Just bought this bike for my wife, anybody know anything about em? anybody have one or had one? just looking for some info on it....

 

Had my '78 FLH for over 200k miles. Same frame, engine as yours, just slightly different front end. Shovel motor. More maintenance than your Twinkie by a long shot, but lots easier to work on. More vibration by a long shot, too.

More class, too!

Is this bike stock?

 

That sure aint no 79 low rider.

 

The pic in the post is his bike, not the Low Rider he got for his wife.

 

yeah the NT is mine. Her bike is stock except for the paint on the tin and the tanks are 5 gallon instead of 3.5 It does vibrate a hell of a lot more than mine which I kinda like, feels more like a harley if there is such a thing. I think I need to go through the carb. so I may be here asking some questions about that when I get to that project.

 

Well I did buy a new low Rider back in 79. Liked it a lot. Cant remember why I sold it. Bout all I rember about it now is it came with drag bars, was black with red pin stripping and I think the stock exuast curved around the motor. and it was 80 cu in..

 

'79 was an AMF year, the electric switches were junk. IF it still has stock controls and switches, be prepared to find replacements. It's probably had all the motor gaskets changed but keep an eye open for oil drippings everywhere on the motor and especially around cylinder base and case.

S&S is pretty much 'The Carb' for the old shovel heads but IMHO, Mikuni is just as reliable and a better performer with less quirkiness.

Aside from the usual 'old skool' issues, it should be as reliable as any new bike, it will just have more 'character' issues and it's sure to attract a lot of attention!!

Nice find, good luck.

 

Some of the new Harley Dealers won't even know what a shovelhead is. I'd find a good old harley mechanic to work on it for you. Parts will be a b itch to get too.


Terry

 

Had to jump back in here.

I had my '78 FLH for 200,000 miles. I put one top end into it at 125,000 miles. At the time I sold it, it was due for a complete engine overhaul, top & bottom. The tranny, 3 speed w/reverse, needed nothing done to it other than replacing the mainshaft seal, which I did yearly when I replaced the drive chain & sprockets. The only electrical equipment that ever malfunctioned was the usual solenoid contacts, a starter relay, and the starter switch. The relay failed 'cause it got water in it. The starter switch failed 'cause I didn't replace the relay, but wired the switch directly to the solenoid. It wasn't made to handle that much current, but it still lasted for a year. I blocked off the oil to the primary and ran a Primo enclosed belt drive at about 45,000 miles. I broke a belt a month or so before doing the top end. The bike leaked no oil whatsoever as long as that tranny seal was replaced yearly. I did go to a double lip seal and a "Supernut" on the sprocket, with it's built-in seal. I put a kicker on it at about 45,000 miles, also. Had 2 throwout bearings go out; after the 2nd one failed, I started replacing them yearly when I replaced the chain, sprockets, and tranny seal. At 200,000 miles it needed a frame repair because the left swingarm bearing finally failed, and allowed the swingarm bolt to strip the threads in the frame. That one was my fault 'cause at the last "annual" I thought I'd be able to get another year out of the original bearings.

You can easily get any part ever made for a Shovel from quite a few places. Not too many dealers mess with them any longer as they seldom have a mech who's been trained on one. Check with almost any older indy shop, and the mechs will be the "artists" needed to work on a Shovel.

Keep the mechanical advance mechanism behind the new-fangled electronic ignition sensor in good repair. At least once a year, pull it and inspect it for wear, lube it well, and reinstall it. If a hydraulic lifter starts ticking, don't worry too much, at least until it gets loud enough to bug you. Then you have a choice; buy a new hydraulic lifter or put a set of solid lifter adapters in. One hydraulic unit costs about the same as a set of 4 solid adapters.

Replace the sprockets at least every 2 chains. It's a pain 'cause you gotta take the inner & outer primaries off to change the tranny sprocket. But if you get lazy and don't change that tranny sprocket, it'll work loose, possibly destroying the shaft, or at least causing excess wear on the main shaft bearings. When they are too worn, it'll leak no matter what you do to stop it.

The swingarm has a grease fitting on it. Use it well, and make sure the grease comes out past the bearing seals on both sides of the bike. Pull the wheels down every 10,000 miles or yearly, and clean, inspect, and repack the bearings. Check the endplay, especially on the front wheel. Clean, inspect, and repack the neck bearings at least yearly, too.

There's probably more, but I hear a ribeye callin' me!

Love them Shovels!

 

Ive had 3 amf year bikes. All were excelent. My '75, rode it hard for many years , before it even had the slightest of oil leak. I did hear that the dealer here in Knoxville does not work on old bikes anymore. Ifn it were me , Id work on a 1918 or a 2005. There are plenty of good grease monkeys out there that can wrench on them for you.