Hi, this is my first bike (75 fx shovelhead) and the questoin is: this bike i just bought after taking the primary cover off had the primary chain tensioner assembly flipped upside down so the teflon piece is under the top part of the chain pushing the centers of the chainapart not together?? is this dangerous, a temporary fix or just plain suicide.. need guidence here and yes i'm getting a manual lol.
Dino

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I have not seen it done that way.
Perhaps one of the previous owners installed a larger engine sprocket which took so much slack out of the chain it couldn't be assembled any other way. I've never checked to see what engine sprocket sizes are available. You got me wondering about it too.
I wouldn't feel very good about pushing the chain closer to the case either.
Please post again when you get to the bottom of this.

 

That definitly aint right,biggest sprocket was a 24 which you should have.Flip it back over,it goes under the bottom of the primary chain,pull it up till you have 1/2 to 5/8 inch slack in the top and tighten the bolts.Yeah it is a pia but only takes 15 minutes or so.Some body put it on wrong,didnt know what they were doin. Oh by the way,check the shoe and the chain,they might have done it cause the chain was wore out.

 

Am I reading your post correctly? I am envisioning the tightener "under the chain, on the upper part of the chain, not the upper side of the lower part of the chain" IF, that is what it is, then GET IT OFF the upper part of the chain. That is the "pulling", "tension" or"loaded", how ever you want to phrase it, part of the chain. You want the tensioner on the "slack" (bottom) part of the chain, and "underneath" the chain, pushing towards the center of the primary. Also, they do make a 25 tooth eng.sprocket, both for compensator and solid mount.Just installed one last Sat on a 75 FLH. Believe he got it thru J&P. Helps get road speedand less RPMs. That's about a 4% drop in RPM for the same mph, or a4% increase in speed for the same RPM. Not a GREAT amount, but I have found ANY gain is good on a shovel. NICE ride, and glad you are keepin' the shovel alive and running. GOOD MAN !!!!!!!

 

And after all these years I thought I've seen it all

 

First things first, thanks for the info gents,

Well I brought my bike to my local shop,, they comewithgood reps...And yes
The tensioner was totally in the wrongspot ( yup, Da Grumpmeister, you were reading it write). I was told this is verydangerous and could potenialy lockup the rear wheel if the chain broke,..........Besides that &%^#@$*&*%crap,the wiring is shot,no relays or correct fuses,the charging/stater systemis bad, trannyshaft is bent and part of casing was ground down to fit a hightorque something or other brand starter, four different rusted sparkplugs, front calipers were upside down with the bleeders on the bottom,,etc....

Ok with all that ya wonder why the hell didI buy it??? Well this very good friend lol reccomendedthisknown shop (withholdin the name)thatsbeen around a while and mentioned this bike to me.For one I've never worked on bikes and wasn't sure what to look for and brought my friend (I am mechically inclined and have meanwhile been learning about my bike),,,,,,,,That being said the shop owner of this so-called Harley service repair shoppresented this bike to me as all redoneand ready to go by his shop, One owner of the bike, his brohter in-law. Heard it run, rode it around the lot, So I figured all was good. I had them change the handle bars and got it all regged and insured ,,,I got to ride it home , towed it back to the shop and then home again,,, 2 times,,,it's been getting fix since.

Well the good news is its almost all done with new parts. I changed the primary chain to belt driven (promo clutch setup), new tranny with speedo gear, all new wiring with relays and fuses lol, new starter, new speedo and tac, new harley chrome grips with hard switch controls instead of micro switches and no more suicide throttle lol,,,,great news is the motor sounds great so far!!! It had a lot of newer S&S top end parts thathavebeen replaced beforehand, hope they hold out, lol...well at least I'll be riden soon,,,,"Keepin Old school alive"
Dino

 

DaShovelin 75

 

Looks Great! Hope it runs great for you! Good Luck!

 

Dino, MAN, that really steams my veggies when I hear chit like this. Specially when it is your first ride. I am not sure why you want to "protect" their name, but that is ok. Hope it is working for you, after ALL that. I can understand if you bought the bike from a private individual, and they knew very little 'bout shovels, or bikes in general, but from a "quote" bike shop, GEEZ!!! Primo is a good set up. Should keep you happy. NICE looking bike in the pics. You are heading in the right direction. Manual, and wrench in hand. Really hope the best for you. And you came to a good source. Lots of good ppl here. Keep fresh oil in the ol' boy, keep an eye on things while you clean and polish , and it will give you YEARS of "smiles" and miles.I refer to my pan and my shovel as my "tinker" toys. Keep the shiny side up and you fce in the wind. Ride FREE Ride Safe Ride ON
Gumby
Oh yea, when in doubt, ASK. If it is real pressing, PM me, DeJavu, Nomad Billy, and there are several more 'round. Just really glad to see someone picking up the torch and carrying it on. Good job. Again, NICE looking ride, Dino.

 

Gump, thanks for the ref. Always glad to help out when I can. I've owned one of each, Knuck, Pan, Shovel and Evo. Loved them all, but have to admit the Evo is the easiest to build and maintain. My Shovel was an '80 FLT, the only one with a pushbutton, often wished it had a kicker too!
Deshoveled, Good luck with the old thing!