Stock replacement oil tanks

Apart from the lines, brackets and all that, the pure oil tanks differ considerably from model to model at Harley-Davidson. 1000, 1200 and 1300 rigid frame bikes rely on the legendary horseshoe-shaped oil tank, as do the 1200 models in the first swingarm frames. In 1965 the Big Twins with electric starter had a space problem: where to put the thick battery and the starter? After some brain-satorming, the factory came out with the cube-shaped oil tank was the measure of all things for the big Twins for almost 20 years.

The Sportster models, including their predecessor, the K model, have their own oil tank history. First of all, there is the standard version until 1978, which is available in different versions. Seen from the side, the tanks resemble a voluminous women's handbag and all have the large filler opening, in which the oil filter sits. For the XLCH models, there was a horseshoe-shaped version (until 1965) and a square tank shape that was welded from two deep-drawn shells. Apart from a brief interlude from 1979-1981, all later Sportsters from 1982 had the typical triangular oil tanks. But behold: from 2004, the sheet metal is only a cover and the actual tank is made of plastic. Repair options are doubtful. The steel tanks can be soldered in the event of a vibration crack.