This is an old revision of the document!


EVO: Engine Mechanical

Engine Mounts


General Information

Sub Documents

Torque Specs

The 1986-1990 FSM lists no torque specs for the rear mounts or lower front mounts.
There is only one spec in the 79-85 FSM (rear motor mounting bolt-nut: 16 to 24 ft lbs) and the 86-90 rear mount is the same part from 84-90.
For the rest, there are general “Torque Value” charts in the front of the service manual. 1)
It lists general torque values for bolt types but not specific mounting bolts.
It also says to torque to these values given in the tables unless specified otherwise. There are two charts (English and Metric).

Below is a list of torque values from the different year model FSMs.

Torque Specs in HD Service Manuals
1986-1990 Engines
Upper Front Mount to Head25-30 ft-lbs 2)34-40 NmUpper Front Mount to Frame30-35 ft-lbs 3)40-47 Nm
Top Front Mount to Heads25-30 ft-lbs 4)34-40 NmTop Front Mount to Frame30-35 ft-lbs 5)40-47 Nm


The charts below are from the torque value charts in the 86-90 FSM.
6)

SAE Torque Value Chart per Bolt Type
Bolt sizeSAE 2
74,000 psi
Low carbon
SAE 5
120,000 psi
Medium carbon
heat treat
SAE 7
133,000 psi
Medium carbon
alloy
SAE 8
150,000 psi
Medium carbon
alloy
Socket head
cap screw
160,000 psi
High carbon
quenched tempered
Socket head
set screw
212,000 psi
High carbon
quenched tempered
Studs
#6-----9 in/lbUse
SAE
2,5 and 8
values
when
grade
is known
with nut
and
sufficient
strength
#8-14 in/lb---16 in/lb
#10-22 in/lb---30 in/lb
1/4“6 ft/lb10 ft/lb13 ft/lb14 ft/lb16 ft/lb70 in/lb
5/16”12 ft/lb19 ft/lb25 ft/lb29 ft/lb33 ft/lb140 in/lb
3/8“20 ft/lb33 ft/lb44 ft/lb47 ft/lb54 ft/lb18 ft/lb
7/16”32 ft/lb54 ft/lb71 ft/lb78 ft/lb84 ft/lb29 ft/lb
1/2“47 ft/lb78 ft/lb110 ft/lb119 ft/lb125 ft/lb43 ft/lb
9/16”69 ft/lb114 ft/lb154 ft/lb169 ft/lb180 ft/lb63 ft/lb
5/8“96 ft/lb154 ft/lb215 ft/lb230 ft/lb250 ft/lb100 ft/lb
3/4”155 ft/lb257 ft/lb360 ft/lb380 ft/lb400 ft/lb146 ft/lb
7/8“206 ft/lb382 ft/lb570 ft/lb600 ft/lb640 ft/lb-
1”310 ft/lb587 ft/lb840 ft/lb700 ft/lb970 ft/lb-

Parts Lists

1982-2003 Rear Motor Mount
Part#Year modelNotes
16203-82A82-90 AllAppearance- offset, billet aluminum. Replacement for 16203-82 for 82-83 models.
XXXXX-XX1991-2003Rear motor mounts are steel, welded to and are a part of the frame.
2004-Up Rear Isolators
48492-042004-up(L and R) Rear rubber isolators.
16291-04(L) Rear isolator mount (right isolator fits into the frame).
2004-up Rear Stabilizer
16232-042004-upLower Rear Tie Link (motor to frame)
L1984-2003 Front Lower Motor Mounts
Sportster year modelLower front mount (R)Lower front mount (L)
L1984-199016210-84 (black)16212-84 (black)
2004-Up Front Stabilizer Tie Links
47471-042004-upUpper Front Tie Link Mounting Bracket (attached to engine)
47470-04Upper Front Tie Link Bracket (attached to frame)
16232-04Upper Front Tie Link (bracket to bracket)
47470-04Lower Front Tie Link Bracket (attached to frame)
16232-04Lower Front Tie Link (bracket to motor)
2004-Up Front Isolators
48463-042004-up(L and R) Front Rubber Isolator
16287-04(L) Front Isolator Mount (right isolator fits into the frame).

1986-2003 Motor Mounts

Rear Mounts

1982-1990 mounts offset the engine 13/32“ to the left of the position for pre 1982 engines and don't have the hole in them for the kicker shaft to go through. 7)

1984-1990 Rear Mount:
This mount is made from billet aluminum and was also sold as a replacement for the 82-83 rear motor mount.

8) 9) 10)

11) 12) 13)

Lower Front Mounts

L1984-2003 style lower front motor mounts. 14)

Top Mounts

1986-2003 upper front motor mount
(all 883 except 883R) 15)
1986-2003 upper front motor mount
(1100, 1200, 883R) 16)

2004-Up Motor Mounts

Sub Documents


Isolator Mounts:

There shouldn't be that much vibration on rubbermount bikes. You should feel some but not enough to make your feet numb. 17)
Keeping the motor mounts in specs makes all the difference in the world. 18)
Tip: If your mirrors are blurry, check your motor mounts. You also may notice the engine bouncing around and the handling loose. 19)

The rubber mounts do in fact allow the engine and swing arm to move all around. 20)
The job of the rubber mounts (or isolators) is to simply carry the weight of the engine, not to align it.

