i have a 07 96" ultra with a sidecar - 1600 gcvwr
when it had 1000 miles it needed new rings - they put rings, pistons, wrist pins, hone - and broke it in on the dyno
its flawless - uses zero oil between oil changes - pulls the sidecar on cruise control at 80 no problem
no noises, no farts, starts perfect.
best bike ive ever owned - my first bike was a 79 sportster i got in fall of 78.
all that said - when i do have to work on the engine - ill have the crank welded & install timkens. & i may yet do gear cams - with a sidecar getting to the cam case is a *b*!. & my 2001 ate its cam chains and i dont trust even the new ones now *sigh*
so no they are not all bad - but some obviously are - and when the crank shifts it really really sucks.
but the sportster ate valve guides & rod bearings, repeatedly - and the electra glide ate ... rods, pistons, valve guides, primary and trans seals, leaked all over and would only start on the first kick for a week after a tune.
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