I’ve lately been tossing around the idea of getting a motorcycle after a 27-year drought. Like cars, motorcycles have become amazingly feature filled and, dare I say it, luxurious. While you can still by a standard, decked out cruisers and outrageous baggers seem to be the norm these days. To get back to a simpler time, one must look for a well-cared for vintage cycle. If you want to go old school and start riding a real classic Harley, then take a look at this 1969 Harley-Davidson Sportster for sale on craigslist in the San Fernando Valley of sunny California. With a kick start, magneto ignition, and drum brakes, this Sportster could be the time machine you need in your life. Thanks to Matt R. for this groovy tip!
Back in the day a motorcycle was transportation first and lifestyle choice second. Now, owning a particular type of motorcycle is almost a tribal thing. While internet daydreaming, I ran across a review of a new Indian Super Chief. The writer was complaining that the bike, with spoked wheels and old school tubes, managed to find a screw in the road. The bike was towed to the nearest Harley dealer, which makes sense because there are a lot of them, and they would surely have the means to get the bike back on the road. Imagine the writer’s anger when the service department refused to help because it was made by a rival company. So much for camaraderie.
If you drove up on this Sportster, they might try to run you off as well. At least until they figured out that it was actually a Harley. They still make a Sportster mode, now called an Iron 883 or a Forty-Eight depending on the model but comparing this bike to a new one is kind of like seeing the family resemblance between you and your grandfather. Similar, but a lot of differences. Take for example the kick start. Harley last put a kick start on a motorcycle in 1986. That was during Reagan’s first term. Magnetos haven’t been around since the Jurassic Period either.
Yet, this running and driving time warp Sportster proudly wears both of them. It is actually the kick starting that has caused the seller to part ways with this funkadelic motorcycle. It seems the seller has a knee injury that makes the very physical starting process for this motorcycle just too much to bear. Given the advanced age of Harley-Davidson’s average customer and the current displacement of their motorcycles, perhaps the end of the kick start as a thing can be seen as a good thing.
The seller tells us that this motorcycle is very original. All of the proper parts are still there, what should be chromed is chromed, and what should not be chromed is still in place. For a Harley of this vintage, that is saying something. Motorcycle customizing hit hyperspace during this bike’s lifetime. Finding an original Sportster is about like searching for an honest statement from a politician. It happens, but rarely.
At an asking price of $14,999, this 1969 vintage Sportster is close in price to a 2022 Iron 883. A new model sells for $11,249 without the usual add ons of freight charges, dealer prep, and the usual markup that Harley’s popularity allows some dealers to charge. The 1969 model will only gain value for anyone interested in investing in this museum piece. Just be sure to have a good leg to start it with.
Have you got any great stories about owning a kick start motorcycle? If so, then please share your story in the comments below.
Nice old scooter! I used to ride with a guy back in the day that had one, he cut some metal stock and made his a hardtail. I still have my old Shovel and I think I know how the owner got the knee injury. I do not follow bike prices much but I think this will sell fast. I would go for it Jeff, like the old saying goes, you meet the nicest people on a HFD.
There’s a lot of cool here but not a great bike. The Sporty evolved and there is some old technology here. Drum brakes are nice but I prefer triple disc. The frame is steel with cast iron gussets and handling is so so. I had an 83 Sporty, was a model called an XLS Roadster. These had the newer frames yep had triple disc brakes and was still powered by 1000 cc of ironhead sportster power. No kicker, but it would run and handle. Would catch air going into second gear. Wasn’t quite as quick as the crotch rockets but was respectable. Sporties vibrate, there is no isolation from the frame and your rear will go numb with a couple of hours of highway riding. Mentioned before bike I ride now I built, 81 shovelhead 5 speed rubber mount it’s electric start too. I kicked a bike in my teens that was enough! Myself think this price is a bit high for an older Sportster. Not an early Sportster just older.
My friend had a ’69 XLCH like this one in blue. I had a ’70 XLH (electric start, in black) years ago, it felt the same way shifting to second, and would pull the front wheel about 6 inches. It was a fun ride but it would have a slight speed wobble at 80, and you knew that you would have it again on the way back down from higher speeds. It was stolen, and I got a ’79 FXEF Fat Bob Superglide. Rode that thing to Sturgis 5 times from Missouri and still have it and it’s ridden 2 or 3 hundred miles a year on historic plates now. I got smarter (and older) and went to baggers for more comfortable riding. Love those old bikes and if you ever get to Birmingham AL, hit the Barber Motorsports park and their fantastic motorcycle museum, get there early to get some really good pictures before other people show up. Thanks for listening.
