So here it is, I am buying my first shovel next week as part of a challenge me and three buddies have.

We get together every couple years in New England for a week of ridding and shooting the #^@&. So a few years ago we all rented HDs for the week and were complaining about how much it cost >$1000 for the week. So the next time w got together for this riding week we all decided we would buy a bike the day we landed, get transit plates and drive the bikes all week long, then sell them before we left. The first year we all went the easy route and got Hondas... This year we upped the challenge.

We have to buy a bike the day we land. can't spend more than $3500, it has to be a Harley.


We added a few bonus, $100 for coolest bike and another $100 for the oldest (has to make it through a few hundred miles of easy riding.) I have been FXE low miles under 15K. The owner seems very honest and I have had 3 or 4 good conversations with him. He understands my challenge and says the bike will do many thousands of miles with out issue. I am looking for a good indy shop in Danvers, or near by, to get it checked out before I go on the trip, but I need some advise on what to look for when I pick it up. What should I see if there are problems, like leaks, noises, oil and trans fluid levels, etc...

In other words what would you do to once over a bike before you rode it 100 miles right out of the gate.

Also what would you pack for tools and spares for a few hundred mile trip.

 

Rethink this a bit buddy thats some seriously unrealistic dreams you're entertaining , a $3500 shovelhead IF you can find one is gonna need work and lots of it before you try and ride 10 miles much less a week on vacation. That price tag your looking at a sportster or a beater evo you may get away with.

 

man, there is quite a few nice shovels on craigs list here in the St.Louis area for $3500. lots of bikes for sale nowdays . i know where's there is a really nice 96 fatboy done up very nice and well taken care of for $6500. markets flooded with bikes. this is why i never understood my friend dumping all that money into his old shovel when he could have bought another one and then had a ton of parts to play with.

 

its a want thing

if he had to explain you would not get it i guess

 

I am afraid I gotta call you on this one.................in other words "show me"

http://stlouis.en.craigslist.org/sea...lhead&sort=rel

 

No **** prices as crazy as they are out here ...............

 

Agreed … $3,500 will get you a nice Sportster. Purchasing an Evo Dyna or Softail on the east coast in July / August for that $$$ is a long shot. As for finding a dependable Shovelhead … good luck with that.

 

just seen one a couple of weeks ago and it was a very nice shovel(at least it looked that way in the pic's) and i know that fatboys on there, the guy just reposted it a few days ago. i was thinking about buying it as i know where it came from and the owner that has it now has never rode it. i was thinking apes and jockey shift for it. never know until you get there and see the bike in person.

 

No such thing a shovelhead fatboy, that was mid 90's evo

 

Picked up the shovel yesterday and drove it 50 miles to my brothers place. It rode like a champ. shifts fine, starts easy. There are a few issues but nothing I cant handle. The big stuff sounds fine, Motor, trans and brakes.


I will let you guys know how the trip is going.