A few questions...

[danMichael]

I just went and checked out the bike. It was pretty cool ride. Only two things:

1. The year brake locked - something with the cylinder I'm guessing
2. The motor seemed to be pretty noisy. He said it was due to there being 4 camshafts.

Does that sound right? Should I expect a fresh motor to be on the noisy side?

Also - Any issue with a 4 speed? How fast can you run in 4th gear. Seems sort of limiting...

Thanks.

[danMichael]

Sorry - I thought I put this on my other thread. The questions above are about the 79 sportster I was checking out.

Thanks.

[Bluesssman]

The four speed will be fine for speed. The fourth gear should be 1:1 I believe. As far as the noice, what was the noise? I would not want any strange noise. I have never heard of a four cam sporty motor!

[danMichael]

Shit - see I'm not sure. I don't know anything about HD motors.

I think that's what he said, but I was sort of checking out other stuff on it...so it may not have been.

I just think the motor sounded loud. You could hear it over the exhaust anyway.

I'm not sure what the noise was or exactly how do describe it. Just sounded...loud I guess. It rode fine and I'm not really that concerned...I just wish I knew at what point to be concerned.

[Bluesssman]

What is the reason for wanting this bike? Is the price really low? There Are lots of other Harleys for sale. Personally, I would never buy a bike with a motor making any noise, especially if you can hear it over the exhaust!

[eric]

Sportster's have one cam per valve, they are also gear driven.

Eric

[Todd Achten]

I have never heard of a four cam sporty motor!

That's why they call them quad cam bastards. LOL

[hdwgfx]

Shouldn't be any internal engine noise, iron head sportsters have solid lifters (don't know about the Evo sports), 4 gear driven cams, when set up to factory specs. no noise. Could be something simple (valve adjustment, primary chain, compensator sprocket etc.) or something bad. Find someone that knows and get them to listen to it before buying it....

[BearkatBiker]

Noise could be a number of things on the ironhead. out of adjustment lifters (but this would cause engine to run bad or not at all).

Cam's weren't properly shimmed when installed. This would cause excessive noise and premature wear.

The primary chain might not be adjusted well and it could be slapping the case.

My old 74 wasn't noisey at all, other than the pipes.

--BB

[danMichael]

I'll wait on this until I find someone who is familiar with them and keep looking in the meantime.

I appreciate the help!

[jacked800]

If you go back, you might want to pull the spark plugs and make sure they are not all full of wet black oil like shit. After it's warmed up, watch for soke out the pipes. Pull the oil cap and see what the oil looks like, clean or black, smell it too. Check for oil leaks weaping around gaskets and look at the underside of the motor for drippings. John

[MechWerks]

When you don't have the experience to understand normal and abnormal engine noises...take it to a shop and have them go over it for you. The cost is well worth the experienced ears and they can recommend what else needs attention. Work out the inspection cost in advance...listen to the mechanic as you are paying for education and piece of mind.

[twinflames]

id stear clear of a noisy sporty bro...specially something round those years. could be so many different things bro....and if yer not that familiar with the engine that lo price you wanted it for could go flyin out the window as fast as it came..... for example" bro of mine tells me he got a sweet deal on a 78' sporty but its noisy so he brings it over to me to look at.....rear piston slapping....primary chain had eaten thru the case.... bad valves.....shifter prawl had been re-welded because for whatever reason it had snapped in half.... whoever welded the prawl broke teeth off the 2nd gear big gear....cam bearings thru the inner case were missing needles..." by the time i repaired it all for him he could have bought a more expensive bike that ran. and i didnt chatge him for labor...just a sixer and a couple-a-buddies havin a good time wrenchin....ya know.

just my 2cents.

[Harleyguy54]

I have an evo 883 that i changed to a 1200. The only noise from the engine should be a slight gear wine from the cams. Ever heard a gear drive cam on a car? Well if it's that loud there is something wrong, but it is the same sound. Any other noise from any ICE is not supposed to be there. As far as not knowing what your doing, take it to the dealer. F**k that. Summer's for ridin, and winter's for wrenchin. Get to know your bike and you'll understand every little noise she makes. Buy the tech. manual. Start with the easy stuff like oil changes and filter. work your way up to a complete overhaul. Follow the directions to the tee. Read everything twice before you start. If you don't understand it read it till you do. Then refer to the manual as you work. I do my own work because I'm the only one that cares about my bike. Trust me there are a lot of people being paid to work on your bike that don't even have a tech. manual. Even stupid people have to work!

[JV]

or marry a bikers daughter