Hey everyone, I am new to this site and a little new to Shovels. I have a pretty much stock 79 FLH with the 1200. It has a S&S carb on it but other than that I believe its stock. It had the baffles in it and I removed them the other day. The tins are out for paint now but anybody know of any problems I may have with removing the baffles??? Like back firing? loss or gain of power? I took them out to make it louder not really for a power gain... Any help would be great and thanks in advance!

 

Congratulations, you have what may be one the best year for shovels. The case materals were at their best then. Valve seats for no-lead gas. New style shifter top on tranny which may not be the best shifter they ever had.
As to the baffles, you may have to tinker with the carb settings but maybe not. That carb is a good one for shovels so don't let anyone talk you out of it. Shovels can run OK with out back pressure so you shouldn't have problems other than maybe with cops.
You didn't state the miles on it, which you may never know. If it is running OK just ride it. That is the way to know if there is anything needing work.
Just remember, sitting is worse on them then riding them.
People on this site will help you if you find you need help. Buy a service manual model specfic if you can. A parts manual is a good buy too as there you will get part #'s.

 

Well I'll tell you the little story behind this... Last fall I posted an ad on Craigslist for doing custom work on bikes. In my, ad I used 4 pics of bikes I have to show the work. One of them was a 2000 Honda Shadow, I know I know, it was a Honda but it was one fine looking Shadow! Anyways a guy contacted me asking if I would be interested in a trade for a 79 bagger. I met up with him and it was this bike! I was shocked that he wanted to trade straight up. He explained to me that he bought it in the spring to fulfill his dreams of owning a bagger. Only to fine out that at 65 years old it was just too much bike for him. As you can see in my pic it needs paint and his plan was to have it painted white and black, which is what my Honda was.

So I took the trade and have not been happier!!! It has 36k miles which I guess are original, came with a service manual, and a few extra parts. I got the bike last fall and put around 400 miles on it before the weather went south.

As of right now all the body panels are being painted and I have been doing a few small repairs, like mounting a new radio, repairing the indicator lights on the dash, and lots and lots of cleaning. I dont plan on it being a show bike or anything, I just want a sweet ride thats a little different than the rest. So far this bike has proven to be pretty easy to work on ans that manual is a life saver for sure!

 

Yup, that should be a great machine for ya!! AS Krutch said, ride it!! Keep up on routine maintenance and you most likely wont ever have to push or call for a trailer because of a mechanical failure. You'll soon learn which tools to carry for occasional and sometimes necessary 'tweeking'.
Enjoy and welcome to the family!!
jim

 

Oh I plan to ride! I am itching to get my tins back from paint, should be soon! Anyways another question or two for you guys... I cant decide yet if I want to keep it as a full dresser or strip the tour pac and luggage rack off and have a Street Glide look. Anyone know of a fairly easy way to make the TP, luggage rack, and backrest easily detachable? Without spending hundreds of dollars? The way it is from the factory I can probably switch from one to the other in maybe an hour, but with the new paint I am a little worried about bolting stuff on and off it...

 

I dont know of any quick disconnect hardware for shovels. You might be able to modify one but they are dam expensive so I wouldn't. I would just take your time and use care when installing and reinstalling yer xtra's. I have several seats, sissy bars and saddle bags for my bikes for the 'occasion'. I normaly ride with minimun and only put tall sissybar, large seat and bags when the wife is going on a road trip with me.
Hope that helps!
jim

 

Good points! I guess I don't think I will be putting the extras on every other day or anything like that. Maybe once in awhile... I would like my backrest detachable though because my wife only comes with about 50% of the time and I really don't like the way it looks when she is not on there. But I guess its something I could get used too if its too hard to do.

 

The tourpak on my shovel (73) is quick detach. There is a key in front of it which is the same as the one for the saddlebags. Unlock the key and it will come right off.

 

On mine there is a key lock on the luggage rack that I dont know what for, is that what you mean? Its right behind the backrest...

 

Yup. thats the one.