Harley-Davidson Evolution is the Most Bang for the Money 

Would you go with the Evo for a used motorcycle and put some power in it or choose to get a early twin cam and upgrade all the necessary components?

Began with a brand new 96’ Evo and had 4 Twin Cams afterwards. I’m back on a 96’ Evo I bought a few years ago. Love this bike. I’m 63 this year and will ride this old girl till the end.

I bought a 99 Softail Custom 13 years ago with 18,000 miles on it. It was completely stock except for the Chrome Harley stuff the first owner had put on it. I am 82 years old, and have 64,000 on it now. It has been very reliable. I replaced the stator, and the inner cam bearing for peace of mind. That is about it. It just keeps running great. I am no hot rodder which probably is a good thing. Not that I do not ride it 85 mph some days for a while, but I do not do burn outs and things that stress the bike. I almost always warm it up some before I ride it, and as such have no leak issues. I love the simplicity of the EVO. You can change carb jets in about 10 minutes without removing the carb. It is just one of those things that gives confidence that it will get you where you want to go. I use to ride 200 mile days about once a week. Now I just ride around where I live for half an hour or so almost every day weather permitting. The Softail is a super comfortable machine. I have a bad back, but the stock pillow seat is very comfortable along with the pull back buckhorn bars. I have owned and ridden lots of bikes since my first Harley, a 1942 "45" flat head when I was 14 back in 1955. I rode an 84 Iron Head Sportster for 23 years. But this EVO powered 99 Softail Custom is the cream of the crop. I have no desire for the new ones. Mine is garage kept, and in immaculate condition. Harley's Chrome and paint is as good as you will find anywhere. To say I love this bike is an understatement. A carbed stock EVO is as good as it gets. Plenty of power for this old man who just likes cruising the back roads and listening to the music of the drag pipes that never goes away. Who needs a radio anyway. I ride with a helmet and goggles and without a windshield 99 percent of the time. I bought it on e-bay for $7,100 in 2009.

EVO is Iconinc , best motor ever built .

100% agree....The Evo engine is the small block Chevrolet of motorcycle engines...

Bought my 1996 dyna for $3450, with 46k on it, slapped a cam and tuned the carb up. Zero regrets and its actually got quite a bit of power for what it is.

Harley did research and development on the EVO for years and put millions of miles testing it.

Just bought a 95 road king with 16k miles. I LOVE THE EVO!!! This bike will never get away!

Great video!! I’m still loving the 84 soft tail I ride, it was my dads favorite bike, god rest his soul. He bought it in 1986, now I enjoy it. I was 16 when dad got that evo soft tail, He taught me to ride with that bike. Now I have it. Miss you dad, love you dad. Great video!!! Thank you for the great video. My dad would have so loved this video.

Ran a '85 EVO for 22 years with 54K miles. The transmission had some issues but resolved in first 3K miles. Great bike! Had Shovels, Sportsters and Twin Cams too. The EVO is so, so simple, easy to wrench and cheap to maintain... just like what shared here.

Agreed... I have 1992 fxsts evo with 89,543 miles and she still runs like a swiss watch..🤘

Last year I picked up a cream puff 1990 FXR with a fresh top end for $4k.

Evo is hands down the best bet for your first harley in my opinion.

Keep bringing the evo videos. Love em

I've been riding for a very long time. I ride a stock '99 Heritage Springer. Bought it from the original owner with low miles. Can't beat that motor, it's bulletproof.

They are the best. I have a 87 dresser and a 97 Dyna. They also sound better than the newer bikes.

I love my evo! Simple and reliable, ‘98 Electra glide classic with 38k miles…

Just added my 4th evo powered bike to my garage. Stripped down 1995 electraglide. 96" s&s stroker crank and cases. S.e. cylinder heads. K.b. pistons. Sputh trans case, andrews gears, Barnett clutch, newer style saddle bags, lepera seat, avon tires, Plus a bunch more stuff. This bike will smoke the back tire endlessly. With the bike came all the original parts also. Wheels brakes bags seat handlebars fenders. I picked it up at local harley dealer. $5,000with taxes out the door.

