Top 20 1979 Harley Davidson XLH 1000 Sportster Questions & Answers

The pattern you follow is a criss cross pattern & I believe it is 40 foot pounds

could be timing,carb adjustment, could be bad spark plugs

Try this, I do not know if they would have anything that far back but at least it will be a start in your search. HD service manuals at http://www.downloadninjas.info/service-manuals/harley-davidson-sportster-xl-xlh-service-repair-manual-for-1986-2003-models/

And WHAT are the issues?

Did you check the Ignition, Points and Condenser. Also check compression there may be a stuck valve. I’m happy to help further over the phone at https://www.6ya.com/expert/al_e83b1941f9c0f302

Tool will be the problem for the release of tube assembly once you have the top cap removed you will need a long socket to backup when you unscrew the bolt from bottom . Once tube are separated the seal clip can be removed .install the new seals replace tube assembly as removed . This all have to be removed from bike to do this.

I'm thinkin' it's an inch

Late Ignition Timing means that the spark is firing when the piston have passed the TDC (top dead center) in the engine and the piston is already going back down. You want the spark plug to "fire" right at the TDC otherwise you will be getting "backfires" from the exhaust (pipes) therefore loosing compression "power". To fix it you just have to "advance" the timing to the proper setting but if you advance it too much you will notice that the engine will stay on for a few seconds after you turned the ignition key off. Before you mess with the "timing" you want to mark the current settings because if your adjustment is way off the engine will not start at all and at least your engine starts right now. You can use nail polish to mark a position between two moving parts so all you have to do is align both markings, you will have a reference, if you ever desire to get back to "square one".

Sorry but my expertise and knowledge does not go back that far, on newer bikes you would press in both turn signal switches at the same time and ten release them simultaneously as well. Please post the answer as a comment when you find it. Thanks

You can download a manual cheap on this site then you will have all the info you need check it out http://harley-davidson.service-manual-download.com

Any good 20/50 motor oil that is wet clutch safe is fine. I like the Valvoline Motorcycle Motor Oil. Just make sure it is wet clutch safe. Like no friction modifiers. You can also use the Mobile 1 synthetic that is safe for wet clutch. Or you can use the Amsoil Synthetic that is safe for wet clutches. Amsoil gives you a longer mileage run on their oil then conventional synthetic. I’m happy to help further over the phone at https://www.6ya.com/expert/al_e83b1941f9c0f302

turn adjustment screw all the way down, back out 2 & 1/4 turns, then fine tune, make sure your plugs are good

you r using a two way switch which only moves up or down it does not matter.if the switch has 4 prongs on it u will connect one wire and turn ur ignition on and use a testing light to see which prong is live when u move the switch .hope this helps

What is your question?

Go to Harley and buy them over the counter. Or source some after market replacements from dyno jet , screaming eagle or similar.

Is your idle adjusted to low at carb, is the crank case vent plugged?

