Hey Everyone!


I have recently hit an ethical dilemma, so I have come to this forum for some insight.


A little over a year ago I purchased a non-running 1976 FLH Liberty from a guy in a very small mining town in AZ. The bike is registered with the Make as Harley and Model as Liberty (AZ only allows 6 characters). Unfortunately, the bike has been repainted, but the factory Black with metal flake (really course flake) is visible after sanding the latest paint job down a little. From what I've read, many of these bicentennial models were repainted because factory stickers were considered ugly.


So now I have an excellent bare bones foundation to build on, but I am not sure if I would be better off restoring it or just building it how I want. I know with cars it would be sacrilege to alter such a platform, but I have had conflicting opinions.


On one hand, I can take my time, do it right and restore this machine to its original beauty. On the other hand, I can get in the wind a lot sooner if I disregard the history. Several people have said I will never get the money back if I restore, but I also haven't been able to find many people with a bicentennial FLH that they hacked....


What shout I do with this classic touring machine? Sorry for the long post!

 

if it is only paint...get a 2nd set of tins and have one set 'restored' and the other painted how you like.

if there are other issues...how far do you want to take it?

is a $20k restoration of a $7K bike what you really wanna do.

will you keep it forever or?

A bike is only original once- if it is too far gone from the 76 edition, just build up a nice scoot with a story of a past life.

I have had a few panheads- some original, some custom.
the hardest part is knowing when not to dump a bunch of money

mike

 

 

Yeah, makes total sense.

 

It's not original any more so do what you want. If you want to restore it at some time - just throw it together now and see how much mechanical work the bike needs. You can then start collecting original parts for later.

 

I still own and ride my first Harley.
A 1979E FLH. Bought it in 1981.
Did a restore on it well over twenty years ago when the age was starting to show. It was next to impossible to find original decals THEN!
Of course computers now a days can replicate, but original is tough to do.
Just ride it for now.

 

I still own and ride my first Harley.
A 1979E FLH. Bought it in 1981.
Did a restore on it well over twenty years ago when the age was starting to show. It was next to impossible to find original decals THEN!
Of course computers now a days can replicate, but original is tough to do.
Just ride it for now, unless you plan on sitting a spell

 

I vote restore.

 

Since it's not original and pristine, just do a cool rebuild and enjoy the crap out of that thing.

 

Edit- duplicate post