However, there are 3 stabilizer links from the frame to the engine that eliminate side to side movement of the engine.
The most obvious stabilizer link is in front of the front cylinder head.
The end result is the engine can move vertically, but not horizontally.
This system was designed by Eric Buell to reduce engine vibration to make the V Twins less prone to vibration bothering the rider.
Next time you start the engine, watch the swing arm pivot bolts, they move up and down with the engine vibration.
Now look at the tire contact patch on the ground, it barely moves at all.
An over tightened drive belt can cause the engine to be jerked backwards by the swing arm when going over bumps in the road.
If you take the shocks off, you can feel an over tightened belt bind up the suspension travel when either the rear axle is in line with a line drawn through the swing arm pivot bolts and center of the front pulley in the case of longer shocks, or at max shock extension in the case of shorter shocks.
If the stabilizer links and rubber mount bolts are tight, it is possible the problem is a loose fit between the swing arm pivot shaft (which goes through the rear mounting lug on the engine), and the rear mounting lug on the engine.
It is possible the torque of the belt can cause the rear wheel to turn out of alignment, but again, the real problem may be the fit between the swing arm pivot shaft and the rear engine mount lug.
Better tires and fork brace are also part of the problem.
It could also be loose steering head bearings, bad wheel bearings, loose wheel spokes and a lot of other stuff.
All this, and more, is covered in the 7 pages of Suspension in the REF section of the Sportsterpedia and the famous 'Wobble" thread from the XLForum.

Stabilizer Tie Links:

The 3 stabilizer links on the engine and the pivot shaft through the rear engine mount are the components that keep the alignment between front and rear. 21)
They are supposed to eliminate side to side movement of the motor.
They do however allow vertical movement of the motor and front of the swing arm in response to vibration. 22)
The rubber mounts also allow for vertical movement to absorb vibration, this is also normal.
This is how the motor's vibration is isolated from the frame. You can see this when the motor is idling.
The motor is moving, the swing arm pivot bolts are moving.
But by the time the vibration gets to the rear wheel, it is not changing the contact patch of the rear tire on the ground. Well, not much anyway.
An over tightened drive belt will cause the engine to be jerked backwards as the rear wheel goes over bumps in the road.
This is not normal. If you take off the shocks and loosen the belt so it does not bind the rear suspension, the engine and swing arm will not jerk backwards.

If the rear wheel contact patch moves forward and back while riding, the effect on handling will be barely noticeable at street legal speeds. Normal swing arm up and down movement in response to bumps in the road moves the rear tire contact patch forward and back as the wheel swings on the arc set by the swing arm. This is normal. The rubber mounts and stabilizer links do allow this front to rear movement.

However, if the rear wheel contact patch moves side to side, or if the tire tilts side to side, or the tire is allowed to twist like a steering wheel of a car, handling will immediately be effected for the worse and the rider will lose control very quickly. 23) You cannot have the tire moving side to side. The rear tire must stay in line with the front to rear axis and centerline of the bike. Lateral play or side to side play, is when the rear tire turns away from the centerline. In effect, this becomes rear steer, and that does not work on a motorcycle.
There is metal to metal contact, with no lateral or side to side play between the rear tire and axle, swing arm, pivot shaft, rear engine/transmission mount, and 3 stabilizer links to the frame. There should be no lateral or side to side play in any of these connections. These metal to metal connections are much stronger and have much less flex than the rubber mounts. These metal to metal connections are keeping everything in line, not the rubber mounts.

Rear Mounts

Swingarm tightened without rubbers. 24) Left and right bushings installed shows space between them and the brackets. 25)


Rear Stabilizer Mount

Rear Stabilizer Link. 26) Lower rear engine stabilizer. 27)


Lower Front Mounts

Top Stabilizer Mounts

Check the top isolator link mount bolts (the ones that bolt to top of the front head). 28)
(While you're there, check them all). If they come loose, add some blue Loctite to the threads and re-torque them.

Front Stabilizer Assemblies. 29)
Upper front engine stabilizer. 30) Lower front engine stabilizer. 31)


1)
1986-1990 HD Sportster FSM pg 1-8
2) , 3) , 4) , 5)
1986-1990 HD Sportster FSM pg 3-3
6)
drawing by Hippysmack
8) , 9) , 10) , 11) , 12) , 13)
photo courtesy of Boneyard Cycles in Melbourne, FL
14)
photos courtesy of Ebay seller, Americanbikestrippers Link to Ebay store
15)
photo courtesy of TomsCyberShop.com www.TomsCyberShop.com
16)
photo courtesy of Ebay seller, Motorcycle Dreams. Link to Ebay Store:
24) , 25)
photo by Cosmo Kramer of the XLFORUM http://xlforum.net/forums/showthread.php?t=473423
26) , 29)
photos courtesy of Boneyard Cycles in Melbourne, FL
27) , 31)
photo by chris_b_owens of the XLFORUM http://xlforum.net/forums/showthread.php?t=1843303
This website uses cookies. By using the website, you agree with storing cookies on your computer. Also you acknowledge that you have read and understand our Privacy Policy. If you do not agree leave the website.More information about cookies