Owned several used 1340 Evos over the last 20 years and still run a 98 Wideglide with 43,000 on the clock. Equipped with a Super E carb. Clean oils every year. Still runs great and mechanically quiet. Love it !

I love my EVO and it has 118k on it with new jugs and pistons and freshened heads for a rebuild recently. It has an EV27 and doesn’t burn a drop of oil. 1999 Springer Custom.

I have a 1988 heritage Softail classic along with a 2015 street glide special. I use the Evo for local rides and the street glide when I am touring out of state. I have owned the Evo since 2001 and I really enjoy riding it. The evos are hard to find as people from overseas have agents in the u.s buying them and shipping them overseas as the demand is high because the epa standards are based on the year, so they can get them registered easy overseas and the availability of parts is readily available overseas also. If you are mechanically inclined the Evo is the way to go if you want to ride, but you have to remember a Evo is a 1340 cc motor with a 5 speed transmission.

I am from Germany and had my first Big twin experencies in the early 90 s . Wahtever , I bought in September 2021 a 2002 Dyna Wide Glide , imported from the United States . Luckily the Camshafts had been removed , and S+S Geardriven Cams had been installed . I had to do little work to put the Bike in a good condfition . In April 2022 my son bought a1997 FXSTC from the same Dealer from where I had mine . We fixed it , because there were some Issues . While that we installed a EV27 Camshaft and changde the Main Jet to a195 cause there are V+H Pipes installed . The Bike runs very well . Okay , to keep it short , my son and i Changed the Bikes because he liked the upright posotition on the 88 Dyna and the oppotunity to increase more power for few money . To me it was perfect because i got the Bike with Motor i ever wanted . Evo in Germany is soooo much expensive , Twin cam is always 1,5 -2k cheaper . Greetings from old Europe , wish you a nice Christmas time . Sorry for my broken english .

TCs and M8s will soon be obsolete. Evos, Shovels, Pans, Knuckles and Flatheads will be around forever. Evos are by far the best HD engine ever built.

head breather evos. and 103 twin cams.. arguably the best 2 engines harley ever produced.. easy 100k motors. normal maintenance, maybe some gaskets here and there. and they run forever. i love my evo.

I bought my 96 FLHRI from a friend of mine last year for $2,800. He was the second owner and it only had 30, 000 miles on it. After a few months the Magneti Morelli system started failing. I ditched the ECM, the injection system, manifold air cleaner, gas tank guts and I replaced it with a Mikuni hs2, Ultima ignition and did a little wiring work. It's been a great bike so far. Best thing about it is unlike my Panhead it has the "electric leg."

Just bought a 94 heritage with 50,000 miles. After research and watching this guys videos I feel like I got a great deal for 4400 dollars . Stock seat and carb well taken care of

Absolutely right on Gix. I've had 5 evo softails over the years. I still have my last one since new in 99... I'm old now. Figured I'd get something easier on my bones for longer rides. Found an immaculate 98 FHLP with only 6K on the clock for 6K dollars. It was worth the 12 hour ride (each way) to get it. Wouldn't trade it for all the tea in............ or any of the new 35K+ rigs I see here at the local dealership. I'll be happy with my two evo's till the day I die...... Thanks for all your insightful videos.

I bought my 97 FLHR new. I'm so glad I didn't trade mine 4 Twinkie when they first came out.

It took me 30yrs to warm up to the Evo from a shovel. Now, I wouldn't trade my '97 Wideglide with 41,000 on it for anything. I even keep a spare engine on the bench for just in case. It also gives my '72 FLHP a well deserved break.

My 98 Dynas @ 99,600 miles rebuilt it at 60,000 put an Andrews EV 27 and Keith Black pistons and she still runs great. Nice motors and fairly easy to wrench on.

Out of all the motorcycle videos that I watch I like yours the best. thank you for all the work and sharing of the videos JT

Love your content bro, many people love the evo, and you made all the points why. I've owned everything from 80" shovels, evo's, ride a '14 103" tc because i got a good deal on a 10k mile Street Glide, but the evo takes the cake for simplicity, coming from someone who does 99% of my own wrenching you can't beat the evolution engine.

