I was glad to see an episode about the XLCH. My older brother brought a new 1961 XLCH. He worked out of town so it kinda became mine. I did make a few payments on it. When he would get a few days at home he would call and ask if he could ride his motorcycle. I loved riding the XLCH. I got drafted in November 1965 and early in 1966 I got a letter from my mother telling me that my brother had sold my motorcycle. Starting it was hard during cold weather. I had to choke it until it spit back through the carburetor then it would start on the next kick. When it was cold it took a lot of kicks before it would spit back. The choke was operated by a lever on the carburetor.
So Cool watching this bringing these bikes back to life. Reminds me of wrenching on my '72 XLCH with a rare '72 XLH "H" Gas tank. Holds an extra gallon! Got the original tank too. All painted in black Imron. Lots of chrome. Kicker baby. Until I replaced the wratchet gear, I watched many a friend get that famous "sportster knee", when it would miss with nothing there, all the way down, & bean the side their knee on the corner of the oil tank & cap. All would cry out in agony, me included. Brings back memories. Tku guy's for preserving history & the old steel! Bless you! Hope you faired well with the hurricanes & flooding?
I would almost sell my soul for a sportster like that one or a mid to late 70s Super glide ! I know that was when the American Mess-up and F-up company ran HD, but some of those bikes were jewels. Just required a man to have mechanical knowledge and skill to keep them right, and there's nothing wrong with that!
I had a '69 XLCH in boxes for five years before I got around to frame-up rebuild. Whatever wasn't chromed or re-chromed was painted. The frame and brake housings were '73 Pontiac Grand Prix Castilian Bronze under a Corvette Cream gas, oil tank, and fenders. Engine and tranny was completely gone through. New magneto with a 38-mm Mikuni carb feeding the juice. New "Buckhorns" and a sprung solo seat with "Ride to Live, Live to Ride" stitched, which was embossed into my arse after a trip from Atlanta, Georgia to Manhattan, Kansas and back. Good memories seeing this '69 coming to life again.
We are in Lebanon now at the height of the war. Everyone around is busy with the events of the war, how many martyrs and how many wounded, and I am watching the prince of repair .. wheels through time thanks you
Love those old xlch’s. Spent the last few months slowly getting closer to restoring my dads 69 xlch. He hadn’t ridden it since 91. Got it when my great uncle/ his uncle who he was rather close too passed away in 85 and gave it to him. Since the day I was born I’ve only ever seen it collecting dust it the back of the garage. finally got old enough and saved enough to see if I couldn’t surprise him and get it back into good shape for him and my grandpa.
I have started and rode my friend’s 1964 Sportster XLCH. These days I own and ride a 2007 Sportster 1200 Custom. My first Sportster wasa 1986 883 Sportster which was a great bike.
Haven't seen anything in the news specifically about Wheels Through Time suffering extensive damage from the Helene precipitated flooding, surprisingly since the museum is in VERY, VERY close proximity to Jonathans Creek, (a bridge over the creek essentially being the very entrance to the museum). Hoping and praying all are safe, and damage to the property is minimal, and that recovery / restoration will be quick and relatively painless. Oh, and WOW, you guys are a long way from home.
If a sign has viewing interests on both sides, mount it in a frame on top of a post with a base to set in on floor for display at eye level, instead of placing on wall with only one side to view.
"SPORTSTER NATION" I like it! Matt, don't give up on the old Ironheads brother. Still have my 1970 XLCH and love it to pieces.......;. Uhm.......Literally. In 3 boxes right now! Great find!
I know you know this, you just misspoke without realizing in regard to what on and off is for a mag ignition and what on and off is for a common switch you'd find on the shelf. On for a toggle switch is the completion of the circuit between the two poles. The circuit that the toggle switch is connected to is a path to ground that shorts out the ignition. So in order for the ignition to be turned off, the switch has to be in the on position shorting out the ignition via a path to negative/ground.
In 1970 I had a 1963 xlch with a magneto and it caught on fire at a gas station when I spilled gas on the tank I also would get shocked riding in the rain. Learned the hard way about good plug boots. Thanks for bringing back memories of sportster knee and mags. God bless America 🇺🇸 🙏
4:58 I feel that my guy. Letting go of some projects my Dad started and I couldn't finish. Right in the feels..... 20 years to the day of this comment, miss you Dad.
My grandfather owned a Crocker dealership in Johnstown PA. I have a picture of him on a big tank model in my office. Can’t wait to make a trip down to see you guys.
Awesome work team!! Long live the Sportster Nation!! (This "attaboy" was added by a 65 y/o owner of his soon to be paid off dream bike; a 2019 XL1200X)
Love your channel you guys are making me want an older bike every time I watch. Never know maybe it will work out for me in November. Keep up with the awesome content.
As I recall, my brother bought a new XLCH in '65. Many a winter morning that thing tested his patience and his knee. It was a kickstart only; as I recall '66 was the first electric start. The '65 couldn't be converted to electric; the case wasn't made to accept an electric start. Of course, at 77 years of age, my memory changes each day. He moved on in 2020 so he can't confirm. Oh, yeah, having a magneto didn't help a bit. Every time I rode my Sportster Sport I thought about him. Sittin' here thinking about this, so's going to add that he sold it in 1981 for more than he paid for it.
Was ridin down a local road and witnessed a man pushing a complete stock Kawasaki 500 two stroke down his driveway wth a for sale sign taped to the headlight complete with a inch of dust ......he said yeah it needs cleaned up so i only want 13,500 for it. Thanks so much to the interweb and pickers TV
just made a trip down to see "wheels through time" from Ont Canada on my 04 RK, 19th of Sept., what a place to see. and the wealth of knowledge, this is a must-see for any bike lover, BTW the raffle bike is mine ;), I can feel it.
My dad was a DDay veteran. He was wounded 3 times. When he got home he went to buy a Harley. He test drove it, it caught on fire and he laid in down in the sand. It burnt his inner thigh and he never got on another motorcycle for the rest of his life. I like motorcycles.
You just took Me Back to Good times With My Ex Brother in Law and a Young Pre Teen Boy's Love of The Early Iron Head Sporty's !!!! Thanks Young Men!!! You GuyAre The Best!!!
Reminds me of the one I had, I bought it in 1979ish, It was a 1969 XLCH but it was converted to a hard tail, custom seat, custom tank, springer front end, no-rise drag style handlebar. The first thing I did was to reinstall the shocks which had been replace by solid bars.
My buddy and I had Sportsters in the early '70s. The nomenclature at the time had two model numbers: XLCH, and the XLH, the ONLY difference was that the XLH had an electric starter. The heads were sent to Jerry Branch to get ported and polished, and immediately put a Mikuni carb on there
Years ago I was cruising along on my 68 Sportster and felt my right leg getting warm. I looked down to see and it was on fire so I slid it over into the ditch and threw dirt on it to put it out.
The 900 Sportsters were what kept H-D alive during the British invasion when the big twins weren't selling as well. They're easier to work on than a big twin. Parts are cheap and easy to find, they're good looking, perform great, handle great and they get good gas mileage considering their displacement. The only drawback is when you get old those high compression engines are difficult to kick.
Man I've never really been into bikes of any kind but watching your videos and bringing my dad's 75 Sprotster back to life has gotten me intrested and have been considering earning my license and starting to ride. But I find myself not liking any of the modern bikes and I find my interest is centering around a WL or a Servicar for some insane reason. Keep up the videos!
