Just picked up a '72 FLH that someone has changed the fenders on (im guessing) because it looks more like a wide glide fender on the rear and the front i have no idea. Didnt run when i bought it so i pulled out the plugs to take a look and it was heli coiled. looked in the cylinder was walls were pretty beat up and oil on top of the pistons. so i know im in for atleast a top end job. Previous owner said it was bored .80 over, dont know how true that is but im already trying to find cylinders and pistons, wanna keep it very reliable. speed is not what im going for on this thing.
So where should i find shovel parts that arent S&S price?
And where can i get an original FLH front end with the nacelle and all. looks like somebody put a wide glide front end or something on this bike.
Try to get pictures up soon

 

 

Looks good. The stock heads had heli coils from the factory from 66-74. !972 was the first year with a disc brake on the front. It used the same hub as the drum brake but used an adapter (72 only) to bolt on the disc and hold the bearings. In 1973 they put disc brakes front and rear and changed the hubs to accommodate the disc and sprocket. They also changed the swing arm and shocks.

If your pistons are 80 over it is time to replace the cylinders, that is awfully thin.

I've had good luck on e-bay locating parts. Any 72 and later FLH front end will work. The late 77 and later front ends are made by Showa and the internals are different.

 

i have had no luck finding an FLH front end. and what would be the most reliable top end build? just back to stock? i've heard if you dont buy S&S cylinders then your wasting your money, any truth to that?

 

One thing I do know is when my old man put S&S heads on his 72 it gave it a real kick in rear. I understand the nacelle look I like it too, but that front end looks good probably stops better than stock and you don't have to deal with the infamous rattling banana caliper in the front. (it would originally have been a single disk) You will find plenty of other things the bike will need more than another front end before its "reliable" again along with bags to carry your tool kit. Its a shovel thing.

 

yeah, i had an ironhead lol, reliable and ironhead didnt go together real well in a sentence. atleast mine

 

If you haven't done it yet, pick up the factory service manual and parts manual. You can see whats the assembly consists of and if you can't find the entire front end you could piece it together.
I would rebuild it stock it will be much more reliable then trying to make a hot rod out of it.

Here is what my 72 looked like in September 1973.

 

Thats awesome man! And im still fairly young but i dont like seeing all the shovels being chopped up. To each there own but im gonna try to keep intact a piece of history. Maybe one day my little boy can appreciate it

 

Side note just started the tear down tonight, alot of rigged stuff im finding on it. But i should have expected that after 40 years of people wrenching on it

 

If you are patient, one will show up on ebay...probably worn out with a high price tag...you can run the nacelle on a fatboy or heritage front end...and have the same basic look with better brakes...and there are repops out there.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/FL-PANHEAD-S...faae8f&vxp=mtr