EVO 1996-1999 is the way to go! I put 156,000 on my last EVO with nothing done to motor! Totaled 😢 but still running great. Went got a new 2009 for insurance money. 😊

Got a 91 Dyna wide glide and never looked back ....or ahead....still ride it.

I am the 3rd owner of a mint condition black 1998 Road King Classic EVO with 25,500 kms (15,800 miles) and have owned it since May 2019. There is not a day goes by that I don't have an offer to sell when I'm out riding and stop somewhere. It's totally stock other than a K&N air filter and a set of V&H slip ons. I love this bike and will drive it until I can no longer lift it off the kickstand!!! I think I will put it in my will and leave to to my 43 yr old son!!!

I had a 1988 electric glide that I rode for 30 years, yes I did the top in twice, in which I replace push rods and lifters, but I got 167,000 miles out of that bike before I had to get into the bottom end. Once I got that taken care of I sold it for 6500. The bike was only 12 grand new, and I’ve been missing it ever cents. I had a couple of 80 eights twin cams pain in the ass, I am definitely getting back into a use Evo, Also picking up a 103 street glide this year. The hell with the new stuff right now can’t afford it

When I needed to replace the motor on my FXRS, I chose an S&S Evo, an 80", and am really happy with it. Smooth running, good power, and does what it needs to do.

The Harley Evolution motor, has been the best motor the MoCo has ever produced.

I have got a 1981 wide glide shovel and while I have done a few mods and a few upgrades I still have the 80 cube basics but I just wanted to say that with a bit of work you can get your shovel just as powerful and just as reliable, and I know that I'm probably going to get the EVO guys telling me how the same amount of work on the evo they are going to be stronger and faster, but if you don't mind a Spanner then I still say the shovel with better barrels as in more fins and a port and valve job in my humble opinion they have that iconic note and they are pretty good as long as they are serviced.

I agree. EVO’s were the best of big twins. The last couple of years were the best of that run. The trans they pit in those were tuff. They used that gear set went all the way till the six speed.

I bought my 3rd bike at the beginning on last season. I started on a Honda then a sporty and wanted someone bigger. Got an evo dyna with 74k miles. Runs better then my Honda did. I’ve got it ip to about 80k now love it

Evo all the way for me , left the twin cam for an Evo and have not looked back.

I've had my 1990 fat boy years ..only time when wrong was when I let the battery go flat, was used as a club bike 5 years so i done a lot of miles on it , regards Richard London UK 🇬🇧

Been to West VA,Nags Head NC,and clear across rt 6 Clark Summit PA to Erie PA ON A 91 Sportster Kept up with every FX I was riding with.

I waited and waited.. finally came across a 98 heritage that was a former show bike for 3k. That had 9600 miles. The owner told me he spent 5k on paint and 5k in the engine and probably 5k on chrome..he said he only rode it maybe 50 a year for the last 19 years. Has screamin eagle heads and mikuni carb. I had to rebuild the carb and replace the battery and a back tire. Changed all the fluids and it runs like a chap. Now I'm looking for and original paint set to get rid of the 90s custom paint. My dream bike

The last evo powered sportster was built November 18 the FYI ! Your absolutely correct EVO bikes Rule ! Bolt in parts are also Ok but do some real hotrod work & you can start making all those guys that got TC & M8 bikes thinking they made a mistake spending the 30 grand or so they spent when somebody on an 80 cu in evo just put them in their place ! EVOs RULE ! An will last longer & take more abuse then any other Harley !

I have a 1998 FLHRCI Road King Classic. I got it cheap and very low miles . Looks like it just came out of the showroom BUT it's got the Magneti Marelli system on it. I watched your video from last year about converting to carb or Delphi. Had I known at the time I bought it about the MM system I probably would have passed on it because of exactly what you said in this video. The Zipper's Delphi kit is $2500 and the main sticking point with converting to carbs is the nearly non existent carb harness (32453-97 is the only one that works without modification on my bike). Luckily the bike came with the Service, Parts, and Electrical manuals and I have found all of the correct connectors so if mine ever goes out I'll make the harness and go the carb route because most of the MM parts just aren't available new and used parts are often unreliable or priced like collectors items. So just as you said in the video if you find an EVO bike with the MM system and can't do electrical work it's best to just avoid it.

