TorqueWinsRaces
New Member
- Joined
- Apr 15, 2005
- Messages
- 0
I have a 1988 FXST.The bike was wrecked by a friend of mine 3 years ago. He broke his back in several places and was paralyzed from the chest down. Tommy wanted me to have the bike, so I bought it for $2500 about 6 months after the accident. I have put about another $12k into it, but I haven't added up the receipts, so that's an estimate. Tommy died last Father's Day due to complications and I just can't bring myself to ride the bike.
Anyway...I have completely rebuilt this bike. Everything has been gone through. All new sheetmetal, new front end, wheels, everything. The only things that are not new are the engine, transmission and frame- the frame was not bent in the accident. I did go through the engine and tranny. Everything is within spec and torqued correctly using calibrated torque wrenches. I am not a Harley mechanic, but I am a good mechanic and I did everything according to the manual for the bike. It has Edelbrock Performer heads, Andrews EV-43 cam, S&S Super E carb, V&H pipes...lotsa hi-po goodies. I replaced two gears in the tranny that were chipped and I rebuilt the heads with Manley nitride-coated valves and had a 3-angle valve-job done at a machine shop. I also had them shave .050" off of the heads to bump the compression for the cam. I also installed new rings on the pistons and had the cylinders honed- although they looked great because the engine had been rebuilt before Tommy bought the bike.
The bike has not been started. I finished the bike and when I went to start it and the starter was not turning the engine fast enough to start it. I had a Harley mechanic come look at it and he diagnosed the problem as a bad starter. The bushing and bearing in the starter are bad (as he demonstrated to me), so I tend to agree with him. I have not purchased a new starter because I just don't have the motivation to do any more work on the bike. Maybe when my garage warms back up in the spring.
The engine, transmission and frame are all powdercoated. I will post some pics, but this beauty really has to be seen to be appreciated. When people come over and look at it they are just stunned. Everything is chrome-plated billet or powdercoat. All stainless braided lines and stainless braided cables. The fittings are NOT real -AN fittings, but they look great nonetheless.
If I were to sell the bike I would take $10k as it sits right now. I would not consider anything less. I am looking to trade for an equal value '86 or '87 GN or TR. I would also consider a trade for a musclecar.
There is an issue with the title and I have no idea how to resolve it. Tommy never had the bike titled in his name after he bought it (that's the short version of a long story). I was going to wait until I had it running before dealing with it because he owed about $300 in taxes due to the way Virginia does this stuff. Nobody expected Tommy to die and now that he's dead I just don't know what to do. I tried to contact the previous owner, but he didn't respond, so I'm assuming he moved. I went to DMV and they basically gave me a blank stare. Again- I have no idea how to resolve this problem and am open to suggestions. I do have the title in-hand, but it's not in my name.
I am a friend of Bryan Turner (twobryans) on this board and I'm sure he would vouch for my integrity.
My phone number is 804-543-2396 if anybody is interested. I don't check PM's here, so if you want to contact me via the internet, you can e-mail me at rhodes_properties@comcast.net.
Oh, and my name is Kevin.
Ignore the date-stamps. Sometimes I forget to set it.
Anyway...I have completely rebuilt this bike. Everything has been gone through. All new sheetmetal, new front end, wheels, everything. The only things that are not new are the engine, transmission and frame- the frame was not bent in the accident. I did go through the engine and tranny. Everything is within spec and torqued correctly using calibrated torque wrenches. I am not a Harley mechanic, but I am a good mechanic and I did everything according to the manual for the bike. It has Edelbrock Performer heads, Andrews EV-43 cam, S&S Super E carb, V&H pipes...lotsa hi-po goodies. I replaced two gears in the tranny that were chipped and I rebuilt the heads with Manley nitride-coated valves and had a 3-angle valve-job done at a machine shop. I also had them shave .050" off of the heads to bump the compression for the cam. I also installed new rings on the pistons and had the cylinders honed- although they looked great because the engine had been rebuilt before Tommy bought the bike.
The bike has not been started. I finished the bike and when I went to start it and the starter was not turning the engine fast enough to start it. I had a Harley mechanic come look at it and he diagnosed the problem as a bad starter. The bushing and bearing in the starter are bad (as he demonstrated to me), so I tend to agree with him. I have not purchased a new starter because I just don't have the motivation to do any more work on the bike. Maybe when my garage warms back up in the spring.
The engine, transmission and frame are all powdercoated. I will post some pics, but this beauty really has to be seen to be appreciated. When people come over and look at it they are just stunned. Everything is chrome-plated billet or powdercoat. All stainless braided lines and stainless braided cables. The fittings are NOT real -AN fittings, but they look great nonetheless.
If I were to sell the bike I would take $10k as it sits right now. I would not consider anything less. I am looking to trade for an equal value '86 or '87 GN or TR. I would also consider a trade for a musclecar.
There is an issue with the title and I have no idea how to resolve it. Tommy never had the bike titled in his name after he bought it (that's the short version of a long story). I was going to wait until I had it running before dealing with it because he owed about $300 in taxes due to the way Virginia does this stuff. Nobody expected Tommy to die and now that he's dead I just don't know what to do. I tried to contact the previous owner, but he didn't respond, so I'm assuming he moved. I went to DMV and they basically gave me a blank stare. Again- I have no idea how to resolve this problem and am open to suggestions. I do have the title in-hand, but it's not in my name.
I am a friend of Bryan Turner (twobryans) on this board and I'm sure he would vouch for my integrity.
My phone number is 804-543-2396 if anybody is interested. I don't check PM's here, so if you want to contact me via the internet, you can e-mail me at rhodes_properties@comcast.net.
Oh, and my name is Kevin.
Ignore the date-stamps. Sometimes I forget to set it.