An original CH! Not many of them in this condition these days. “883 cc of sportily-cammed, high compression,” to quote Cycle magazine. “Kick a Sportster when it doesn’t want to be kicked and it’ll send you to the moon, with a sore leg at that.” Difficult to start when hot but could be a major challenge when cold. I wouldn’t be surprised if the owner hurt his knee starting this. I remember when the bushing crept out of the starter pinion on my Shovelhead. The kick starter freewheeled with my full weight on the starter and I attempted to drive my starter foot at least 6 inches into the pavement. I well remember the sensation I felt when the meniscus blew out of my knee. I was told I’d have a lot of trouble with that knee and guess what? The doctor was right but I still wouldn’t kick this one off my driveway…
Nice ride…right hand shift. How many people could actually ride it without crashing it. I owned one a 1969 xlch for years. Kick start only, right hand shift.
Kick starting a Norton was hard, you had to get it just right. I imagine this is even more difficult, especially with out a center stand.
It took real men to ride motorcycles in those days!!!
These posts drag out all the old memories, and kind of nice, the FB’ers can’t add the usual negative vibes, THEY WEREN’T THERE,,sorry, sorry, it’s all I got.
The “Sporty”,,it was for the folks that couldn’t handle a “Big Twin”. I don’t mean that nastily, not everyone could handle an Electra-Glide, and the Sporty fit the bill. By ’69, it was clearly dated and nothing is said, unless I missed it, ’69 was the first year for AMF, and a ton of ridicule. Jay Leno made the joke, “all new hand grip for 1969”,,and it was true. AMF did nothing but rest on HDs laurels, and foreign products ( the gauges say “Made in UK”) and Asian forks, I think, and almost took them down. Some say these had poor build quality, but I knew several folks in Milwaukee that built these at that time, and they were just as passionate as ever about their work. To be clear, my ’85 FXRT did NOT have a kick start, gone on EVO motors, and electric start was available since 1965,( ’67 on Sportys) and allowed a whole new group of people to enjoy biking. Women and girly men, mostly. While it’s not impossible to kick start any bike, as made out to be, it, like cranking a Model T, takes a knack. I’m not sure I’d want to mess with a gal that could kick start a bike.
Not to sell the Sportster short, my ex-gf had a 1999 1200 Custom, and was a sweet little bike, a long ways from this bike. And some say Limeys leaked oil,,,
Personally I wouldn’t care to trifle with any woman; they don’t fight fair. I met a couple of girls who could handle a kick-starter just fine. I don’t think either of them weighed 125 lbs. One was a nurse; she rode a Super Glide and had starting that down to a science. Ditto for a legal secretary who rode a ‘47 Indian Chief.
Leak oil? NO! Good bikes just mark their spot…
Right side shift?? Cool bike. My only kick start story involves my 77 Yamaha XS650 (elec start inop). Pretty easy to start but occasionally let’s you know its there. Feels like somebody tee’d off on the bottom of your foot with a ball bat. Starts instantly when warm.
I came across a couple of guys in Yellowstone back in ‘69. One guy had a customized Sportster and the other, a customized K-model. They were headed back to CA from a cross-country trip. I was dazzled by the bikes but then so was any 16 year old at the time. The K bike was later featured in one of the magazines (I can’t remember which one) a few months later. Quite an experience for me. See the bike up close and personal then see it in a magazine…
I had a dusie back in the late 60s when I was a freshman in college. It was a ’57 Triumph 650 Trophy (single carb) that was set up for dirt track racing. Oh, boy! Was I full of testosterone back then. And I had a strong leg to kick that machine into life. I remember a time or two when it kicked back and threw me off the pedal! Fun times!
Still ride my ’71 XLCH while giving my Dyna Glide a rest, the Old Iron Head was my first real motorcycle in 1976 and still fun for about 50 miles at a time.
