mwarren
Member
I just purchased this 2002 Sportster LE last week for $800. It runs but needs some love! Cosmetically, the rub rail needs some attention. The previous owner put a bunch of sheetrock screws through the rub rail to hold it into place... I'm hoping I can find a similar rubber insert from Taco Marine to replace the rubber part to make it look a bit better... There are a few scuffs here and there but nothing significant! The seats have been redone and the guy I bought it from buffed it out a bit to show the potential of the overall boat with a little bit of elbow grease. You can see the pics of the rear deck lid partially buffed, then fully buffed.
The motor is apparently recently rebuilt. I haven't checked the compression yet but I have a video of it running and driving in the water from just a few days before I bought it. The driveshaft broke but was welded back together for temporary use so it needs a new driveshaft but that's only $180 new so not too bad. Also, the throttle cable broke in the video that he sent me of it running so I need a new cable too...
The last owner of the boat somehow melted part of the exhaust. I think one of the boots was ripped which was causing the water to leak out into the hull and it wasn't cooling the exhaust the way it should have. It melted the plastic flange that exits the hull near the jet pump and the rubber cover on the muffler itself is all melted...I'll need to make sure the cooling system is functioning properly so it doesn't happen again!
I'm debating pulling the motor, opening it up, checking the work of the previous person to verify that the crank is good and everything looks ok inside. The oil pump was removed and I really don't want to pre-mix so I'd like to put the pump back on...I think I have to pull the motor out to do that so while it's out, I'll give the motor a once over for peace of mind. I know that I'll likely have $2000 + into this when I'm all done with it but at least I'll know that it's been completely gone through and good to go for a bit without worrying about it too much.
Anyone have thoughts or suggestions for my project?
The motor is apparently recently rebuilt. I haven't checked the compression yet but I have a video of it running and driving in the water from just a few days before I bought it. The driveshaft broke but was welded back together for temporary use so it needs a new driveshaft but that's only $180 new so not too bad. Also, the throttle cable broke in the video that he sent me of it running so I need a new cable too...
The last owner of the boat somehow melted part of the exhaust. I think one of the boots was ripped which was causing the water to leak out into the hull and it wasn't cooling the exhaust the way it should have. It melted the plastic flange that exits the hull near the jet pump and the rubber cover on the muffler itself is all melted...I'll need to make sure the cooling system is functioning properly so it doesn't happen again!
I'm debating pulling the motor, opening it up, checking the work of the previous person to verify that the crank is good and everything looks ok inside. The oil pump was removed and I really don't want to pre-mix so I'd like to put the pump back on...I think I have to pull the motor out to do that so while it's out, I'll give the motor a once over for peace of mind. I know that I'll likely have $2000 + into this when I'm all done with it but at least I'll know that it's been completely gone through and good to go for a bit without worrying about it too much.
Anyone have thoughts or suggestions for my project?
