Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1980's

(Above) Chromed engine covers. polished fins and a so li d rea r wheel denote the FXSTC Sottail Custom. (Be low) The FXRD Sport Glide. (A bove) Liberty Edition FlT Electra Glide. (Below) XlH-11 00 Sportster lo ok s just like the 883; pull -back bars. seat and gauges are different. The J986 Har/eY..-Davidson lineUIl all three ca n be manufactured on th e sa me production line. In th e transmission, Harley made improvements to reduce sha ft deflection. which improved the strength of the gearbox to cope wit h the increased engine torqu e. Since these improved gears and shafts easily Cit th e 883. Harley has elected to fit th e improved gears as sta n da rd on the smaller Sportster. In d ivid u a l gear ratios , as well as primary and final gear ratios. are id entical for both Sportsters, In spite of the new model's increa sed displacement, both Sportster s use the same 34mm Keihin carburetor - with the same jetting. Also unchanged are the camshafts (a n d ca m timing), the ignition system, the timing and spark-advance curve, the ex h a u st system, the primary drive, and the clutch. The interchangeability extends to the bodywork and running gear; part numbers are the same for the frame, the front suspension, the swingarm and rear shocks, the brakes. gas tank and wheels. New parts for the 1100 XLH Sportster are res tricted to the cylinder heads and the pistons - everything else is oCCthe-shelf 883 Sportster stuff', What will be different Cor the new 1100 Sportster is performance. Harley rates the 883 Sportsrer at 53 bhp with a peak of 53 Ib.-ft. torque; the 1100 Sportster is rated at 63 bhp with 63.5 Ib.-ft. of torq ue - a difference that shou ld at least bring the big Sportster up to the performance level of H a rley's discontinued 1000cc engine. Harley enthusiasts will recognize the new FXSTC Softail Custom as a Softail vers ion of the st yling treatment that appeared on last year 's Disc Glide. As a fina l custom touch , the .frame is painted to .rnatch zhe 1100cc Sportster from Harley-Davidson By Jim Wolcott Just weeks a fter H arley-Davidson made public its all-new 883cc Evolution Sportster, th e company has an n o un ced the res t of i ts 1986 model lineup - an d has raised more than a few eyebrows with a bored-out llOOccversion ofthe 883 Sportster. Also new for 1986 will be a heavily-chromed cus- 26 tom version of the softail, a deluxe Grand Touring Sport Glide, and an optional high-tech sound system for all the touring models. Where the 883 Sportster had been targeted as an entry-level machine with a suggested retail price of $3995, the new XLH-IIOO Sports ter is an upwardly-mobi le version of Harley 's lightweight twin - tipping the showroom scales at a hef ty $5199. The pricediCCerence is reflected in standard features that are avai lable as options Cor the 883; the 1100 has both a speedometer and tachometer, Ha rley 's pillow-look dua l sea t (with Coot-pegs Cor the passenger), and blacked-out cylinders with polished fins . But what 's amazing is how little o f the II00cc engine is different Crom the 883. The added displacement is due .to a .larger cylinder. bore: the big Sportster's bore is 85.lmm, up from the 883's 76 .2mm measurement. Stroke is unchanged at 96.8mm; th e crankshaft is the same, with rebalanced flywheels to suit th e larger pistons. The cylinders are the same Cor both engines, with aluminum fins cast around a ribbed cast-iron liner. The 1100 Sportster's cylinders are literally bored-ou t versions of those on the 883. Surprisingly, the cylinder heads are different from the 883. Where the 883 uses 40.3mm intake and 34.3mm exhau st va lves. the 1100 employs heavy-breathing 47mm intake and 41 mm ex haust valves - the same va lve diameters as used on the 1340cc Evolution engine. However , the valves a re not directly interchangeable between the tw o en g i n es; the Sportster's cylinders are shorter, and , in turn, the va lve stems are shorter to suit the different ro cker geometry. But since all of Harley's Evolution engine cylinder heads share critical machining angles. a n d dimensions, burgundy bodywork. Both standard and custom Softails now use belt drive, and are fitted with five-speed gearboxes. The Grand Touring Edition Sport G lide FXRD is designed as a C llyu dressed alternative to the spartan FX RT Sport G li de, and is equipped with a travel trunk. rider and passenger Iloorboards, saddlebag guards, a nd storage compartments withi n the fairing. A new two-into-two exhaust system is fitted in p lace of the stanard model's staggered dual mufflers , Full VDO instrumentation and th e de luxe ASI Sound System are also part of the Grand Touring Edition package. Harley-Davidson considers their new ASI Sound System to be an important part of their new touring models; Harley rea lized they were losing a segment of the touring market to competing motorcycles with sophisticated built-in sound systems. The unit features an AMI FM /CB radio, an auto -reverse cassette deck with Dol by and metal capability, and an amplifier rated at 40 watts. Accordi ng to Harley, most control functions can be selected with h an dl eba r-m o u nted switches, and all controls are illuminated for fumble-free use after dark. Also new for the Harley-Davidson lineup are limited prod uction Li berty Edition models of the XLH-l l oo Sports ter, the FX RS Low Rider, and the FLT Electra G lide; the machines featu re a special paint sche me wi th Li bert y Edi tion graphics. H a rl eyDavidso n will donate $ 100 from th e sale of each machine toward the restoration of the Statue of Liberty, and expects to raise $175,000 th rough the sales of these specia l models. Look for a full test of the XL H1100 Sp o rt ster in a fut u re iss ue or Gyc~e. New3. , .. • • • _ •

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