92 1200 Engine trouble

[FLHRI_2004]

Don't lug the engine and don't let it get too hot (sitting in traffic).  Just ride it like you will ride it.   

[Panzer]

Yes sir, a little bit-O-play in the con rods.......yikes. 


I would say take it for a couple of test rides first, before you take that trip up north.
Just my .02

Good luck. 

[Pete_Vit]

responded to wrong post   

[Hossamania]

Any update on how this turned out?

[FLHRI_2004]

His connecting rod had a lot of play and a piece was broken off the piston.  He is now waiting for parts (bearings I think).  Still.

[King Inky]

Any update on how this turned out?

Yes, unfortunately I'm still waiting. I've been trying to be as patient as possible but it's now the first day of Fall and I'm still not on the road 

I called the shop about 3 weeks ago and they said they were waiting on a pinion shaft bearing that they had to special order from Harley. From what I hear, Harley is terrible at getting parts out in any sort of timely manner, but I'm not sure of how true that is. I will be calling him again on Friday if I don't hear anything before then.

[Pete_Vit]

thanks for the update, yeah, when my Stator went on my 1200 the wrench found my oil tank was cracked also, good opportunity to add some chrome   
can't get to the pix, 'no public images', but the video tells it all.
I babied the first 100 miles, did the normal ring break in, run thru the gears, downshift engine break...etc..  on my 1200 when I did the rebuild, I replaced all the tappets, so once they quite down it was good to go. so far about 15,000 on that engine and no issues.
good luck and enjoy

[King Inky]

thanks for the update, yeah, when my Stator went on my 1200 the wrench found my oil tank was cracked also, good opportunity to add some chrome   
can't get to the pix, 'no public images', but the video tells it all.
I babied the first 100 miles, did the normal ring break in, run thru the gears, downshift engine break...etc..  on my 1200 when I did the rebuild, I replaced all the tappets, so once they quite down it was good to go. so far about 15,000 on that engine and no issues.
good luck and enjoy

Oh yeah, my oil tank had the same crack as well. $150 for the better aftermarket or $200 for the Harley brand that's prone to cracking... I think you can guess which one I went with  . No extra labor costs since it's all apart so might as well fix it right! Now if I can only get my bike back before the snow starts falling...

Cheers!

[Pete_Vit]

  mine I think was from Drag, it was replaced back in 2000, still solid.
I know how your feeling, my 1200 had to be bored 20 over, after already been bored 10, so I'm at the max for those jugs, and had to wait a long time for the machine shop to get 30 over pistons for that bike, it was late October, which here in Arkansas is not so bad  most of the time

[King Inky]

IT'S BACK!!!!

Finally, after all this time, I've got the ol' girl back on the road. Of course, my luck is that the day after I picked it up from the shop we got some snowfall... oh well. This week has been in the 60's and next week looks the same so I'm getting as much use out of it as possible before it gets too cold and the snow starts sticking...

So as it turns out, the owner of the shop had some personal issues that held him up from working on the bike for a bit causing about a month delay in it. A bit upsetting, but it somewhat paid off for me in the end. He felt so bad that it got delayed and appreciated my patience with him that he went over everything on the bike and made sure it was really good for me so that I won't have to bring it back to him with anything, all while not charging me for any of the labor for that extra stuff. The only other thing I had to pay for was a new battery. Apparently the one that the previous owner had in it was the incorrect one to begin with. It was able to run the bike fine when the engine didn't have good compression, but now that it's right that battery couldn't hold the load. No big deal to me as the final price was still what he had quoted me when I first brought it to him. I'll get some pictures up in the next week or so when I get some free time (AKA, when I'm not riding  ). Can't say enough how much I appreciate the help and input from this thread. And I can't wait until this break-in period is over and I can see what this thing is truly capable of (my brother was trying to race me when I wasn't and he still couldn't pass me... he's on a 2001 Kawasaki Vulcan Drifter 800, not really a good matchup, but it was when the engine was "Potty mouth").

Ride on!

[Pete_Vit]

Nice to hear you've got it back, its frustrating sometime having to wait, those first 100 miles are critical, I'm sure the Indy told you after that  enjoy!
I can't say enough about the technical knowledge and experience of the folks in this forum, I'm right there with ya!
 

[One4Tone]

...change the oil at 500 miles to get all the break in wear out of it...take your time, keep the rpm between 2500 and 3000...good luck...and many happy miles