Cheap Harley?
 

Honestly not looking into getting a bike... but every time you guys start a motorcycle thread I find myself cruising craigslist out of curiosity of what is out there.
Kinda surprised to see some low dollar Harley's showing up on CL.
Are these like buying a cheap Porsche where you will spend more time and money fixing it so "buy the best Harley you can afford"?

Examples:

https://losangeles.craigslist.org/sgv/mcy/6182545376.html
https://losangeles.craigslist.org/wst/mcy/6216023623.html
https://losangeles.craigslist.org/wst/mcy/6199633947.html
https://losangeles.craigslist.org/wst/mcy/6213065178.html
https://losangeles.craigslist.org/wst/mcy/6205647970.html

and something different:

https://losangeles.craigslist.org/lac/mcy/6217792554.html

And pardon my ignorance, I have no idea what the best/worst years and models are.

I have never owned a Harley. According to those who do, Harley is similar to Porsches. Some parts can be $pendy. Also, there are models considered undesirable and others considered iconic.

My opinion, having owned two Sportsters, is to stay away from the Sportsters.
They are not a great at anything.

The 78 soft-tail looks good (to me).
The 2012 FXD for $2900 almost seems like a scam price, but then again it is fairly plain.

I like Buell's but that's the bike the done me in.
But stay away from the blasts. They're like the kawi 250's. Dime a dozen, built on a thin nickle, and small.

+1 On the shovel head. But honestly your list sucks.

We have a Road King with about 30K on the clock. It is one of the last of the carb'd Road Kings. It is absolutely utterly dead nuts reliable. It has never left either us or its previous owners anywhere nor has it ever failed to start. We've done service on it, replaced the battery when it got sluggish, and put tires on it.

Buy them in the winter. Like all summer toys, they get cheaper in the winter. I think we paid $7 or so for this when we bought it 4 or 5 years ago. Could probably sell it for that or more right now.

angela

The dyna is the only one that looks like a bargain. The rest look like problems guys are tryingto rid themselves of.

I was just going to stay away from the mid 70's AMF Harleys or commonly referred to as "Wisconson road oilers". The 12 glide does look very nice for that price....possibly a scam trying to get you to show up alone, with a pocket full of cash. Be careful, take a friend, and meet in a public place.

Yeah, just did a fast cut and paste over morning coffee.

On a Saturday morning sometimes I get on craigslist, go to motorcycles, put $5000 or less in the search and spend over an hour amusing myself, Seen a few BMW's and even a few Ducati's and of course a sea of Japanese bikes I would be more likely to throw a leg over. Just curious about the low $$ Harley's.

If I were to get another older Harley it would be another 77/78 XLCR, a little pricey but they will not be losers in the market. Supposedly the motors were dynode and the better HP were picked for these bikes. Mine always ran good and didn't leak. They look just enough different and have that café racer look. but you won't be racing them.

I talked to a guy who road raced in the 70s. They called the XLCR the "rolling chicane".

Is removing the gauges a "thing"?

I don't know jack about Harleys. However my neighbor is a Harley guy and has been riding for decades. He sold the one before the one he has now with 176K miles on it, and it ran great. The one he has now, he bought with 76K miles on it. He puts lots of weekly miles on it commuting several days at maybe 50 miles each way. Before I got to know him, I thought they were good for maybe 75K miles and were worn out.

I have owned and sold a lot of Harleys. The prices for all used Harleys have dropped out of the stratosphere in the last few years. Used Sportsters are now selling for what they sold for 20 years ago $3000-$4000.

Most people that look for a Harley are no longer interested in any pre "Evo" bike, hence the low prices for nice, older bikes.

As for reliability, the year really doesn't matter as long as it has been cared for.

There is a HD for everyone!
Some folks actually know how to ride, know a counter steer from a front brake lock up.
But most are old gray haired farts, putting dwn the road full filling thier bucket list.
They could not tell ya A Motor from a B motor , nor a K model to a whatever.
These people are possibly boring
OK, Sportsters Love em!
Trimmed right it is the ride !
Rode one from coast to coast after Vietnam.
Now, Being you are just looking.....it is hard to help you.
But most people love the Road King .
It brings the most to the table.
Springers and spaniels, hard tails, extended forks with knots are all "TT bikes ."
If your idea of a big ride is 50 miles most anything will do.
As of right now you can buy a LOT of HD for less then 5K.
You just have to know what you want.

Ok so I used your method ($5K max) and this beauty popped up. Not a HD but in the same vein. If I were living in a smaller town (Santa Barbara) I would pick this up in a heartbeat.

Honda CB550 Cafe

That Dyna is definitely a scam I bet the owner is currently serving in the military and has very poor command of the English language

I owned two... a 1972 and a 1984. I found them to be too short, and ass-numbing on long rides. Around town, they can be a decent scoot.
NFW i would have thought about coast to coast on one.

With FX & FL prices as low as they are, there's no way I would buy a sporty.

Nesscesty - Back from Nam I was not the richest soldier around..
I am sure I did what I had to do.
Looking back the bike was enjoyable, highly modified but usable.
It was probably at one time the only Sportster perhaps in the world with 5.5 gal Fat Bobs on it.
I kept it for many years.
I might have bought a "Hog" back then..but Indians Souts, Triumphs, Nortons and the like looked much more manageable at the time to me .

Oh yeah... there is no shortage of fun bikes in SoCal for sale at the under $5000 mark.

https://losangeles.craigslist.org/sfv/mcy/6201508519.html
https://losangeles.craigslist.org/lgb/mcy/6218214555.html
https://losangeles.craigslist.org/sgv/mcy/6218154485.html
https://losangeles.craigslist.org/lgb/mcy/6218154059.html
https://losangeles.craigslist.org/sfv/mcy/6218148137.html
https://losangeles.craigslist.org/wst/mcy/6218145656.html
https://losangeles.craigslist.org/sfv/mcy/6178204828.html

IF I were looking for a bike (I'm not, my next vehicle will be a sports car) it might be fun to have a weekend beach cruiser. I just turned 60 and don't see me doing any knee dragging anymore. (and yes the last one is a Duc but they are just so cool I had to look at it)

I always browse too. It is fun. Where are the fat boys on this list? I like those ...

Are fat boys even an option for someone >6' tall or is it going to look like the circus bear riding a tricycle?

G