Am I crazy??
Seasoned HDF Member
Joined: Jul 2014
Posts: 8,604
Likes: 3,375
From: Cental, MI
6th gear....If ya had any torque...you would only need 3.
Do you see a trend here????
BTW Even the H-D 6 speed is 1:1 in High gear!!!!
Cruiser
Joined: Mar 2015
Posts: 143
Likes: 2
From: Ottertail, MN
My advice, without a doubt do it. You only live once. Wrench on the sucker until you bleed if you have too. Before long, it will be like a family member, and you will figure out all it's quirks. And when that time comes, I would bet you wouldn't trade that shovel for five times what it's worth, or come back here and tell me I was wrong.
Seasoned HDF Member
Joined: Oct 2005
Posts: 7,499
Likes: 3,717
From: Santa Klaus County, Cali
350 miles a week (if he works 7 days/week) does not require "routine maintenance" every week. On long trips on my pans and shovels I will set time aside (half day at most) every 1500-2500 miles (depending on the bike and conditions I rode in) and check oil, fasteners, chains, linkage and such. But you sure wouldn't make much progress if you did your maintenance at such short intervals as you suggest.
And I really have to wonder if the early HD models were planned obscelesence. MoCo designed them to be worked on easily by your average 'garage' mechanic. They were sold as a cheap and reliable (but not always) form of transportation (the fun portion appeared later on in marketing from I have seen). The obvious exception are the war-years flatheads
Thread Starter
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Road Captain
Joined: Apr 2012
Posts: 584
Likes: 119
From: New Baltimore, MI
Thanks for all of the advice/ opinions! It doesnt make the decision any easier but at least I see everyones point of view! My wife almost hit the floor last night when I mentioned selling the Ultra for a 40 year year old bike, but I thhink I am going to attempt to head down that road. Still in the contemplation stage, I need to get rid of a bike to get another one, maybe i will finish the IH, sell it and start looking for a shovel that needs some love...
Seasoned HDF Member
Joined: Nov 2006
Posts: 12,878
Likes: 5,449
From: la la land jerzey
5 thousand bucks buys a running shovel in the US most places and a deal comes along once in a while
But i would not quit my day job -< the ultra especially if she likes riding on it - every time on the shovel something happens to it they see money lost - what they done see they dont know to bitch at < reason for that common name i guess
But i would not quit my day job -< the ultra especially if she likes riding on it - every time on the shovel something happens to it they see money lost - what they done see they dont know to bitch at < reason for that common name i guess
Seasoned HDF Member
Joined: Jan 2011
Posts: 157,521
Likes: 57,072
From: Michigan 15 Minutes East Of Hell
Don't misunderstand my postings as "negativity to the Shovel" ... I've had several and the 79 ( ya ya bad year, AMF, yada yada yada ) is an excellent scooter but I've been mechanical and tenacious to be able to do everything and anything needed to be done to it. I bought it less than a year old form someone who would have had trouble picking his own nose ... but I got it for a song and a dance. Tore it down to a bare frame and "resurrected" it using parts and skill that the MOCO should have used in the first place. All S&S internals, Super E, Belts front and rear and a fist full of improvements and it's dependable but it isn't a late bagger that requires little to no "road skills" ( read mechanical ) to keep it going day after day. I've put about 45,000 miles on it ( owing several baggers in the same time frame ) and it still can hold it's own with a lot of the "hot rods" and still give dependable service. Of course it's the one that turns the heads when it shows up :>)
Seasoned HDF Member
Joined: Nov 2010
Posts: 17,548
Likes: 7,197
From: Oxford, Nc
Not negativity as such intended when I recommend to the Op that if he's never ridden a rigid mount shovel, please do so before deciding to give up the '12. My 75 FXE commuted 110 miles a day back then. (But I was in my 20's back then too! )
Seasoned HDF Member
Joined: Oct 2007
Posts: 8,852
Likes: 2,493
From: Decatur, Alabama
I've got a daily commuter EVO, a shovel, and an ironhead. Other than the usual maintenance stuff, the EVO is pretty trouble free. I alternate between riding either the shovel or ironhead on Sunday afternoons in the County while the other is on blocks being worked on. I take my time with repairs, don't sweat getting in spare parts, etc. and I can leave one of the dinosaurs in pieces for as long as I want. The work on them is generally "old bike" fixes like new oil lines, rotted wires, etc. Neither of them are breaking down on the side of the road.
No way I'd sell my commuter bike (nearly year-round in Alabama) for another project bike.
Carl
No way I'd sell my commuter bike (nearly year-round in Alabama) for another project bike.
Carl
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Cruiser
Joined: Apr 2015
Posts: 190
Likes: 1
From: USA
I just retired from the Army after 21 years and may have too much time on my hands. I am thinking of selling my 2012 Ultra and getting a 1974 (my birth year) Electra Glide (if I can find one). I use my bike now for commuting, 50 miles round trip, to the new job. Is this even a remotely good idea to pick up a shovel as a daily driver? I am by no means a mechanic, but can follow a manual and currently do all services to my '12 myself. Thoughts???
No relevance, but I also have a 74 Ironhead that I am in the middle of rebuilding from the frame up...
No relevance, but I also have a 74 Ironhead that I am in the middle of rebuilding from the frame up...
thank you for your service
Stage I
Joined: Apr 2015
Posts: 1
Likes: 0
From: Louisiana
Hell yea , my shovel is my every day rider and has been for 30 years ,I wouldn't think twice about selling the Twinkie ,I know I wouldn't trade my 42 year old shovel even swap for the new cookie cutters ,everytime that shovel pops to life you'll forget all about the Twinkie ,it has no soul like a true Shovelhead does ,the ones that says a day a week is enough on a shovel just means it's time to drive your SUV then