Hello, My name is Paul and I have made the decision to embark on a journey to bring a 1995 883 Sportster back from the dead and bring it back to life in the LSR arena. This will be a Father, Son project with Robert my 14yo gearhead.
The Bike: a 1995 XL883 Sportster that I built for my wife to ride to Sturgis in 97.The bike only has 10K mikes on it (although you would never know it by looking at it) The trip came and went and it was determined that riding wasnt for her and it hasn't been started since. The bike was stored in a newly built shed with many other bikes. A few seasons gone by, I opened the storage shed and was horrified to find out that the shed held a disturbing amount of moisture and it corroded everything. I had a Shovelhead chopper, a Ural with a side car, a Yamaha TT 600 a honda gullwing and a Honda XR600. I was able to resurect them back to their original condition except for the Sporty. The Sporty was very low on the priority list. A few moves later and it sits in the very back of the garage under a cover waiting for a time when its priority number gets called.
Fast Forward 12 years.......I just returned from SpeedWeek 2012 in Wendover with my son Robert. We spent all weekend checking out creative mechanical masterpieces. We drove there from the S.F. Bay Area. On the way home we started the brainstorming on what we could build to make some runs down the Salt.
Calling Sportster XL883.....your priority number has been called. After a dozen years in hibernation I have a use, and with a little 14 year old begging to Mom. The sporty was ours.
I realize that the 883 is not the best choice for getting a record but I look at this as a entry bike to get out there and race, When Robert turns 16 and if he feels the need he can make some runs. The other huge bonus is that the bike is FREE.
I assume that we will be running in the M-PG, M-PF, MPS-PG or MPS-PF classes or if we get really bold maybe the M-PBG or M-PBF class. As this is a work in progress design as you build who knows where we will end up.
I am fully open to all discussion, suggestions, and comments.
I will be posting pictures as we build, and letting you know what we are planning.
8-25-12:
The sportster is put on the lift. at least the tires hold air.
The Strip Down Begins:
Fuel Tank
Exhaust
Mirrors
Fenders
Lighting
Battery and box
all unnecessary brackets
wiring harness
air cleaner
My guess is that we lost 40 pounds of unnecessary crap.
Once we have everything is stripped it will under go a full degreasing and sanatizing.
Let the fun begin.
Paul