Hey Everyone


I was reading earlier post ( Shovelheads just how bad are they ) and most of the conversations were on the 70's early 80's Shovel's and I wanted to know how much wrenching would one expect to do on a earlier model like a 1968 that looks like it's been taking care of?
The bike in question seems to run well, ( no road test yet, winter here ) and was rebuilt in last 5-7 yrs but no paperwork so no idea what was done? What are some basic things I can look at/for while inspecting this bike? There is a small half dollar size amount of oil under bike after sitting a couple of weeks. I don't have a whole lot of HD experience but have worked on old hot rods and some jap bikes.


Thanks
Shoe

 

If it's only a half dollar size oil puddle I'd say it's a good one, or it's out of oil. Just like any bike, change the fluids, check the chain tensions, keep an eye on fluid levels,plugs, points, check all bolts and screws for tightness. Is it electric start or kick only. Clutch key's will eventually go as will the kicker gear key nothing major but get a manual and follow the normal maintenance.

 

I picked up an old ugly one a little over 3 years ago.
She was in rough shape, oil all over the place, filthy, literally was kept in the guys barn in the back. He used to ride it a long time ago, it had various work done...some time ago. Had a buddy that knows Shovels well go with me...look at it, even ride it. Checked compression, started her up, all that stuff.

The leaks were fixable...she had bad rocker box gaskets. We took care of that a month or so after I got her home.

She's work in progress....the work I do on her is "fix up" work. Not really "maintenance" work..other than the usual oil changes.

...she's getting there....pic in my sig.

As to how much work they need to stay on the road...yeah Shovels had a reputation of requiring lots of wrenching back then. BUT...chances are...most of the "bad things" have been replaced 'n upgraded by now. Gasket technology has gotten a lot better since back then with those leaky cardboard gaskets.

It's really hard to say without knowing what was replaced on her, what was upgraded on her, what has been done to her. There is a SHovelhead forum down in this forum..under the classics section. Post there...there are a ton of knowledgeable Shovel lovers there which will see this and you'll get more replies.

 

Thanks, it's electric and kick start.

 

The '66-'69 models are the most desirable shovelheads made, especially if in stock condition. Routine maintenance required like any other bike. The little bit of oil is no big deal, probably just primary cover gasket of possibly tranny seal leaking. The thread you're referring to should have been titled 'How Good are They'?

 

As said- There's a shovelhead sub-forum under the "Classic" section. Lots of info there. If you want it, buy it. My longest trip on my '80 was 6,600 miles. My biggest problem was the front plug would start to miss fire every 500 miles from carbon buildup. Also a quart of oil would disappear every 500 miles. Those problems were fixed after a rebuild.

 

Why are the 66-69 more desireable?

 

Well, it's approaching 50 years old so getting a good idea on how it was maintained by the PO goes a long way. I suspect you already know that this is not going to be a "put gas in it and go" type of deal.


That being said, if it's in good shape and "fairly" original I wouldn't hesitate to buy it. As was mentioned, '68 is Generator Shovel and becoming very collectable besides being WAY up there on the "cool" meter.


Try to get and post some pics and the asking price.

 

OP You need to post this in the Shovel part of the forum. Those guys live 'em.

https://www.hdforums.com/forum/shovelhead-62/


TwiZted BiKer is one to talk to.

 

My advice is Loctite. On every bolt.