Harley Davidson XL1200CX Sportster Roadster 2018 Service Manual

The Roadster is the performance-styled member of the 1200 Sportster family, introduced in 2016 and unchanged for 2018, with Harley’s tagline “adrenaline mixed with a shot of garage-built custom style.” It blends the company’s performance-oriented past with the custom scene, with cutoff front and rear fenders, a tall 3.3-gallon tank, a racing-themed oval airbox finished in graphite and a single combined tach/speedo. The 19-inch front and 18-inch rear wheels (black offset split 5-spoke cast aluminum) match the diameters of some top 1970s sportbikes, giving it a period look and extra cornering clearance under the engine. The front is a 43mm inverted fork with cartridge damping and dual front disc brakes, and the Roadster has a two-up seat, lowered handlebars and mid-mount foot controls. The 2018 US price was $11,299.

The engine is the air-cooled, rubber-mounted 1,202cc Evolution V-twin, with an 88.9mm bore, a 96.8mm stroke and a 10:1 compression ratio, fed by Electronic Sequential Port Fuel Injection. The exhaust is a shorty-dual system with chrome tapered mufflers and laser-cut black heat shields. Torque is 76 lb-ft (about 103 Nm) at 3,750 rpm by the US J1349 method, or 96 Nm at 4,000 rpm by the European method, and power is about 66-67 hp at 6,000 rpm. The gearbox is a 5-speed with a multi-plate wet clutch, a 38/57 chain primary drive and a 29/68 belt final drive.

The rear suspension has variable-rate spring shocks over 36mm pistons with preload adjustment. Brakes are dual-piston calipers on dual front discs and a rear disc, and tires are a Dunlop Harley-Davidson Series radial 120/70R19 at the front and a 150/70R18 at the rear. Rake is 28.9 degrees with 5.5 inches (140mm) of trail on a 59.3-inch (1,505mm) wheelbase, and lean angles are about 30.8 degrees to the right and 31.1 degrees to the left.

The bike is 86 inches (2,185mm) long, 33.9 inches (860mm) wide and 42.5 inches (1,080mm) high, with 5.9 inches (150mm) of ground clearance. Seat height is 29.5 inches (749mm) laden and 30.9 inches (785mm) unladen. The tank holds 3.3 gallons (12.5 litres), and engine oil capacity is 2.8 quarts (2.6 litres) with the filter. Weight is 551 lbs (250 kg) as shipped and 571 lbs (259 kg) in running order, with a gross vehicle weight rating of 1,000 lbs.

This factory service manual covers the procedures, torque specs, and diagrams needed to keep a Sportster Roadster XL1200CX running the way it was built to.