Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1980's

(Above) Old cast-ron top-end is on left. new aluminum version on the right. (Below) Three-tier rocker box allows for easy service. new engine, the tem pera tu re of th e camsha ft cover and th e cams haft drive gears is held co ns ta nt during machin ing, an d individua l gea r an d cover sets a re co m p u ter-ma tche d before assem bly. The new closer to lerances mean lo nger life and q uieter opera tion. T he h ydraulic lifters a lso elim inate much o f th e Sportster 's valv etrain clatter (tho ug h the wh in e o f th e ' four ca m gea rs is still a udible to Sportster con no isseu rs), wh ich makes it easier for th e en gine to pass th e stringent 1986-m odel 80 db(A) no ise speci fication. Also in th e noise department. the a ir-clea ner housing ha s been cha nged to reduce the intake howl crea ted by two large-di splacement cylinders. The new housing is made o f molded . pl asti c, with an internal labyrinth to muffle intake pulses. Since th e h ydraul ic lifter s req ui re a , portion o f th e oil su p p ly to opera te. the Gerotor oil pump was widened for a 50% gr eater oil feed capacity. The ro u tin g for th e oil system is also different: where the old Sportster's oil filt er cleaned th e sca venge oil on its way to the tank , th e new engine filters its oil on the way into th e engine. From the filter, oil feeds the crankshaft and lifters. The push rods are hollow, and oil travels from the lifters through the push rods to lub-. ricate the rocker shafts and va lves. The oil tank is fitted with a handy drain hose - no more balancing acts with funnels during oil changes. A triple-row primary chain links the crankshaft with the clutch basket, with the same diaphragm-spring clutch as on last year's Sportster. A ball-and-ramp system actuates the clutch . an d the clutch cable has been relocated to the bottom of th e prima ry case. As on last year's machine, the alternator is mounted behind the cI utch basket. T hough there was co nsidera ble specu la tio n that th e new down sized engi ne wo u ld be fitted with a fivespeed gea rbox, the Evolu tion Sportster uses th e sa me fo ur -speed transmi ssion as before. Gear ratios are un cha nged: th e on ly su bstan tia l cha nge is tha t the gea r pockets (which rece ive adjacent gear dogs ) are sha llo wer to strengthe n th e gears. Accord ing to H arl ey, th is gearbo x is bu ilt to tighter tol erances, with more a ttentio n pa id to sh im min g an d set-up a t th e manufacturin g level. A pin a ttached to th e sh ifter pl at e triggers th e neutral ind ica to r light: a first for th e Sportster . T here are n o cus hions or damper s a ny w he re in th e engi ne drivel in e. The frame is sim ilar to p revious Sportsters, with revisions to th e for wa rd engine mounts to sui t th e new _powerplant. T he backbone o f th e frame ha s been a ltered so th e head s. cylinder s and pi stons can be serviced with th e engine in the frame. T he frame an d swingarm are fin ished in black powder-coat paint. The bottom lin e for any new engine is performance, a n d the obvious question is how the 883cc Evolution.. engined Sportster compares with last year's 1000cc version. According to Harley, the aluminum cylinder heads, aluminum cylinders . im p ro ved combustion ch ambers and tighter piston clearances mak e for a longer lasting and coo ler-ru n n in g engine. Maintenance has been reduced and sim p lified : thanks to th e hydraulic lifters, factory-recommended maintenance intervals have been increa sed from 2500 to 5000 miles. There's no doubt th at the new en gine is quieter - after all , the mach in e is built to compl y with th e strin gent 1986 noise limits. The h ydraulic lifters, complex intake bafflin g a nd th e exha ust system all mak e contribu tions, but, th ankfully, th e (Above) Evolution cylinder head has an oval combustion chamber. Note spark plug placement. (Below) Crankshaft employs fork-and-spade rods. Sportster so u n d is sti ll there . . . tho ug h it has a much so fter edge. T he new engine p roduces 53 lb.-ft. of to rq ue a t 4000 rpm - down from th e 58 lb.-ft. figure of th e 1000cc engine . Ha rley won 't com m it to a h or sepower figure for ei ther engine . but supp lied a graph th at shows th e new 883cc engine would mak e mor e power tha n th e old 1000cc eng ine if th e lar ger engine were strangled down to th e 80 db(A) n oise limit: th a t' s a pol ite wa y of say ing it doe sn' t make as much power. T here is one a rea wh ere th e new ~83 Sportster deci sivel y co nq ue rs its predecessor : ret ail price. The new bik e will appear in the sh owrooms with a $3995 p rice tag - a fu ll $700 less than las t year 's look-al ike XLX -61 Sportster. • Nex t , week: ridin g th e new 883cc Sportster. Harley-Davidson 883 Evolution Sportster Engine type . . . Air-cooled. OHV. four-stroke V-twin Bore x stroke 76.2x96.8mm Displacement '. . 883cc Compression ratio ....•.. 9.0:1 Carburetion . . .. .• 34mm Keihin Horsepower •..... ..... • • • • NA Torque .. 53 lb.-ft. @ 4000 rpm Valves per cylinder • . • • • . • . •. 2 Intake valve size . . . .. 1 .587 in. Exhaust valve size • . '. . 1.351 in. Intake lift • . . . . • . . . . . . 11.8mm Exhaust lift 10.6mm Included valve angle. . • • • •. 58° Intake valve timing • ••• 1 °_42.5° Exhaust valve timing . •• • 39.5°17.5° (measuring pt.) 1 .2mm Ignition . •..• ....... . Electronic Lubrication. . . . . . . . . . Dry sump Redline 6000 rpm rpm@ 60 mph 3150 rpm Gear ratios Primary . . . •• ••• 1.74:1 (34/59) Final . • • • •••••• 2.29:1 (2,1/48) 4th .. .. • • ••. • 1.00:1 (17/27) 3rd 1.38:1 (23/20) 2nd _.. 1.83:1 (20/23) 1st • • • • . • • • . . . 2 .52:1 (17/27) Freme . . . . • • • . . . . . . . Mild steel Calculated speed in gears at redline 4th 114 mph 3rd . . . ... •. . . , 83 mph 2nd 62 mph 1st .. . . . . .. • • .•• .. .. • 45 mph Rake . ... . ... . . . .•. . ... 29.7° Trail. •. . . . .. . .. . : 4.5 in. Front suspension type Telescopic fork Fork tube diameter • • •• • . 37mm Front wheel travel : 6 .9 in . Rear suspension type ; • • •• Dualshock swingarm Rear wheel travel ..•... 3.25 in . Front brakes ..• • • •• '. . • 11 .5 in. Raar brakes .. •. ••••... 11 .5 in . Front wheel . '. . .. . 19x2.15 cast aluminum Rear wheel ..• •... 16x3.00 cast aluminum Front tire • . . . •• • • • • . MJ90x19 Rear tire .. .... ••.•• • MT90x16 Dry weight •. •. •• • • •• . .466 Ibs. Wheelbasa .... •. • •.• •• 60.0 in. Fuel capacity .• • . ••. •• 2.25 gal. Ground clearance 6.7 in . Seat height 29 in. GVWR 900 lb. Colors Black. red $3995 Retail price 29

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