Hey all:

First post here.

I currently Ride a Kawasaki Vulcan 800... a sweet little scoot in its own right. (A vanity movie of that bike is here: http://www.mikehorvath.com/KawVulcan.wmv ), and some pics: http://www.mikehorvath.com/gallery

I've done all the hop ups one can reasonably do on that Kaw, and it just isn't that big badass Vtwin touring bike I'd love to have. You see, I made the Run to the Wall from Cincinnati recently, and did 1390 miles round trip, 713 of which were on the final day (all the way from Arlington in Wash. DC to my front door in Cincy). I saw and drooled on tons of bikes, from all over, and i got more "Here, take her for a spin" offers than I could believe. Basically it blew my mind just how much I love to hit the slab and thunder over pavement on a big *** V-twin. But that Kaw sure proved itself as a great urban scoot, but not a great Highway scoot.

I also currently commute daily -rain or shine and sometimes snow- in a busy urban environment. I have no garage or driveway in my urban abode, but I cover my bike and the 'hoods in my 'hood respect the bike quite nicely. I wonder if its because its loud as hell?

Anyhow, this recent trip really put me in the market for a good touring vtwin Bagger. And boy howdy, am I excited to finally have found the kind of riding that I love to do best. It crystallized the kind of bike I'm looking for. I've test ridden a Yammi R*, Yammi Strato, and a HD Road King. Each has its own charm.

For budget reasons, I've recently been looking at Tour Glides, both the old Shovels and Evo based models. I'm not scared to wrench, but I've got relatively little experience, no driveway, and an "adequate" tool collection. I don't particularly care if its "Show quality", but I would care if an imminent rebuild is absolutely necessary.

Me? I'm just a serious rider who wants a Visceral bike that will hammer down the high road (with luggage and passenger) in style, and, should I experience some issues, I'd love to have some comfort knowing there's a loyal local following all over the place that would be willing to help a bro out in times of need. I don't mind "Character" in a bike, and I don't mind a breakdown. I would mind a mandatory rebuild every 25,000 miles or so.

Mike

 

I would pick the EVO over a Shovel all day long......I think the last Shovelhead was around '83 or '84......EVO is easier to service and more reliable and certainly has great availability of parts when on the road

 

Mike,

A shovel requires a lot of TLC and wrenching, and you might have to search for a lot of the parts you need. I would be much more comfortable with a good used EVO. For touring you will probably find that you have more reliability, more power, and a better all around ride.

Just an opinion.

I love the old bikes, and am really greatful that there are people out there that have the desire and the ability to keep them on the road, I'm just not one of those guys. The only way I would have an old bike is as a second ride, and not as one I depended on for trips.

Regards,

Bill

 

Evo all the way dude if want to ride more'n wrench

 

First let me start by saying, I love the old Shovel's. Ride smooth and a little more "planted" than the new tourers. I feel a little isolated on my new SG, I'm still getting used to the soft ride. I know boo-hoo. Besides, the shovel is the best looking motor's to come out of the moco.

OK. Now for the facts. Yes, you will need to rebuild the shovel every 25000 miles. Just finished mine last years ago, went overboard and replaced everything. Not cheap. It's good to hear you've got tools, you'll need them. In addition, you'll need to bring them with you. You'll can get a shovel much cheaper than a evo, but you will be wrenching on the road. If your looking for the reliability of a Jap cruiser, buy a jap cruiser or a twin cam HD.

just my 2 cents


78 FLH with a 93" stroker
01 Suzuki Hayabusa
06 FHLXi

 

I had a 1981 Tour Glide. I put 70,000 pretty trouble-free miles on it. I never rebuilt it, although it was ready for a rebuild when I sold it. It was rubber mounted and rode every bit as smoothly as my 2006 does. It didn't stop as well, though.

I loved that bike. But I would definitely buy an Evo instead if I were looking for an older Tour Glide. I saw a really nice 1986 Evo at my local dealer for $6995 last fall. Really beautiful condition, about 50k miles. You can buy a brand-new 80 in. Evo motor for less than four grand- a rebuild costs far less, and the Evo motors are very reliable. Many good wrenches claim the Evo is the most reliable Harley ever built. Much more so than a shovel. So, if you picked up an older TG for 7 grand and planned to put 3k more into it, you could probably have a super reliable tourer for 10 k or less, and that is a good deal.

I ran into a guy at my dealer last week who had just bought a 2000 Road King police bike from the Salt Lake City PD on e-bay for 10k. It was a great looking and running bike.

Deals are out there if you look for 'em.

 

I vote EVO in your case IMO. You need to depend on your bike daily and the EVO is more reliable and in the snow it is no fun making the weekly checks on the items your shovel would require. Also, hammer down...better go EVO.

 

Thank you all for your posts.

I'm a guy who does my homework, so I went to the library. I'm now reading a great book: "The Big Book of Harley Davidson Horsepower" by Tom Murphy, and boy howdy am I impressed. Great book, very well written and even entertaining!

I'm convinced now by reading this that the 85 and up EVO Tour Glides with the upgraded clutch plates, better metallurgy in the valve springs, tighter tolerances in the cylinders, etc, would certainly be the way to go. I've already found several on Cycle Trader for very reasonable prices. Harley Davidson's website's Used Bikes search feature has also turned up a few interesting ~$7K bikes with lots of aftermarket goodies already on them such as the 6 speed tranny, pipes, some chrome etc.

Will this truly be the Thunderous Monster Bike that blocks the sun out wherever I ride? It seems like it! Man, it's gonna be fun!

The one final turn off for me would be what the vibration will be like on the highway. With my higher rpm revving vulcan, speeds of about 65-70mph caused an intense high frequency vibration in my hands. I won't mind a lower frequency "shake" but if the Tour Glide puts off vibes that puts my hands to sleep it will be a bummer.

 

The Tourglide is rubbermounted and will be a smooth a butter at highway speeds provided the engine and frame is all properly aligned and the rubber mounts are in good shape.

Regards,

Bill

 

AS much fun as old bikes are, if you want to ride a lot - ESPECIALLY on the highway go with the EVO. My bike would rattle your teeth out on a long highway trip - especially with its top speed of 65ish mph (Three speed). Even with the four speed, the EVO is still better for riding.