1965 Sportster Project
Text and Pictures by Mark Trotta
When new, the 1965 Sportster XLCH was the fastest production motorcycle on the planet. It was a flat out, built for speed, no-frills hot rod, not much more than two wheels, a seat and a 900cc engine.
1965 Sportster Production: 2,815 XLCH models, 955 XLH models (3,770 total units)
I received this engine completely disassembled. The first thing I did was take all the parts out of the many boxes and spread them out on my workbench. Surprisingly, nearly everything was there, including nuts, bolts and hardware.
Right-Side Case Damage
The right-side engine case had a circular crack where the generator mounted, presumably from the bolts being over-tightened.
The generator hole repair was very time-consuming, but necessary to keep the numbers-matching cases.
Left-Side Case Damage
Internally, the left-side case was OK, but there was a 2" chip missing where the primary cover bolts up. Both engine case repairs were TIG welded.
Read: Repair Cracked Cases
Original Factory Finish On Engine
For an authentic and correct motorcycle restoration, the factory finish should be left on engine cases. Most are quite hard to duplicate, so sanding down original cases is not a good idea.
Unfortunately, these cases had been painted black somewhere in the past. So without really having any other choices, I sanded off the black paint after the cases were repaired. This was very tedious and time consuming, because Ironhead engine cases have plenty of nooks and crannies.
Crank And Flywheel Build
After rebuilding the flywheel assembly I trued it on my homemade stand. This was another time-consuming part of the engine rebuild.
Read: Ironhead Special Tools
I also used my DIY truing stand to check straightness on the pinion shaft and sprocket shaft.
The lower end rebuild was finally complete.
Engine Clearances Before and After
Mock-building the motor was necessary for several reasons. First, motorcycle engine clearances should be measured before disassembly. But when you start with a completely disassembled motor, you don't have that opportunity. This required the additional steps of assembling the engine to get the "before" measurements, then disassembling, repairing/replacing, and re-assembling.
Restoring Aluminum Engine Parts
The pitting and corrosion seen on these old parts is typical for a 50 year-old unrestored motorcycle. I sent the cam cover, primary cover, and rocker boxes out to have the old chrome removed.
Six weeks later, when the parts returned, I began sanding and polishing them.
Read: How To Polish Aluminum Motorcycle Parts
Read: Ironhead Rocker Box Assembly
Broken Valve Spring
One of the old valve springs (don't know off which valve) had cracked in two pieces. Since I had no prior history of the engine, I could only speculate why. The most likely cause would be over-revving.
Cylinder Heads
Both cylinder heads were rebuilt, which included new valves, guides, and springs, and a three-angle valve job. All four rocker arms were replaced.
Read: Motorcycle Valve Job
Cams And Cam Cover Issues
Another reason for mock-building the motor was to check all parts were in proper working order. The cam cover did not go on and off easily like it should, indicating a cam mis-alignment was likely. This led me to find one of the cams was binding. After testing each cam individually with the other cams, I found out which one it was, and replaced it.
Read: Install Sportster Cams
Replace Cam Bushings
The cam cover bushings were replaced due to contamination from the acid after de-chroming.
Read: Remove/Install Sportster Cam Bushings
Ironhead Transmission
Like the rest of the motor, the transmission was completely disassembled when I got it. Fortunately, I had a complete transmission from another Sportster, which I used as a reference to put this one back together.
Rebuilding an Ironhead transmission is a project within a project. It took a while, but the results were good. Clearances are in tolerance and it shifts fine.
Read: Ironhead Transmission Basics
Misc Notes
Financially, it would have been more profitable to part out a basket case motorcycle like this, but this was a very low production-year Sportster with matching case numbers.
