Ditto

 

I really don't remember if I had ever heard of your model or not and I do like seeing them as stock as possible anymore and that one does look clean , I do know we never had any come through the showroom when I was there , the old gal who owned the dealership was pretty much bat **** crazy the last 5 years it was open . She wouldn't keep stock on the floor and really people weren't buying much then .

Interesting comparison look at the 2 bikes .....

 

Here's a link from here Twizted. They only made 650 so most dealers did not get any I bet.

https://www.hdforums.com/forum/gener...-editions.html

 

Thanks for the good laugh TwiZted Biker! Haven't had a good laugh like that for some time (dick wagging contest).

What I've learned in the last 48 hours:

Probably best to go with a late model: 82, 83 (was 84 shovel or evo?)

Can take shovel motor out of bike and have completely redone - this way no unwelcome suprises, no nickel and dime to death

As far as the raked frame, this may be going beyond my budget - sounds like would have to buy a frame and have everything moved over which is big $$$

Softtail will have to do until win the lotto

Approach make sense?

Kopazzz

 

Harley made both Shovel and EVO models in 1984. The FLH/Shovel (not the FXR, FLHT or FLT) was a Belt drive. They made very few of these. If I was to be able to get one of these, I would keep it stock. Like I said there were very few of these made and they are a collectors model.

 

if you are going to buy something to start with. Why not cut and rake that frame to save $$$$..

 

We had two come to us then, a sporty and a Super Glide. Our dealership was small as most were then, so he didn't go through many bikes in a year, thus we never saw a FLH although I've seen pics of them.

 

Ya , there where never more than 6 - 8 new models on the floor mostly Sportsters and a couple FLH's plus whatever used and non harley trade-ins on hand . The FX's sold fast when ever they came in and there where some good looking models wish I could have seen one of the Confererate models it was real late 77 where went I work with them so I missed that boat .

You,ve got good instincts on where to start with the motor & trans. Really do your homework on the shops that might be doing any of the R & R work you don't feel comfortable doing yourself , I've been finding the overall quality of work on the older bikes has been really going down hill for a number of yrs now . Seems the big money is in the Twinky bikes now and lot of shops flat don't want to be bothered with Shovel's anymore .

I've was shipping a lot of my machine work off to an old shop in Colorado I've been dealing with for 30 yrs . the last set of barrels they returned where off and had to to redone another .010" to clean them up after a some bad language and I paid the freight , that's 1 . 6 months later a set of stock heads go in for guide R&R and dual plugging , a habit of mine is not trusting anything so I do all the check's and they screwed the pooch again ! Valves didn't seat because the guides went in off center a bit , coil bind on the springs much too tight and one of the new plug holes didn't have threads & the other was looser than my ex-wife . Point to all of this is watch what your getting back from these places , even trusted ones are screwing up regular . Price shop hard , your gonna find it will vary a bunch for the same parts & services . A couple of people mentioned some cheaper new part suppliers and I agree with them been using their stuff for years , The shiny stuff is kinda so-so but hard repair parts are good stuff and 1/3 less than " Crappy Chrome " charges .

If you really want a hardtail , Paughco still makes them for around $600 and up and they come in all kind's of configurations for stretch and rake . Another post mentioned doing the stock frame , I'm way guilty of that offense if you've got the skills or buddies the do it's a cheaper way to go but mind the frame numbers on the neck , cops can be real dicks about that subject and it's grief you seriously don't need .

The hardtail is my bike 28yrs and another life ago , stock frame , added the tail section left the neck alone with 4" over tubes . Was pushing 90,000 +miles when I couldn't do it full time anymore . The silver is how she's dressed now . Red there was another 72 FL that started life in a bunch boxes I kinda did that one just to tweek the noses of the new Evo riders at the time , big motor and some other mods that let the fat bike run rather hard they saw a lot of the *** of that bike still regret selling her .

 

from all the feedback, sounds like my best route is:

• buy a 82-83 in good condition
• buy a S&S motor new, shovel style
• trans should be less of a concern, as they don't have the reputation for maintenance that motors do (correct?)
• if bike is in good condition and does okay on test ride, trans should hopefully be okay
• stick with original softtail frame until win the lotto
• after winning the lotto, can decide whether to rake and stretch original frame or move over to a new frame ordered to spec
• based on twizted biker's comments, I'm spooked about all the potential motors problems I'll have even after a shop does a rebuild (there's nothing like new)
• with a new S&S I can go with a bigger motor, perhaps 109"
• yes, it won't be original, but don't care, I'm aiming for the classic look, without a bunch of headaches - I like to ride more than fix, plus since I'm not a wrench, I stuck dealing with all the BS and nickel and dime nonsense from each and every repair
• pretty sure S&S makes a shovel style motor (love the look of the shovel rockers)
• not sure of the displacements, but I think 96 and 109 inch are available
• please provide feedback on my thoughts

thanks!

 

Depending what your plans are you might want to limit your displacement to 93" for long term reliability. Anything above 4 1/2" stroke (3 5/8 bore is max with stock cases)in my opnion is asking for trouble in the long run. Others may have a different opnion. A 93 set up properly can S*%t & get. I have embaresssed many an evo and twinn cam with mine. Also iam not sure S&S still sells the real shovel. The ones ive seen are sort of a cross between shovel/evo. Good motors...just not a true shovel.
The 80'up rotary top trans...not so much. As far as frame mods.I would suggest you test drive a long/raked bike before getting too far into it. I put 3 degrees in my stock frame neck with +3 bearning cups. Very simple No hacking. But if you want the "chopper" look then look for a frame/bike set up the way you want. Heres what 33 degrees w/ short tubes looks like.