Now you gonna blow up the EVO market , Lol , And when Harley marketing finds out more and more people are buying used bikes, they might just stop making parts for Evo engines. A lot of unrelated factories / products use this mindset, of getting rid of parts !

I agree . 1990 softail, also 1994 ultra !! Whoooooo love them . And I’m not in debt

Got me a small 883 evo not to long ago for 2500 mint condition bike man I love it

For me, BEST VID EVER! Look at $5000 EVO's everyday day. The true Harley Biker experience, buy em, ride em, and park em on your full lift and wrench all the time. "My World" 🇺🇸

Love my FXR with over 100k miles. If I could change anything I would look to put a 6 speed in it!

My first Evo, I bought brand new, 1984 883 hugger sportster. I rode that bike all across the country, put 200k on the engine and sold it for 2 grand more than 8 paid for it so I got my money back for the all stainless braided lines I installed , the new primary chain and tensioner, and the cushy seats I put on it, otherwise it was all origional and never split the cases or had the heads off! It never smoked, leaked, or anything else bad, in fact it ran as good as the day 8 bought it off the showroom floor. Oh and I did put a screaming eagle carb on it as a tasteful power upgrade and slashcuts with minimal modified baffles. Great bike and I would not hesitate to buy another in fact I'm looking at an 86 lowrider right now, another bike that I once owned that was stolen but now have the chance to own again🤙👍

Have not always agreed with you, but this time I will. EVOs had an incredible drivetrain and flaws were few and rare. When TCs came out in 99, buyers were probably expecting an improved EVO, but they were wrong, so wrong. I cannot believe how the MOCO is still up and running after their TC garbage production. Owned 3 EVOs, but went back to Shovels.

This isn’t just EVO’s in my opinion. I’ve seen plenty of good deals on T.C. Bikes too.

My first bike was a 99 sporty evo 1200. I loved it, prospected and patched into a 1% mc. Sold it and bought a 09 Dyna Superglide. Then went to a 2002 Softail. After that it was a 2004 Dyna Wide Glide. After selling that Dyna I went on to the Japanese Xv250s and built a tokyo chopper that I loved and rode for years. After a chipper show recently I picked up 94 Dyna Wide glide with 52k Miles for $3k cash. She is the best motorcycle i have owned in the last 20 years. The sound, styling and reliability mixed with quality parts and engineered to last. Im never selling it nor am I interested in any other Harley. Dyna Evo Forever.

Thank you for all of your excellent information. Best channel on these motorcycles.

I bought a 97 Fatboy with 22,000 miles on it back in April for $5300. Has pipes and S&S carb, sounds awesome!

Old timer here thanks for posting remember when evil came out the same was evolution is the solution

Shhhhhh jeeezz!! Don't talk about this, prices will go way up! Evo's are the only good deal left on the planet. Every time a youtuber talks about a hidden gem car, etc. Boom, there goes the market! I'm gonna go buy 30 Evo's tomorrow and cash in.

Just picked up a 97 wide glide. I think I’m going to be happy with it been watching your videos and they have pushed me back to the evolution motor.

SOA jacked up these EVO prices, they used to be dirt cheap. All of a sudden, everyone wanted an FXR for no reason 😂. I’d buy one but for now I’ll stick with my 02’s.

I bought a 2016 heritage softail in mint condition and only 9k miles on it for 11,500. As far as I’m concerned it’s still a new bike. Used deals on newer Harley’s can be found if your patient

I love this video, and I love your enthusiasm for the EVO! I’m 70 years old and I understand this engine . Thank you for sharing your knowledge

I love the photo of the bike for your video. It looks like a late 80s FXSTC Custom. This was the first Harley I fell in love with. Long live the Evo!!! I bought my 1995 Electra Glide Classic back in September with 95,000 on the odometer and as far as I can tell totally stock except the K&N filter. I paid $5500 for it, best investment I ever made. I absolutely love it!!!