Wasn’t so many of the Harley biker wannabes back then, we rode what we could afford , and many were build out of boxes of parts collected from swap meets and serviced by independent shops. Thankfully i have auto-advance on the spark but it’s fun to kick, especially with the V-Twin shop top end, S&S bottom, CH cams (four) and Andrews coil. But to find an original, un-chopped ’69? Like a unicorn…
1. Does this need a battery to start and run? BMW /2 bikes do not need one due to the magneto. Could be an advantage.
2. A properly set up /2 doesn’t need much of a kick to get going. It’s basically getting the bike to the proper point in the rotation with the kickstart, before you give it a firm step. You don’t have to kill it. Same with the Harley?
that’s correct but this will need a battery.
The mag can help when bat is dead, is less expensive system, and better at hi speed than battery op.
Ele ignition has less emissions & maintenance, fewer moving prts, & more efficient.
Nice to have choices (then U could go for generator too’n see the ‘hat trick’).
Did a partial restoration of the Triumph Thunderbird (’50) in ’82. It had a switch U could set to ‘bat’ or ‘mag’, the latter for a dead battery run home or store for replacement/charge.
This is the ONE bike (It was still a Harley, not AMF yet) I’d want to own (& I have a 750 right now). I’d put a few minor sleeper mods on but… I would want to put (what could B seen) on the earlier harley springer (chromed) frnt end and a solo seat. When hitchin cross country as an 18 yr old a ride in Az took me in for the nite. He allowed me to test ride this very cycle as a 1 yr old a couple mi in the desert, out’n back (I hada Honda Dream @ home, back East) before a final lift out of town the nxt am. It rode like a motorcycle should, sounded like a motorcycle should , looked like a motor….
I’d built quite a few H.D. choppers and trikes (police 3 wheelers) back in THE DAY, 1960’s and 70’s. But I rode Limeys, 55 T110, 59 bonny, 61 500 tiger, 66 Norton Atlas Commando, etc. etc. I loved the Harleys but preferred to ride the Britts. I’m now 80+ and ridding (driving) a Polaris Slingshot and loving it. Happy trails to all.
I had a 69 XLH back in the 80’s that had a kick pedal added to it. Electric start was nice on the cold mornings but once it warmed up it would start on one kick. Miss that bike as it was great for bar hopping.
We called that “T T Riding” ,,,,,,,,,, “Tavern to Tavern”, Good memorable times for sure.
Had a 07 XL 50 sportster , orange and black , it was a beautiful bike , not very many made
back in the 60,s when elec start was coming in i sold British bikes and t,shirts printed with real motorcycles dont have elec, start
I had always wanted a Sportster, so in late 1971 I sold my Honda 500/4 to my brother and bought a new 1972 1000cc XLCH. What a solid bike, but there was a reason for that 2-1/4 gal. peanut tank — it was a reason to stop and refill, and a chance to ‘recover’ from the vibrations on distant runs. Entering freeways that Honda would stay with the HD up to about 60, but you had to take several wraps on the throttle (doing it with rpm’s) where you just cracked the throttle on the HD.
… and if you think the Marine Corp builds men, just try starting this thing before you have the proper sequence down! It didn’t take me long to learn.
I remember visiting with one rider who was laid up with his right knee in traction from when the kicker on his Sporty fell through and hyperextended his knee. Another friend had one of these kick start Sporty’s, Bob. We called him “Sky Bob” from when the Sporty back spun on a down kick and sent him skyward, over the handle bars. Gotta check the right side engine case for cracks on these Ironhead sporties. They were bad for that.
I recently bought an Ossa 250 flattracker that is just a beautiful bike. It’s a replica of a Dick Mann Replica. Anyhow it’s left side kick! And has a compression release for a reason. You don’t get it just right and that kick starter won’t move. And I weigh 220. But when it lights off oh that smell and that sound.
Never rode an Ossa, but did ride a Maico 250. That was a real torquer too.
Still have my 75 shovel. Sporty front end, big twin and a four speed. Re geared it so it’s not spinning to hard at 70. Great blue highway bar to bar cruiser. And yup, you’d best get off it sooner rather than later….
Had a 1968 XLH Sporty in 1972. Electric start only. Stop complaining about kick starting the old XLCH Sports. Try bump starting a XLH with a dead battery!! That takes a particular type of technique few possess. I learned it out of necessity.
I had a 1972 1,000 cc XLCH. Never once had a hard time starting it, but I always kicked it like I meant it. A friend had a 750 cc Honda Four. You could start it with the kick starter like you were arm wrestling.