Do a voltage drop test on the starter system. First do a voltage reading on the battery and note what it is. Using a voltmeter attach the red meter lead to the most positive part of the circuit, which would be the positive post of the battery and attach the black meter lead to the final destination or component in the circuit (if testing a starter circuit this would be the terminal on the starter, not the solenoid). THEN try to activate the starter and observe the meter reading. The meter will read the voltage dropped or the difference in potential between the source and the destination. An ideal circuit voltage drop reading would be 1 volt or less. If there is an open in the circuit (i.e. NO electricity is reaching the terminal) the voltmeter should read source voltage volts which means all the voltage was dropped. A normal good starter circuit should not show more than a one volt drop. If more than 1 volt is dropped there is a problem somewhere in the circuitry before the starter terminal. In this case leaving the red voltmeter lead on the battery positive post, move the negative voltmeter lead to the solenoid stud where the battery cable attaches and activate the starter circuit again. If the voltage reading is now 1 volt or less clean, repair, tighten the starter solenoid to starter terminal stud connections and test again and if no change clean/repair the internal solenoid contacts or replace the solenoid with a new/good one. If there is still a voltage drop greater than 1 volt move the negative voltmeter lead from the solenoid terminal stud to the actual battery cable terminal end at the solenoid terminal stud and again activate the starter circuit. If there is a 1 volt or less reading the battery cable terminal end and/or solenoid terminal stud and/or the connection between the two is faulty, loose, corroded or etc. Clean and tighten and retest. If there is still more than a 1 volt reading on the voltmeter the problem is a loose or corroded or otherwise bad connection between the battery cable terminal end and the battery positive post or the battery cable itself is bad. Clean and tighten the battery cable terminal and battery positive post and test again. If there is still more than a one volt reading on the voltmeter the battery cable is bad and will need to be replaced. If there is less than a 1 volt reading when the test is done at the starter terminal the circuit up to that point is good so the next step will be to do a negative or ground circuit voltage drop test by connecting the negative or black voltmeter lead to the most negative point which is normally the negative battery post (or the closest thing thereto if, like some Sportsters, the battery post is hard or impossible to get to) and then connect the positive or red voltmeter lead to the starter mounting studs. Then activate the starter circuit again and if the voltage reading is greater than 1 volt clean the battery negative cable ends and battery post and negative cable to motorcycle frame or other grounding point, tighten same and similarly the starter mounting points and studs because there is a problem with the starter ground (could be looseness, corrosion, powder coat/paint problems etc). If the voltage reading is 1 volt or less than 1 volt in this test the ground circuit is okay and it will be necessary to perform a starter current draw test on the vehicle (and/or a starter current free draw test on the bench). If the results are within the specifications for the starter in these tests remove the spark plugs, raise the rear wheel so it can spin unimpeded, put the transmission in 5th gear and rotate the rear wheel to check for engine, transmission, primary and/or crankshaft resistance/bind. If the results are not within the amperage specifications for the particular starter replace or repair the starter motor to bring within the system amperage specifications.

First off check your lighting fuse. If the lighting fuse is good then check to see if the brake light element of that bulb is lighting alone or if the running lite element is also. If the second, the running lite element is not lighting try a new bulb. If they are both lighting check to see if the bulb is a one element bulb, not a two element bulb and if it is a two element bulb see if it is installed correctly. If all of this is good you will have to start wiring diagnosis. A voltage drop test will be a good way to diagnose this at that point. Then move on to the headlight and see if it is good or bad and if it is good then diagnosis of the wiring etc there will be next. Again a voltage drop test will be a good way to diagnose this at that point

1978 is back beyond my knowledge or expertise but: Check your pick-up sensor located inside the timing cover, behind the adjustor plate. If the filament is not intact you will have no spark. A defective coil, cam position sensor, or stator will also cause a no spark condition. Ignition Coil Primary Circuit Test Remove the coil. THEN set your ohmmeter scale to RX1 and place ohmmeter leads on the primary coil windings A (front of coil) to B (middle of coil), B to C (front of coil) and check for primary coil winding resistance which normal resistance range is 0.5-0.7 ohms. If primary resistance is not within this range check out test results below. Ignition Coil Secondary Circuit Test With the ignition coil removed from the motorcycle and the ohmmeter set to the RX1K scale place the ohmmeter leads on the secondary coil windings B (middle terminal) to R (rear secondary terminal/socket), B to F (front secondary terminal/socket) and check for secondary coil winding resistance which normal resistance range will be 5.5-7.5K ohms. If secondary resistance is not within this range check out test results below. Test Results A low resistance value indicates a short in the coil winding which requires coil replacement. A high resistance value might indicate that there is some corrosion/oxidation of the coil terminals requiring the coil terminals to be cleaned and the resistance test then repeated and if after the test is repeated the resistance is still high after the terminals were cleaned the coil must be replaced. If there is an infinite ohms or no continuity) resistance value the coil is open and must be replaced. Some time ago 4wdity posted that: Take the plugs out of the heads, put them back in the wires, and lay the plugs on the heads so that they have a good ground. Turn the ignition on and then turn it back off. When you turn the ignition switch off, you should see a spark. If you do, then something is wrong with the ignition unit. If you do not see a spark, you have a bad coil or a wiring problem. You can also do this test by "hot wiring" the coil.Anytime you put 12 volts to the coil then stop it, you should get a spark. If you have spark, it sounds like either the sensor in the timing cavity of the engine is bad or the electronic ignitionunit is bad.

is carb out of adjustment/too rich?