Outstanding Video ! Back in October picked up a super clean 1 owner 1996 FXSTC with a little less than 18k on it for $4000. Same paint color as the Softail Springer in your video ! It needed a few things like tires & brake lines that I have replaced ( Date stamps on the tires & brake lines were from 1995) & appeared to be original. Owner was a Navy Veteran & always kept it garaged and or stored.I have replaced the Buckhorn bars with Drag bars & 8in. risers & factory King & Queen seat with a Mustang Solo Tripper seat.

Love this. Yeah I'm gonna do that. I got a sportster but also Love the softail heritage classic 80in.

Great info. I was a bit more ignorant about the service ability of the evo and as a tc88 owner i really can appreciate the differences

im 64 and just bought a 93 fatty with 19k miles after getting the itch to ride again after 25 years without owning an HD, before that i had a 81 -80 low rider, picking up my new 93 fatty this Saturday, thx for the reassuring of the EVO !

I really think you hit the nail on the head with this video and the engine comparison. What can be worked on easily with the older motor verses getting raked over the coals with the newer motors. If you think Harley did not do that on purpose then I have a bridge in Kansas I can sell to you real cheap or a refrigerator at the South Pole

Great vid. I'm living with my twin cam for now but if I want a touring bike, it'll likely be an Evo Electra Glide. Thanks Foo!

Rode the 97 Heritage today for the first time in a month, been on the 18 Lowrider, great bike and better set up for colder weather, soft lowers, heated seats and big windshield.

Yeah! Long live the Evo Motor! 🙌

love my 1998 FXDWG .....EVO paid 6k for it about eight years ago .... carburetor !.......keep up the good vidz

If know anything about Harleys, you know the Evo is a legend and are becoming hard to find.

My first and still ride it is a 2005 Sportster 1200 custom. Great bike. just bought a 95 Dyna wide glide Evo 1340. Both carbureted. Have had no problems with the sportster at all.

You nailed it evo is the most affordable, and fun.

I've been running the Twin Cam for a few years but I'm just buying my time until I can get back into an EVO Sporty.

Good information from a no-nonsense knowledgeable guy. Thank you!

I love my 89 ci. Evo. S&s sidewinder kit, fueling 572 cam, Port and polished heads. I wouldn't sell it for anything.

Right on! I love my 1995 FXSTSB Evo Bad Boy!

Although the evo engine in my '93 Fatboy gave me the finger this summer at around 60k km (that damn INA bearing got chewed up) and forced me to get an S&S EVO engine, i still think this is the pinnacle of H-D engines... the old one now sits on a stand in my garage, i will use it as a guinea pig to learn more about this marvel.

bought a 98 wide glide $3500 runs great, looks great, my bar hopper , and sounds way better than my 22 street glide

Prices on new and used bike in Australia is insane A 2022 road glide st is 46k A CVO is 59k I picked up a 13 road King with lots done to it pre covid tax for 19k and thought it was a bargain. EVO out here have become collectors items and priced according

EVO- HD engine before planned obsolescence; not that HD has disposable, but that mechanical expenses by design. See the cam-tensioner in the next Gen.

I have a 98 with 10:5 pistons screaming eagle heads a red shift cam, thunder header crane ignition and s&s super E and it is pretty damn fast keeps up 100 plus ci bikes and is dead nuts reliable.

I grabbed a ‘99 Evo Softail for $6500 Canadian. Things been absolutely great to me, put on over 5k miles over the summer. Spending the winter overhauling it, and so far it’s been as easy as you’re saying. Also not breaking the bank!

