Hello Jan, I’m glad to hear your 68 CH was reliable in the period of time you owned it. Actually my older brother bought his 1968 XLCH as soon as he returned home from the Vietnam war and rode it on longer road trips to visit some of his army buddies he served with. It was very reliable, always started on two to three kicks and never leaked oil. It was the stock sparkling burgundy color and I road it many times as well. I missed it so much I had to track down another one in nice stock condition. The one in my video has only an original 12k on the clock and was stored 34 years before I bought it from a widow in New York whose husband just passed away. As it turns out he was the same age as my older brother. Anyway, I plan to make more videos of this particular 1968 XLCH and do some riding videos as well you may be interested in, in the near future. BTW the center stand was a factory option, it’s actually listed in the factory parts manual. It’s guys like you that inspired me to start this channel about 10 months ago, So it’s really Great to hear from you Jan, Take Care!

@@Michael-st1hl Thanks for sharing your fondest memories! As a matter of fact, I visited a friend today, who located and bought this 68 XLCH that I rode for nearly nineteen years. It has been completely restored, but the engine ran so good that he reasoned a rebuild was not necessary. Strange are the paths of destiny for men and their motocycles... 👀 🐽

Thank you for watching and your comments.Yes, Harley Davidson actually does have a center stand for the older Sportsters listed in the official Harley Davidson manual part # 49700-57 From 1957 to 1981 it was very rare to see one though. I hope you subscribe and follow along with my other iron head videos. Take care!

Thank you, I appreciate you watching I hope you follow along and subscribe for more iron head wrenching and riding coming soon! Take care.

Thanks Big Ed, it’s a nice auxiliary stand to have it and makes it easy to oil and adjust the chain without jacking the bike up. Not to mention if the weak side stand snaps off from kicking at least I have another stand to get me home. Not too much of an issue on an electric start model but my XLCH is kick only and over time the small thin kick stand will snap from too much stress and metal fatigue. Ask me how I know!

@@GRACEORT Thank you for watching, if you look at my video you can see all the hardware used. I’m sure you can fashion your own brackets fairly easily by bending some 1/6 to 1/8 thick flat stock, drilling the three holes in each one like ones you see in the video and buy the four bolts and spring. Really not much to it really. Just study all the hardware you see in the video and the shape of the two brackets. Then it’s a matter of measuring the frame attachment holes center to center and copy that dimension onto your two home made brackets. Actually some people don’t like the brackets that come with the aftermarket center stand and fashion new stronger ones. Of course it always helps to have a sample to measure and work off of. Take care and thanks for watching!

I bought this replica aluminum center stand from Dennis Kirk part # 49701-57. Currently priced at $176.49. Free shipping. Thank you for watching, I hope you subscribe and follow along as I continue to build, maintain and ride these iconic classic iron heads. Take care!

Thank you for watching, I plan on doing some riding videos this summer as well to mix it up a little bit. I hope you tune in. Take care