Mark, my CB-750K7 would start using my arm on the kick starter. Not that I ever needed to.
I just did it to show the owner it could be done. Dared him to try it on my XLCH.
jim bronson your bike is waiting!!!
A $2,000 motorcycle…according to the widow of Bronson’s friend. I always enjoyed the Sportster being kick-started to the tune of the starter motor in the background.
Ah, Hollywood, like screeching tires on dirt.
“Then came Bronson” was a great show, btw.
My “kickstart story” comes from that guy Breezely, who had the ’65 ElectraGlide. I had my GW, and we hung out with some of Breezelys HD biker friends. The old saying was, if it didn’t fire on the 2nd kick, it might be a while, and we all took turns kicking Joes Knucklehead. Unless there was a severe timing issue, I don’t ever recall anyone getting “launched in the air”, that’s a bit much, they did kick back a little.
I’ve owned a 1959 XLH since 1970 and know these motorcycles inside and out. I think 15k is about 33% above the honest value of this bike.A 1957 maybe but certainly not for a ’69.
First bike I ever had was a new ’72 XLCH , I loved that thing , the only bad part was the kicker kept on breaking, it would ratchet thru quite often with my inner upper thigh smacking the corner of the oil tank, at 6′ 4″ &n 250 lbs. it never really was hard to kick it over. Thinking about that makes my leg ache like it was yesterday. It was pretty fast for a stock bike and I could beat most 750 Hondas stop light to stop light. I had shorty drag pipes on it that my neighbors absolutely loved at midnight, boy those pipes could bark. Eventually all the street racing took its toll and it broke the trapdoor two separate times and the cases needed welding to correct . the last straw for it was when the kicker broker the umpteenth time and I could only ride to bars that were on a hill much the same as my home driveway. What sold it was the cigarette lighter I put on it between the tach & speedo in the hole that once had the hi beam light. Sold it and bought a second hand fast but boring ’75 900 Kaw. That Sporty cost me $2100.00 new from Harley of Rockland , sold it for $2100.00, Numerous paint schemes, lots of chrome, 16″ rear wheel/tire. Sold the Kaw after a year & bought a new ’78 FXS, still own that one but my nephew is its caretaker now.
The ’72 XLCH
I had a few shovel head’s back in the late 70’s and Early 80’s, and One night I was riding my 83 Sturgis low rider, was at a bar and when The bar closed, a bro and I tried to leave we climbed on the bikes and both bikes had a kicker and a button, we both hit our button, his started and mine just turned over enough to run battery down so I started jumping up and down on the kicker until it wore me the ——out so I stopped to rest for a bit, and my bro said kick that mfer, so I went to the left side and kicked it completely over in the parking lot, picked it up about 10 minutes later and it started on first kick !! There wasn’t anything wrong with the bike, I guess it was how drunk I was !!
dont usually comment 2X ona BF thread (selfish) but along w/the 2 (cosmetic) mods above (posts have no #s to refer to but its above) a starter retrofit on this, my all time fav bike, might B in order. Kinda nice on the currently owned ’78 Kowie. This bike deserves a 3rd and 4th visit/comment (just a different color would B nice)…
I recently bought a very original 1969 XLCH Ironhead Sportster with a whopping 11,384 original miles for $1800. Runs excellent and still has the magneto ignition . The Kickstart ratchet gear is stripped. It’s a recent problem but was running and just needed clean up and tune when I bought it. One of those ” Can’t pass up ” type of deals
“…Can’t pass up ” type of deals…”
10Kmi, less than 2K$ – sounds like the ’90s.
“…when I bought it…”
What was the location (& urban or rural)
and date?
Great stories. I have a 1959 XLCH and I love it!!!! Hard to start… sure some days,but other days that old iron fires right up. I got it from the original owner he chopped it up with the front end. He parked it 1977. I brought it home within 2 days had it running great I’ve been polishing the rust off for about 3 years. I’m trying to save everything I can. I ride it just about every other day and there is no better in my opinion. Bikes like this are not for everyone. But the few that are y’all know what I’m talking about. Best part of my week is riding my scooter. Very nice bike I’d love to buy it but my stable is full. Thank you for sharing the bike info and the stories. Oh and yeah my knee hurts like hell!!!! But not so bad when the wind is in my face!!