Here in NZ back in the day when Evo's 1st arrived I used to service them for Christchurch Motorcycles up to 1989. 1st thing was open up the carb Jets and the Andrews accelerator pump kit install, the pump kit stop fuel dribbling.They would run sweet with these small mods. One early problem was with the clutch basket on an ex US police special. We were into road racing so started hotting them up. We were in close contact with Jerry Branch of Branch Flowmetrics. Jerry was very helpful to us. EV3 cams were popular, screamin eagle ignition module's helped, also Screamin Eagle Carb or a Mikuni & maniflods, Branch heads were great, supertrapp pipies, heavier clutch springs. On the race track the disc brake were total shit. They got hot and bent like a wok, the bike would stop rolling from some much bend so we would have to jack them up and remove the wheel and throw the disc's away. Hot thing was Performance Machice Cast Iron Disc's. These Discs were very good combined with Braided lines and Ferodo pads.I had a hotted 87 Superglide Sport and with these cast Iron brakes I could lock the front wheel up at high speed after several laps of hard use. My super glide Sport was a weapon on the race track and good at dragging. In recent times I have Vapor blasted some old Evo Crank Case's and noticed some have cracks in behind the lifter blocks where the cases have been machined and there is a sharpe corner. Also I have one set of cases with bad wear in the Breather hole. These can be oversized or reed valved. Here in NZ old Evo's are popular. We also ran a very special XR1000 with a McKintosh Frame a full on F-1 BEARS racer, we had full input from Jerry Branch. He sent us a lot of Data on the XR 1000, we had branch stage 2 heads and many other mods. This famous old race bike is known as " The Black Adder". Our connections with Jerry led us to suggest to John Britten to send his Denco V-Twin heads to Jerry for testing. The response was melt them down and start again. Jerry became very involved with John Britten and this led to the final versin of the Britten V1000 of which Ten bikes were made worth 1 & 1/2 to 2 millions dollars each today. After riding rubber mount Evo's then climbing back on a Shovelhead oh the vibrations. My Superglide Sport hotted up felt like riding on a magic carpet so so smooth. I did own a nice Rubber Shovel not a bad old bike.

Personally I’d say the EVO saved Harly Davidson’s. They are as dependable as gravity.

I have a 1991 springer softtail I bought three years ago with 35,000 miles in great condition with the stage 2 screaming eagle upgrades for $ 3,000. The only problem was that the clutch pack was out of adjustment, easy fix, and ran great afterward. Now I just bought a 1992 Electraglide ultra classic with 25,000 on a factory rebuild (cracked case) for $4,800. It's in beautiful shape and everything works great.

1998 XL1200S For Sale, northeast florida. Under 10k miles, stage 1 pipes, jets, filter. Gorgeous looks and sound.

My Sportster is an EVO and I'm thinking my next bike is going to be a nice used evo big twin. A while back I texted you and I was confused by all the big twins now I got it figured out Evo Evo Evo thank you

Good on you thanks ,got my C model o7 sportster custom ,for 10 grand Australia had 35ookm on it ,was 23 K new here ,pipes acleaner brace tuner 2 K ,she purr n for 10 yrs , lot of lovely Evo Harley out here for good prices , merry Christmas

Just ordered an Ultima motor…love the evo.

Stock EVO is perfect! Service and ride. Never by twin cam 88 unless you love to have it at shop! Automatically needs cam plate replaced usually by 30,000 miles! A lot of $ for a NON-upgrade. Just to keep it running.

Great advice! I'm keeping my Evo!!

Спасибо за видео! Сам владею эектро глайд 1991г на evo. Отличный мотор.

I'm still riding my 85 Electra Glide Classic. ❤

I got into a 2018 Sport Glide, 15k miles, with mustache bars, HD top box, $800 saddlemen explorer seat with backrest, 6" riser with 2" pullback and a Garmin zumi 660 GPS for $10k in December 2020. Love my 107" M8, doesn't use a drop of oil, doesn't leak, always starts, for $10,000. Got 12300 miles logged on it by August of 2019, before the private party original owner was in an accident on his BMW 1250 GS Adventure. Accident finally forced the sale. Absolutely stupid how much Harley Davidson dealerships add on to these when for sale used at a HD dealership.

Again my 91 flhs, no problematic ✌️