Someday I wanna be a 'real' biker like you!

 

The old plant in York, PA may be gone, but the must have just moved HD is alive and well in York still! If you look at your VIN, the 11th character indicates where it is made. Any bike with a Y is made in York, like my Wide Glide!

 

Sorry to come across that way. I usually stay out of the negative vibe $hit because all are entitled to an opinion. Just get peeved when the basis of one's information is something like Wikipedia.

Heck that is like reading the "Book of Knowledge" which was a children's version of Encycpopedia Britanicca. Bits and pieces of information laced together that have only bits and pieces of truth.

Suppose if you repeat mistruths long enough, eventaully the "sheep" believe it and report it as gospel. There are many of us still riding old iron. Who knows maybe a few of the 300K Anniversary models produced will be around 40-50 years from now and then others can be the judge of their abulity to stand up through time.

The AMF era saw the devleopment of the EVO style motor, the basis for which you and many others are probably riding today.The executive put in charge of AMF, Ronald C gott was an avid motorcycle enthusiast and was committed to survival of the historical company. Under AMF HD did become profitable. However with that there is the truth that quality control was definietly an issue (point the blame at increasing production without the requisite quality control in place).

IMO AMF was no monster and neither is Honda. It is all about competition and market. It took AMF almost eight years to realize that the diversity plan was not working out when they finally sold off the Aermacchi line to Caviga.

Bottom line for me anyway is that AMF laid the groundwork for continued existence and the success that HD now enjoys today.

 

My 1976 XLCH was the best of all 6 harleys I have owned 3 of which were dressers. I would love having that 1976 sportster again.
I use to climb out of a 450 agcat after flying all day and ride the bike an hour and a half back home. it always seemed to refresh me after along day in the hot sun and wind. Then get on it at 4:30 the next morning and ride it another hour and a half back to work

 

I didn't see the thread as a slam on the Shovel or AMF. I think the bike pictured is a thing of beauty and would love to have it. This is one of the few bikes I stopped to photograph at Sturgis and would also love to own.

 

If it weren't for guys like myself and others who bought and rode AMF built Harleys regardless of what people thought or said there probably wouldn't be a Harley being built today as far as Iam concerned the guys who saw them thru the lean years should get at least a thank you.
i owned 2 of the AMF Harley's the last one I bought new in 78 a beautiful FLHS 80 inch shovel that I reluctantly sold 5 years ago (great bike)

 

My parents (mom and stepdad ) had an AMF dresser. They had one issue with it. The day after they bought it, they were on Card Sound Road, and got a flat tire. Peterson's went out there, loaded the bike up on the trailer, took it back to the shop, and changed the tire out. No charge. Other than the requisite maintenance, no issues with that bike period. And no, it didn't leak a drop of oil.

You gotta let them warm up. You also can't beat on them until after they have about 20 miles on them after the first start. The problem was still prevalent with the Evos. They were just cold natured. If you let them warm up, then rode them gently until they got fully up to temp, the seals would last a good while.

Conversely, if you came running out of the bar, jumped on it, fired it up, and left in a cloud of dust, you would be rewarded with either a rocker cover gasket or base gasket leak, the latter being a real PITA, because it involved removing the jugs. So, being situationally aware ( knowing when it was time to leave, and doing so ahead of time ) helped preserve those seals and made the bike run better.

The other recommended starting proceedure was to use the throttle lock instead of the choke to let the bike warm up. It took some practice, but I used to start my scooter in the AM, run it up to 1500 rpm, and lock the star wheel on it. Then, I'd go and brush my teeth and get ready to leave. When I came back out, it would be running about 2000 rpm, and I'd have to back it down to 1500 again. Go back inside, lock up, and by the time I got outside, it would be able to idle on it's own without stalling. The choke was notorious for fouling plugs, especially since most people were running larger jets with a stage one.

For warmer starts, you could just check the fins beneath the rocker covers, and once they were nice and hot, you could go.

Now, with EFI, the bike does all of that for you. You should still let it warm up after start for at least 30 seconds without using the throttle, even after it's warm. For cold starts, maybe a little longer is better? Can't say for certain, but old habits die hard.

 

[QUOTE=dribble;10993366]I didn't see the thread as a slam on the Shovel or AMF. I think the bike pictured is a thing of beauty and would love to have it. This is one of the few bikes I stopped to photograph at Sturgis and would also love to own.

This was the OPs input under the banner of Tarnished Tradition...

In 1969, American Machine and Foundry (AMF) bought the company, streamlined production, and slashed the workforce. This tactic resulted in a labor strike and a lower quality of bikes. The bikes were expensive and inferior in performance, handling, and quality to Japanese motorcycles. Sales and quality declined, and the company almost went bankrupt.[6] The "Harley-Davidson" name was mocked as "Hardly Ableson", "Hardly Driveable," and "Hogly Ferguson",[47][48] and the nickname "Hog" became pejorative.[citati

Take one paragraph from an entire Wiki spread on MoCo and "just happen" to quote the most negative comments (and not entirely true) about older iron. Hell my pop had a brand new 70 FLH waiting for me when I got home from chasing Charlie and the Little People after 22 months. Only kept it for 10 months becuase I got pissed at my dealer because they refused to back up their product (flywheels not properly balanced and causing the notor mount to snap; pop helped me diagnose propblem, Sam Arena, San Jose was no help; paid cash and they basically said '**** off; it is how/why I cam into riding pans for so long after I fixed it and sold the shovel; didnt'd stop me from eventually getting another AMF-era bike though; just took some cooling down time...in years).

And hell ya, I too wish I could find an FX in that pristine condition that is in the larger pic


Thanks for chiming in here. There are many like you and me still out there

 

...... an early 70's AMF Harley Davidson SuperGlide was the one that brought me into the fold.
........ back then we just called'm 'Harleys'....... & still do

 

[QUOTE=panz4ever;10993951]You're right it was a slam but quoting Wiki (the content of which can be written by any yayhoo) didn't give him any credibility in the first place. If one has no respect for the old stuff (any old stuff) then I guess he just lacks the intelligence to understand that it is that old stuff that bought us to where we are today.