1984-1999 Harley-Davidson Evolution Buyers Guide

There are a million Evo Harleys for Sale. You are intrigued and think you can find a deal. You can and we produced this Evo Buyers guide to help you sort through the hundreds of Evo Harleys for Sale ads.

AMF carried Harley Davidson through some very difficult times before Willie G and company bought back Harley Davidson in 1981. After three years of hard work and planning, Harley Davidson introduced the Evolution motor in 1984.

While the bottom end of this new motor was very similar to its Shovelhead predecessor, the top end of the Evo was designed with aluminum cylinders and heads. The new Evolution power plants were also supported with 5 speed transmissions.

Mike has the 1988 Heritage Softail on his lift and takes a moment to give us an overview of Evolution motorcycle changes and upgrades over the years. We will preform a 35 point service on this Harley to get it back on the road. Make sure to watch the video series.

1984 – 1989
• Clutch assembly: Clutch feel is not great. Also, it can be noisy.
• Start System: “Too much going on.” System is like a Shovelhead. Has an independent starter solenoid located on the inner primary. There is also a starter bendix gear at the end of the starter shaft.
• A lot of parts and a lot of areas to allow for voltage loss.
• Bottom Breathing: Evolution motors were bottom breathing from 84-89

1990
• CV Carburetor: The CV Carburetor replaces the Bendix Carburetor. A much better and more versatile Carburetor all around. Very easy to rebuild and tune.
• Starter: New and improved starter and overall start system. Works much better with the added compression of the Evo.
• Clutch: Clutch is upgraded. Unfortunately, it has an absorber spring assembly in the center of the clutch pack that is prone to failure.

1992
• Top Breathing: The motors were upgraded to top breathing. No more dealing with oil sumping into the air box or down onto the garage floor after long periods of storage.

1994
• Front pulley: The front drive pulley is updated to have more splined surface area over the main drive gear.

1995
• Fuel Injection: Touring models receive fuel injection. These Magnetti Marelli fuel injection systems were nothing amazing. However, they initially worked very well. Many years later, and these assemblies can be very troublesome. Not to mention, obsolete.

1996
• Controls: New handlebar controls along with a completely new wiring harness, plugs, connections. Also, a much better front brake master cylinder.

1998
• Clutch: The clutch assembly is updated to its best design yet. This is now the same assembly that will be used in the Twin Cams.
’98 is the last year of the Evolution motor for Touring.

1999
• Last year of Evo for Softail.
• Touring & Dyna are issued with the Twin Cam motor.
• However, it is still possible to also find 2000 Dynas with an Evolution motor.

Important info when considering an Evolution Harley Davidson and all the Evo Halreys for Sale ads:

• Motorcycle History
• Look for original crankcase & verify that Vin #s are correct.
• Cylinder studs can pull
• Has the cam bearing been updated?
• Have lifters been updated?
• Inspect for inner primary leak.
• Inspect for base gasket leak.
• Inspect shocks and shock bushings.
• Inspect belt and pulleys
• Inspect spokes
• Inspect tires
• Inspect cables

Related Videos

Harley Evolution Refresh Overview

Harley Parts and Tools for Evolution Refresh Project

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