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SportsterPaul's 1977 Sportster XLCH

My 77 Sportster has gone through a lot of changes in the 35 years I have owned her. pdf version
1977-Sporster-XLCH_rt.jpg
She started life a stock XLCH kickstart-only bike. This last rebuild I put on a set of big bike tanks, fenders and saddlebags. I had previously had the electric starter pocket cut off and adapted an Evo-era primary cover. I also put in the pre-1970 dry clutch that I run wet with Barnett Kevlar plates. I fabricated a clutch mechanism and a kickstart support bracket. I removed the peg mounts from the engine and put them on the frame like 1976 and earlier bikes. I used the 1974 to 1976 rear brake pedal type peg to operate the brake. The front end uses a Bates-style headlight on a billet mount I designed. It also uses a generator mounted voltage regulator. The lunchbox oil bag has been centered in the frame and an external filter brazed to it. It uses a front mount battery box of my own design. The most recent change is a 1970 ultra-quiet exhaust system to keep the neighbors happy. The bike seems just as fast as with the old headers.
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1977-Sporster-XLCH_lf.jpg
The primary cover without a starter pocket is beautiful, like an early 1960s bike. I had an Evo Sportster primary cover welded up along with the left case half. It was done by a Lockheed Martin welder who did jobs on the side.
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1977-Sporster-XLCH-ENG_rt.jpg
People seem to freak out about the battery being mounted down low behind the front wheel. After enough ruined blue jeans from battery acid in the stock location, I wouldn't have it any other place. The weight is down low and yeah, if I get in a wreck the front wheel might crush the battery, but that would be the least of my worries. I would probably be over the handlebars by then.

I tried to adopt the chopper ethos of nothing being hidden behind covers, hence the lack of a sprocket cover on the bike. It's worked fine for decades.
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1977-Sporster-XLCH-ENG_rt-3-4.jpg
The fenders are from a set of Shovelhead tins I got from a bike shop. The tanks are Softtail flat-side tanks that work great.
1977-Sporster-XLCH_lf-3-4.jpg
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1977_Sportster_XLCH_5-gal_rt.JPG
Before the Softtail tanks, I had a set of 5-gallon flat-side tanks for range.
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1977_Sportster_XLCH_rt.JPG
Here is the bike with the Shovelhead tins a couple decades ago. I had to bash the inside of the tanks to clear the Sportster rocker covers, not a good thing to do.
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1977_Sportster_XLCH_lf.JPG
I widened the rear struts to fit the fender.
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1977-Sportster-XLCH_fabrication.jpg
I started customizing the bike in the late 1980s, after getting a few years of stock experience. I got a little radical, but some of the major changes were a big improvement. I was living in that van in the background, so the bike was my daily driver.
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1977-Sportster-XLCH_oil-filter.jpg
!977 XLCH Sportsters did not have an oil filter, I added one to the "lunchbox" tank.
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1977-Sportster-XLCH_kicker.jpg
I broke sprocket covers when I would drop the bike, so I tossed it and made a steel kickstart bracket that worked 30 years.
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1977-Sportster-XLCH_peg-mount.jpg
I welded peg mounts on the frame to use the early model footpegs. I don't like pegs mounted on the engine.
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1977-Sportster-XLCH_battery.jpg
This was the first prototype of the battery box, with a gel-cell battery no less.
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1977-Sportster-XLCH_FX-hummer-tank.jpg
Not everything was a good idea. I tried brazing a Hummer tank ignition mount to an FX tank.
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1977-Sportster-XLCH_FX-mechanical-brake.jpg
Worst idea ever-- using the clutch ball mechanism to make a mechanical brake.
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