74 hardtail project bike
Stellar HDF Member
Joined: Feb 2006
Posts: 3,035
Likes: 17
From: Houston Texas
Harley did this with a God-Awful collection of levers, hardware and cables and other mess.
Then in 1976 they had redesigned things and the hardware was done away with.
There must be some of this hardware laying around someone's house right now, but I have no idea of how you would connect with those who may have it.
pg
Cruiser
Joined: May 2007
Posts: 149
Likes: 2
You see the 75 parts on ebay quite often, as most guys go the other way--converting their left hand shifts to right hand because the OEM set up is such a contraption.
On a chopper I built in the late 60s early seventies, I swapped sides by mounting a hydraulic cylinder on the right and then running a shaft through the motor mount plates. Haven't really ridden the bike in years (last licensed in 74), but I did move it out of the basement since this picture, started it up, and rode it up and down our hill (hit 75 on forty-year-old tires then brought it back down. Runs great). It's in my office now. Here's a picture when it was still in the basement--the pegs are off, and the brake pedal disconnected, but you can see how the shift lever works.
Oh, and I am going to ride it a little next spring. I have other Sportsters, but I've got a bit of hankering to take this old girl down the road a few more times.
Oh, yeah, and I painted the basement, too.
On a chopper I built in the late 60s early seventies, I swapped sides by mounting a hydraulic cylinder on the right and then running a shaft through the motor mount plates. Haven't really ridden the bike in years (last licensed in 74), but I did move it out of the basement since this picture, started it up, and rode it up and down our hill (hit 75 on forty-year-old tires then brought it back down. Runs great). It's in my office now. Here's a picture when it was still in the basement--the pegs are off, and the brake pedal disconnected, but you can see how the shift lever works.
Oh, and I am going to ride it a little next spring. I have other Sportsters, but I've got a bit of hankering to take this old girl down the road a few more times.
Oh, yeah, and I painted the basement, too.
Last edited by Moon Wolf; Oct 7, 2009 at 10:42 PM.
Cruiser
Joined: May 2007
Posts: 149
Likes: 2
Yep, all of the bike was handmade, including the gas tank, exhaust, linkages, controls, and so on. In those days, there weren't many pre-made parts available. The frame and front end are Jammer, which I believe means Paughco. That frame is one of the first of that style built. Previously, there had been rigid frames available for Sportsters (Gary Bang made one for instance) but the lines were no pleasing. The line from the neck to the axle wasn't straight--they had a bend behind the seatpost like the early K style bolt on hardtails.
I made a model of the tank out of wood and bent the 16 gauge around it, knocked out the plug, and welded on the end pieces. The vent and return line go up inside the tank so that all three lines enter from the bottom.
Cruiser
Joined: May 2007
Posts: 149
Likes: 2
I think you could probably make one as good or better yourself. The crossover system used on the 75 was definitely not the engineering department's finest hour. As mentioned above, though, this do show up on ebay and other places, as many owners of 75 coverted the other way.
Last edited by Moon Wolf; Oct 8, 2009 at 04:21 PM.
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Stellar HDF Member
Joined: Feb 2006
Posts: 3,035
Likes: 17
From: Houston Texas
That will be much cheaper, and will keep the engine as it was originally.
If you go changing over the shifter the rear brake set up will also have to be changed. It is going to be a big hassle.
Oh, the best news to come your way is hearing the lady is going to give you a bunch of missing parts! Press her hard on that one. That is going to save you a ton of cash if she provides a lot of the now missing pieces......... pg