Love it!
I have to agree with the articles point of view to the limit of my knowledge.
I would have to ADD something to this statement though.
("Early Evo advertisements professed that this engine would not break down, use oil, or overheat—all problems that incessantly plagued the older Harley’s. Although the Evolution engine now offered more power than its predecessors, seldom was this issue boasted about. Instead it was all about reliability. For Harley Davidson was now desperately trying to build high quality and dependability into every aspect of their motorcycles.This, my friend, is what saved Harley-Davidson’s ass.")
As much as I didn't care for A.M.F's version of Harley Davidson, If not for A.M.F pouring millions into retooling H.D. factory's the Evo never would have been built and Harley would have gone the way of Indian etc.
When the company was bought back they now had the ability to produce a reliable engine.
I remember rebuilding top ends at 40,000 or less miles and total rebuilds not to far off that mark in my miss-spent youth.
I hate to admit it but enjoyed it!
Every time I Rebuilt the motor I would change the design of my choppers.
I loved those old bikes built in my garage and painted with a spray can because I could afford fancy paint.
Nowadays I wish to hell I could just get a good paint job at the prices I considered ridiculous back then.
If I remember right a new Harley was going for under $2500.00. but that was out of my price range.
That was actually steep considering I paid about that much for 65 Galaxy convertible.
When I bought my Evo in 1989 I was still skeptical of claims of 100,00 miles.
My old 89 tour glide ultra has been a very cheap motorcycle to own over a 25 year and counting life span. And I still love the 80" evo, I have put a one step hotter (E-27 ) cam in both of them and reliability and longevity has not been compromised.
I did begin to get leaks under the rear cylinder but it didn't happen until I hit about 90,000 miles. I never put any major work into the engine except good maintenance and an oil cooler because I just couldn't make myself believe a Harley didn't need one at the time I bought my glide off the showroom floor?
I was planning to rebuild but found a new 1994 model evo for less than I could rebuild mine and paid around $3,000 for it. When you get down to the brass tacks and do the math that's a damn cheap 25 yr. old investment
Very good point you've made about A.M.F. In spite of the uproar, A.M.F. did keep Harley afloat, along with the Harley faithful customer base, which at that time was mostly Blue Collar. Harley was able to buy themselves back and then changed their target audience, but that's a whole other story, LOL!
I'll ride anything that gets me from point A to point B and back as long as I can do my own wrenching. Don't have deep pockets and can't afford to be married to any dealership. Picked up an EVO 1200 Sporty 8 yrs. ago and it's been owner friendly, no complaints here. Routine maintenance and normal repairs (battery replacement, manifold seals, voltage regulator, ignition switch) and it's still rock 'n roll.
Absolutely agreed on the addition of the oil cooler and the EV-27 cam is most definitely worth every penny for the performance gain. Slightly modified (rather than heavily modified) makes life easier ThumbUp