302williamb's 1967 Sportster full dresser

This is my 1967 Harley Davidson XLH full dresser.

Its black and white, the only color offered in 1967. It is the first year with electric start. This bike has it all, windshield, front spot lights, fender light, turn signals, front & rear crash bars, locking saddle bags, saddle bag guards, rear running lights with guards, and a luggage rack. When if ever, was the last time you saw a full dress Sportster like this one?

I've owned this bike around 20 years, had the engine & transmission rebuilt, and everything repainted and rechromed when I first bought it. I entered it in bike shows from Boston MA to Anderson SC for the next 8-10 years, and won the best stock Sportster class every time. I re-married in 2000 after being single for 25 years, so as you can imagine,

my life changed. I put this bike in storage without ever having started it, but it did have oil in it and I would kick it over periodically to keep it lubricated. As I'll be 70 on my next birthday and have pretty much lost interest my bikes, this one is next to go. I got it out last Fall and got it running, but it would not run smooth even after trying three different carbs, including a new Bendix.

This spring, lost patience and took it to a shop to see if they could repair it. Long story short, it was a combination of a periodic short in the the bottom of the distributor, and a defective new Bendix carb, (which of course V-Twin refused to take back). A different distributor and a used Keihin carb, and it runs like it should. The bike now has about 5 miles total on the rebuild.

302williamb's 1967 Sportster full dresser

This post is in these categories:

Categories