I've got a `79 FXS but I don't think I'm ready to part with her yet..... Just a tease ;-)

 

silvergoldsmith,
I tried to email you but it would not deliver.
I confess I was thinkingthe bike referred to in this thread has DOT-3 in its brake system.
I stand corrected.

 

Regarding the need for repairs, would you say this is due to the inherent design and manufacture of the bikes, or more due to the fact that shovelheads now on the road are over 25 years old, and like all old vehicles, are prone to need repairs? If you found a really well maintained shovelhead, would it really need much more attention than an evo, for example?


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aal,
I would say that if you found a well maintained Shovelhead that isn't just plain worn out it'll treat you well if you maintain it well. But mileage is a factor that you can't ignore; be it a lot or little. As I said in my first post in this thread,a bike that isn't ridden much will eventually develop problems from non-use due to seals and such aging and they still need the fluids changed periodically.
Original Shovels are an older, and hence, less refined engine than the newer stuff but I ain't about to say they aren't as good as any other engine, just different with different needs. They are at least 25 years old, as you pointed out.
An exception to this would be a brand new Shovelhead engine from S&S. I'd expect one of those engines to be as dependable as any new engine. I'm sure there are other companies out there that build brand new Shovels as well and if they are built right, they'll be dependable and require minimum maintenance.
In general, if you hotrod any engine, it'll shorten it's service life, but Shovelheads respond well to well-matched performance modifications. And it does depend on what modifications are performed on an engine that may affect it's longevity.
In 1984 there were new Shovelheads and Evos onshowroom floors. I'm thinking that if one purchased one of each (These engines would have to have been properly assembled at the factory, of course), rode and maintained them the same, they would probably be in about the same condition.

 

Guys, there are still many indy shops that work on old bikes. There are tons of parts avaiable for old bikes. If you need a repair, get the bike fixed. You may very well need a repair on a evo as well. Lets keep in mind, some evos are now 24 years old. They are old machines as well. I would just buy a we maintained bike and ride it. If you have a problem get it fixed. Hell, I have seen nice evos/shovels for $6-7K. With the price of new HDs now, you are saving a ton of money. Besides, I thought the late shovels had the same bottom endas the evos?

 

wrtnaz, did you buy it or not?

 

After reading this post, I have to jump in with my 2¢ worth of useless information.

I've been a mechanic of sorts all my life. In my younger days I was the mechanic at our family marina which among other things sold Bridgestone motorcycles (way back in the '60s), Johnson outboards, Mercury outboards, Arctic Cat, Polaris and Johnson snowmobiles. I always leaned toward the unusual, like the old Matchless 500 single I had for awhile way back when.

I only had one HD in my early days, a '56 KH flathead. I got it running and did ride it a bit, but without a title I ended up getting rid of it.

Jump forward to my mid 30'. I knew an old school friend that had a '65 Cushman Silvereagle and bout the beast. After quite some time of tinkering, I got it running. I rode that thing around town for fun. It was loud and got lots of looks. Moving forward to my 40's, I eventually restored it. I bought my neighbor's '77 Goldwing (GL1000) with just 23k miles on the clock. I rode this thing double up with the wife and we had great fun. But as luck, or as my wife say bad luck, I gathered a collection of sorts. At all the same time I had my restored '65 Cushman it and another electric start '65 Silvereagle, a Lambretta 150 sport, a Vespa 100, '77 Triumph Bonneville 750, the '77 Goldwing, two Iseta 300 micro cars and a BMW Isetta 600 limo. I then got a wild hair, you know where, and sold them all to finance my streetrod dreams and started on the '40 ****** coupe with a blown 392 hemi.

Sorry for the rambling, but I wanted to say that I've been around the block a few times on mechanical issues.

That being said, I really didn't have any HD experience at all, not counting my very short time with the '56 KH. So that being said and jumping forward again to me early 50's and moving from Michigan to St. Louis, MO, I had to start over so to speak. We met couples and most were bikers of sorts. On guy had a '76 FLH that he quite riding in '98 due to a right gas tank leak. He had purchase a '03 Deuce SE and hadn't thought much about the old FLH. He's really not a mechanic nor does he ever try at it. I bought the bike, fixed the leak and rode it for about a year and about 1,100 miles, all without much trouble.

I then tore it down to redo it. The motor ran good and had just had an upper end done about 3,000 miles before I bought the bike, I concentrated on cosmetics of the bike. See before and after pictures.





Without windshield...



I converted the nacelle to the new RK quick disconnect mounts and now use a late model lift off RK full windshield.

I've put about 6,500 miles on it after the redo and loved every mile of it. When in Sturgis two summers ago, we put over a 1,000 trouble free miles on it. All I did was wipe it down every morning before we left the motel.

Over the time I've had the '76 FLH I've constently had to do little things. The rear caliper would lock up and I'd have to pry it open again. The front master cylinder leakd once in awhile. The exhaust studs would loosen up from time to time. The exhaust would leak at the heads unless I had double gaskets and lots of Very High Temp copper silicone covering the gaskets. Okay, you get the picture, there was always about every month or so that had to be done.

As much as I love the FLH, I found that my wife and I were beat up pretty bad trying to ride more than 200 miles. Even with the new Mustang 16"/12" seat, it was still a hard ride.

I decided to upgrade to a new bike.

I bought a new '08 SERK Anniversary and WOW, what a

 

**** on it, ride it, buy it, have fun. if it dosn't work,, sell it and get a newer one. the old **** is waayyy better than any of this skull and flames **** thats out there today. its got history and character. you gotta know how to ride to be on a shovel or a pan. any lawyer or doctor can hop on the twinkie and pretend to be a badass

 

I thought I'd chime in and see if I get anywhere since these are pretty much the same questions I wanna ask.

My situation. I'm thinking about a shovel, gotta couple of options, 79-83 in the not super distant area. I've always loved shovels, don't exactly know why, but they just look, sound, and seem to act like a motorcycle to me. The perfect bike might have a new S&S 96" shovel motor who knows. What I'm seriously thinking about is either a 74" or 80" shovel with the 4 speed tranny, 5 speed in one case. Mileage varies, from low teens (if you can trust that) to mid 30's.

I love to tinker, but I'm not alway good, sometimes great, sometimes confused. I've owned a few vehicles that required work and both loved and hated it. The big issue is that I don't have a lot of time. However, I do have another bike and the sadly required box to drive.

So.... are there specifics that I should look at or ask about to rule out a shovel as more trouble than it's worth? I plan to have whatever I buy compression tested and looked over by a local shop if possible, but I might be traveling 200ish miles for the right ride so that may be hard/expensive/impossible to arrange. Any help narrowing the field will be appreciated.

Thanks in advance

 

i just got my first harley and its a 82 fxs, and i bought it knowing it needed work. i love the look and sound, and driving it under 60 is great. but at 60 and up it vibrates like hell. so i still have some work to do to it.