it has a wet clutch, close-ratio trans gears, and the DC-10 carb modified. Runs good when wide open - needs de-tuning for street use. The box of spare parts has an extra DC-10, a "Christmas tree" of trans sprockets, and the usual detritus.

I spoke to a number of people, and the general consensus was $1500 to $1800.
Too much? Too little? About right?

Thanks,
Dave

[MTaylor]

I would certainly but it for that price. In heartbeat.

This is all old stuff, but I think the key factors in buying an old Sportster that you intend to restore or make as original as possible are as follows:

* Is the frame original to the bike (does it have the right date code)?
* Is the frame unmolested? (check to see if the seat posts have been welded solid) edit--if it has the seat springs and plunger set-up, the tubes should be fine
* Do the engine belly numbers (line bore numbers) match?
* Is the Speedo drive hole still there? Edit: Since the speedo is hooked up, there is a high probability the speedo drive is fine

Whatever else you have, you really need those four factors going for you before you start a restoration. It doesn't matter how much money you pour into the bike if you don't have those fundamentals.

The next thing to look for is obvious as well: Have the cases been repaired and if so how bad was the damage and how good is the repairs?

For me, at least, well done repairs aren't necessarily a deal breaker, but they are certainly a factor.

I think any XLCH that passes these tests is worth a minimum two grand, at least I'd pay that much for just about any Sportster up to 1969.

After that, the presence of original parts comes into play.

The horn is a tough find. You also want to check the gas tank to see if it is the early (two bung) model). Since on this forum I can see the picture while I'm typing the post without opening a new window, I have to go on memory (not a good thing--I'm old and running on fumes). But other key parts include the correct headlight and so on, but in the price range you're talking none of these should be a deal breaker.

I just went back and looked at the pictures again, and this bike has a lot of rare original parts. If the motor checks out, I'd probably go as high as four grand it and perhaps on inspection a good bit higher.

[EKHKHK56]

It looks like a nice project, good description of what to look at by MTaylor. (If you are trying to start it fresh gas and the points would be my first choice to look for getting spark, check circuit/points with ohm meter, set gap...) It would be good to be able to run it to check the engine and trans. Good Luck!

[hennesse]

Guys - thanks for all the pointers.

* Is the frame original to the bike (does it have the right date code)?
* Do the engine belly numbers (line bore numbers) match?

I need to check out those two - I was unprepared when I looked at it.

The horn is a tough find.

Scott L. said that it should have the "swiss cheese" horn. The Legend Begins shows the "eagle" style horn in the photo for the 1962 XLCH. TLB is sometimes wrong - HD often sent a semi-prototype bike to Pohlman Studios for the advertising photos. For instance, check out the tank decals on the two girl-boy Pohlman photos on http://www.harleyhummerclub.org/restore/chapter24/index.html. Oops! Anyway, what's your opinion on the 1962 horn?

You also want to check the gas tank to see if it is the early (two bung) model).

I was totally unaware of this. Where's the second bung?

I just went back and looked at the pictures again, and this bike has a lot of rare original parts. If the motor checks out, I'd probably go as high as four grand it and perhaps on inspection a good bit higher.

His "fishing" asking price was $3500, but I found out his real asking price is 3 grand. I thought that was too high, but now I'm getting a much better feeling about it. I'll try and get up to see it again next week - this time prepared with a list of things to look for.

Thanks again!
Dave

[MTaylor]

If you flip the tank upside down, there will be the normal petcock bung in about the center on the left side. If it is a real 65 and earlier XLCH tank, it will have a second bung near the narrow end of the tank on the bottom right. This tank is one of the more difficult items to find when properly restoring an early Sportster. I believe the second bung is a vestigial organ from the early days on a Harley hummer and KR.

Side note--recently I've seen two pictures of tanks with two bungs and the Tillotson vent. Has anyone hear of such thing? Are these perhaps early 1966 tanks or something else?

Looking again at the picture it appears the 62 you're looking at has the rare GoodYear Grasshoppers tires. This bike could be a very nice find.

[hennesse]

If you flip the tank upside down, there will be the normal petcock bung in about the center on the left side. If it is a real 65 and earlier XLCH tank, it will have a second bung near the narrow end of the tank on the bottom right. This tank is one of the more difficult items to find when properly restoring an early Sportster. I believe the second bung is a vestigial organ from the early days on a Harley hummer and KR.

It is a vestigal Hummer bung - the Hummer (all variants) had the bung at the (driver's) left rear - that's the right rear when the tank is upside down. See, http://www.harleyhummerclub.org/restore/chapter69/

Looking again at the picture it appears the 62 you're looking at has the rare GoodYear Grasshoppers tires. This bike could be a very nice find.

The tires are good shape with lots of tread. The aluminum "dirtcatcher" wheels are in pretty nice shape too. The Legend Begins shows the "Champion Aluminum Wheels" as optional starting in 1961.

[MTaylor]

The rims were available as of June of 1960.

[mikeslemmon]

good deal for 3000 the rear shocks are worth a small fortune most of the hard to find stuff is there

[MTaylor]

So, did you get it?

[hennesse]

No word yet. I called him last week and left a message. Called him tonight and left another. Either I made him mad with my first offer, or he's on vacation. If I don't hear from him this week, I'll drive up to his place next weekend, and see if he's home.

Meanwhile, my buddy says he thinks he has one of the swiss cheese horns. What kind of price range would you think it should go for? Of course, I need to have a place to hang it first...

Dave