A friend of mine has a 73 for sasle real reasonible, (around 5g) I know the previous owner and the mechanic that worked on it. The tins are so/so the paint orig and Ive been told that it needs a master cylander, It has small oil leak at the push rods, and needs a new head light bulb. missing some tin around the forks, handlebar area. This bike has both kick an button start Problem is I know nothing about 73 electraglides, anything I should know about em, any vin information would be helpful I finishedmy 79xls project and would like to start another, what y'all say? Thanks Dusty

 

jdusty21,
i suspect the reason you've gotton no replies to this thread is that no one can believe you would :
A. Ask if its worth it.
B. Hesitate to buy it!
You should'a harpooned it first, then ask.
Hoping you scored yourself a good one,
good luck with it and let us know how she goes.
Skip, A&P, Caretaker of the last production Shovelhead.

 

Last Shovel;
Was not asking if it was worth it or if I should get it, just wanted to know about the bike , like I said, I know nothing about these bikes, especially that year. I know shovels are becoming rarer and from what I hear a gr8 ride but since I never road one, never worked on oneand have no knowledge of the history I was looking mostly for info about the bike.... Thanks for your reply Dusty

 

jdusty21,
first, please accept my apology if, in my post, you thought i was being a smartass. no
offence was intended or implied; so, so many times in the last 30 years have i witnessed
the downside of "Adventures in buying the Elusive Shovelhead", wherein a hopeful to be owner finds a fantastic deal only to hesitate just long enough to have it slip out of grasp, conversely, i've seen people go against all advise to the contrary and saddle themselves with a machine that was nothing more (or less!) than a hole to pour money into only to wind up with a chrome-plated deathtrap.
Now, to properly answer your first post.
Aside from talking to Shovel owners, which is a GREAT way to learn all kinds of stuff the books could never tell you, about the best way to learn about Shovels is through (and some people find this hard to believe) the factory parts manuals. Herein lies a conumdrum for the unwary because, Harley, in their infinite wisdom, updated the books in a way such as to leave out certain part numbers as [they] became older and older but yet retained the illistrations but with updated numbers or failed to provide numbers at all! So, to get the best and most accurate info i reccommend this: Go to the "books booth" at every swap meet you can get to and get yourself a parts manual that was printed as close to 1973 as possible; and not just the FLH book but also the FX one as well. Then carry these with you when you go lookin' for THE bike or for parts. The after-market cataloges are a good source of reference also.
And don't let anyone fool you, the AMF produced bikes, by this time, have had all the bad spirits exorcised from them.
A (stock)73 FLH is probaly one of the best bikes to make a project of; my choise would be a 72 but thats because i'm partial to the late juice brake.
As any of the people in this forum will testify; Shovelheads are a wild and wonderful parallel universe unto
itself.
Oh, one other thing, as for "a gr8t ride", i doubt you will ever sit on another machine that seems SO ALIVE as down the road she thunders.
i hope all this helps
Skip

 

Skip; I didnt mean to imply that you were jackin me, hell all I wanted is some info, and that I can thank you so verymuch. I got my 79Xls last year and had a years worth of fun and learning.To beat that I got a very slick ride... go fast make noise and look cool, well almost cool, the bike does anyway and lots of questions about the bike.I got mostof my questions answered here on this forumand still have lots to learn about my fits all but 79 xls but now I need something to occupy my lift and keep me learning about those wonderful AMF bikes. (if they were so bad? why are still so many on da road??) again thanks for the info and when my buddy gets back from the beach I'll go get that 73 and begin to have fun. Thanks Dusty

 

I don't know if the price is right. I have a shovel and love it. They are rough and just chug along.

Their differnet and an enjoyable ride. My friend just bought a new Yamaha Road Star. He likes to

make fun of my old shovel. Last week while riding in the mountains of PA. he asked if we could

switch for a few miles. He never stopped LOL he rode it all the way back to my house in Ohio

His Yamaha is a good bike, smooth, well behaved and well balanced. My shovel is more fun.

I hope this helps you, and I hope you enjoy your shovel as much as I do mine.

