Harley Davidson XL1200X Sportster Forty Eight 2018 Service Manual

The Forty-Eight features “fat tires on a skinny bike” with an iconic peanut tank that made its debut in 1948 and gave the model its name. It was introduced in 2010 and the 2018 bike is a carry-over. The look is Harley’s signature bulldog stance, with a classic 2.1-gallon peanut tank that shows off the solid mass of the engine, a beefy front end with a tall, fat 130/90B16 MT90 tire (custom rubber reminiscent of the lead-sled culture), a solo seat and a black staggered exhaust. It has a large 49mm front fork with cartridge damping, adjustable emulsion rear shocks and black split 9-spoke cast aluminum wheels with floating rotors and powerful brakes. The 2018 US price was $11,299 to $11,999.

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. Torque is 73 lb-ft (96 Nm) at 3,500 rpm, power is about 66 hp at 6,000 rpm, and Harley lists fuel economy of about 48 mpg and recommends 91-octane fuel. 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 chassis has a steel frame, a rake of about 29.6 degrees, 132mm (5.2 inches) of trail and a 59-inch (1,495mm) wheelbase. Front suspension travel is 3.6 inches (91mm). Brakes are a single 300mm front disc and a single rear disc, and tires are a Michelin Scorcher 130/90B16 73H at the front and a 150/80B16 77H at the rear on 16-inch wheels. Lean angles are 27.1 degrees to each side.

The bike is 85.2 inches (2,165mm) long, 32.9 inches (835mm) wide and 43.3 inches (1,100mm) high, with 4.3 inches (110mm) of ground clearance. Seat height is 26.2 inches (665mm) laden and 28 inches (710mm) unladen. The tank holds 2.1 gallons (7.9 litres), with a warning light at about 0.65 gallons, engine oil capacity is 2.8 quarts (2.6 litres) with the filter, and the transmission takes 1 quart. Weight is 545 lbs (247 kg) as shipped and 556 lbs (252 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 Forty-Eight XL1200X running the way it was built to.