Found the Neway carbide cutters for Harley valve seats that'll fit my handle. (You buy two compound cutters, one for intakes and the other for exhaust). Also, confirmed that a local machinist (only one willing to do it) will press in new hardened, no-lead exhaust seats for $80 but no more than $150 (if he encounters a hassle figuring out how to clamp down the heads), once I locate the right seats online. They're cheap.

I hope to decarbon and disassemble the heads this weekend, then I'll shuffle over to my neighbor's shop and hit them with the glass beads. I may put a coat of semi-gloss ceramic silver on the heads, or just leave them naked.

Then I'll install new guides if they're worn (dirt cheap), which you need to keep the cutters perfectly centered to produce nice concentric seats as shown in Post #10. You can do that with a hammer or a cheapo pneumatic air hammer like I got on Scamazon. Takes like 30 seconds. New springs arrived yesterday, so it'll just be a matter of rebushing any rocker arms that are wobbly, and then perhaps a sand-and-polish job on the rocker boxes. I found adjustable reamers for the bushes that were unbelievably cheap and look to be very nice. Perfectly competent for tweaking rocker bushes (and tranny bushes, etc.).

I will post photos and if I find time a link to a Youtube DIY video for the guides and valve job, in case that would help folks who intend to keep their Shovelheads for a long time. It really isn't difficult, just takes patience and a steady hand. Basically, you just cut the angles in order, with the first (sealing angle) positioning the valve the right depth in the head, and then second (entry) and third (exit, if you want one) being used to narrow the sealing angle to the desired width. With each step, you just use lapping compound to show yourself where on the valve's angle the surface that you've cut is located (leaves a dull gray band on the valve). Then, you just adjust the band's location (sealing angle) or width (entry and exit angles) as needed. Voila.

Best part is then you've got cutters, the price of which pays for this valve job and as many more as the bike needs until you croak. Plus you know it's done right. I've had shops use an all-in-one cutter to save time--and that's fine, but they frequently adjust the sealing angle too wide or too narrow, so you end up with a prematurely burned or carbon-fouled angle. With the hand cutters, all you do is go slowly (cause you can't go back) and a few more rotations means a wider band. Measure with your Harbor Freight $25 venier calipers until the width is per the manual, and it's tough to screw up.

 

Well, looks like I need to replace at least one seat, so I'm doing all four. The seats are just $7.50 each at Goodson, so why not?

While those and new valves and guides are on the way, I made up an aluminum bracket to hold the oil cooler from some 2" angle iron I had laying around. Here are a couple of pics.

 

Nice, A 10 row Jagg.. They work well. My oil temp returning to the tank was 185* on a hot day on my high comp Evo..

 

Sweet. It gets bloody hot here in NM, so that's good news. I've got one of Jagg's manual bypass valves for cold days. I will be bending up hard lines to pass from the bypass back to/from the pump and filter, as they're slimmer so won't interfere with the brake pedal and linkage, etc. Gotta get a shot coil of 5/16" fuel line...

I also need to decide whether to sand and polish the two custom mounts to a mirror finish (I made another for the spin-on under the lower shotgun pipe - see post #1), or paint them black to match the frame.

 

*Question: this bike came with a high-quality belt primary drive that I want to keep. Is the best way to align it to fit the front pulley toothed wheel, and then run a straight edge back to the clutch hub?

 

Yes, run the straight edge off the front pulley face and align the trans to the front.. I take it your not running an inner primary..

 

Okay, thanks very much. Will do.

Actually, the PO fitted a belt primary that fits inside the stock (chrome tin) '51 housing. The belt is 1.5" (see pics) and it's totally enclosed, which I prefer. Seems like it's in pretty good shape, although I have never seen a new one up close.

 

Had that belt inside stock aluminum primary on a Shovel for 20 years , no issues

 

How many miles or years did each belt last? This one was sitting on the bike for 15 years, but I can't see any cracks, etc. Looks like it wasn't ridden much.

Also: about how much freeplay is best for adjustment of these Primo style belts?

 

Just wanted to update my last post..

I did not know you were running a chain case on the bike so the trans is already aligned to the motor,, To make sure that you have proper belt alignment you will still need to run the straight edge across the face of the front pulley to match the clutch basket but you might have to shim the front pulley to get proper alignment with the clutch basket.. I like to get it well under .030" if I can..
DEpending on which Rivera promo belt drive you have belt tension could be any where's from a 1/4"-3/4".. A 1/2" should be fine..