 

Well, my buddies back from the beach, and I was informed this shovel has no title... In Alabama they didnt have titles b4 1974 but I was assured that all the numbers match on the bike and the registration.... I was also told that the wonderful state of fla would title the bike. Well I guess It dont really matter unless I want to sell it somewhere else rather than in the state of Alabama. and besides (|I tell myself) why would you want to sell it?

 

Dusty,
Glad to hear it!..or read it anyway.
Not to slow you down, but... git up to Montgomeryland andget the ABI to run the numbers.Harley Davidson ships a Certificate Of Origin with all their machines and has for a long time. Some state, somewhere, has a record of those numbers. It may be that Alabama herself has them available at the Ala. Dept of Transportation, Archives. There are businesses that will do all this legwork for you...for a nominal fee.
A standard vehicular bill of sale can be acquired from Staples, Office Depot, or even on-line. A hand-written bill-of-sale (yes, even a noterized one) is historicaly considered poor evidence in a claims proceeding. The Great State of Alabama is, I'm pretty sure, willing to issue a "Salvage or Rebuilders
Title." upon the submission of whatever paperwork [she requires]. Do whatever it takes BUT GET A TITLE!!! into your name.
As for the florida idea, you would only wind up becoming "The Man Most Aggravated by the State of Florida in 2007" if you try it, for surely, it will try you.
Between 1976 to 1981 I went to court proceedings four times and all for different bikes to hash out the trail of ownership.Rotten stuff.
Important that you understand the above is NOT IN ANY WAY MEANT to cast doubt upon your friend's integrity, honesty or character or right of ownership!
The fun news is about "missing some tin around the headlight", one of the really fine things about owning an earlier shovel is all the things from earlier years that will bolt right up. To wit: just about any piece you care to name on that front end will fit from 48-up (in the headlight area and surrounding acre).
Oh yeah, the parts manual you want to look out for will have on the front "66-73" or "70-73"for the FX Get us up some pictures.
By the way, I spent many boyhood (emphesis on hood) summers chasing rabbits and rattlesnakes all round Peidmont, up Centre way north a little of Aniston.
Skip

 

Skip; Know where you were at in the Piedmont, I live in Pell City and am actually the master of my lodge in Anniston, small world huh?. Went today and took another look at the bike, (if it would have started I would have road it home) but it has been pressured washed and a few bare wires were found and now it wont crank (I have already heard it run) They master cylinder problem was fixed( i think) but I was told that he put DOT 4 in the system. I've been told that all harleys with disc brakes use DOT5 and of course they are not combatible. But then tonight a friend told me that he uses DOT 3 on his 74 always has said they didnt even make DOT 5 till much later now Im really confused. BTW I grew up in Pompano Bch, Fl an my sis now lives in Lakeland... I get thataway bout 2x per year an thanks again for the info an the encouragement. Thanks Dusty

 

Dusty,
Aw shucks.
Sweet home huh?
Caution, in the future, when pressure washing the ride, avoid everything but the tires.
You see, that lil' ol'cavity down there in the "cone", where the points are, has a lil' ol' hole for to vent through and water, underpressure, so easily gits in and aggravates us, the living. The best cleaner I ever found isthe ol' lady (mine or the one two doors down, hell, I ain't picky). Armed with a toothbrush, 409, a bucket of soapy water, Q-tips, a garden hose, hec, with some small encouragement this thing could turn into a wet t-shirt contest for one.
OK, the brake fluid question. Quoting from the holy word, chpt. 2-49,"All motorcycles produced since September, 1976 use D.O.T. 5 fluid".
So, to answer one question, yours came with D.O.T. 3. Period.
To answer the most obvious question, it should not harm yours to have dot 5 added.
Heres what, you can add dot 5 to a system that was setup (meaning seals, gaskets, lines, etc.) for dot 3. You CANNOT add dot 3 to a system set up for dot 5 because the dot 3 is petroleum-based and will deteriotate the seals, gaskets, etc.
The manual recommends when youadd dot 5 that you completley drain the dot 3 first to eliminate water build-up and the possibility of varnish build-up from hi-temps.
Now, as for dot 4, I know so little of it that I cain't advize there.
My suggestion then is this: drain all the brake fluid from both brakes and then flush n fill with dot 5, bleed, test fly.
yaaaahooooooooooo!
Skip, A&P, Caretaker of the last production Shovelhead.