Points well said. Shovels are very basic in design, form and function. They need servicing at more regular intervals, but properly maintained they are not going to need service more often. Folks riding today's modern iron are spoiled because things like service intervals on their machines are needed a lot less often. Heck the rear belts damn near will not wear out, and motors that are not treated like $**** seem to get some really high miles before a rebuild.

Shovels, pans, knuckles...2500 mile service intervals, rear chains, every 10k, top ends at about 40k. Guess as a pan rider I just do not get the philosophy "if you buy old iron you are going to be wrenching and not riding".

And as far as it being just a "bar hopper", another myth. Why is it, how is it that folks on new bikes think they are the ones who have seemingly invented long distance riding. Take a look at some old pics of riders on bikes from the 30/40/50. They sure a hell weren't "bar hoppers" and they weren't spoiled with paved roads and gadgets and attachments to the bike to make it ride like a Honda Gold Wing (no offense intended/implied to Gold Wings or HD Baggers).

You want long distance riders? Ever heard of the Cannonball Run? Coast to coast on 1915/earlier motorcycles.

Glydinrn, you obviously have a couple of nice modern baggers that fit the bill for the long distance stuff. If you get the shovel just don't buy the hype that it is only good for bar hopping.

If/when you do the switch, please post a pic.

 

My cousin and I went to Little Strugis a couple of years back. He has a 82 wideglide with an 80 inch shovelhead on it and we put 1200 on it in a weekend. He never had any problems at all. A good bike will take you anywhere regardless of the age.

 

I'd have to see some pictures to give an idea of real worth very clean stock FLH bikes with all the trim are getting rare . It would not be a daily driver without some love & a few internal mechanical upgrades to prevent the common nick nak problems all shovels had .

Don't buy into the fear about 72 & 73 years being a problem chances those very minor issues were taken care of long ago if not they are a cheap simple update . Ran my 72 for over 15 yrs as a stock 74 and put well over 400,000 on her doing my own work with general tools . Bike made more 2500+ mi. roadtrips than I care to remember and never let me down including 9 trips to Sturgis . Put another 200,000 on her as an 88" motor .

Pay attention to the bike , do your maint. on a regular schedule and don't let little things become big ones a shovel will treat you good for a very long time .

 

if a shovel has been rebuilt in the last 10 years it will be every bit as reliable as a 10yo bike..kind of hard to compare apples to oranges.i have a 72 shovel,it was rebuilt in 03,because the shop i bought it from didnt put the piston wrist pin retainer in when they upgraded it to 80''.other then that i have never had to do anything to it, besides a few oil/plug changes and 1 tire in 7 years..chrome is worn on rocker boxes and oil leaks,but no problems,i would love to trade it for a softail in the same condition..1st pic it is pretty orig(1962)looking electraglide,right tank and rear fender needs finished.2nd pic i decided a wideglide is close to a softail,i have all parts but front 21 wheel.right tank and fenders need paint..

 

Hey panz4ever you and Skully make great points. I am really from the old school of thought as well. I like the newer bikes as far as convience but the old bikes I LOVE because they dont get lost in the crowd. I have actually found a 78 shovel FL complete but needs to be put together. I am going to go that route so I can know it inside and out. I have told my friends I will never own newer than an 08 and had i realized before buying my wifes 08 RK the changes done between 07-08 she would not have the bike she has but I got a killer deal on it.

 

I like that

 

Here's my 83 fxsb. I like the belt/belt set up.

 

Personally, I think you are nuts. Seriously though, I know where you are coming from. When evos were new I rode shovels, had a couple of them. Since TC's have been out, I ride evos. If you want to stand out, grab a nice evo fxr or bagger. (a softail rarely stands out, because it seems like everyone has one). Now with an evo you will have something reliable that you wont have to wrench every weekend. I consider myself a pretty decent wrench, but I dont think you could ever make one as reliable as a decent evo. It's more than just the engine, it's the 4 speed tranny, the primary/starter setup, and the brakes, electrical, etc. If you absolutely have to buy a shovel, go with the last years, '81 up. They upgraded alot during those years. Big difference between an '82 and a '72 besides 10 years.

 

Not that much of a wrench if couldn't keep up something as simple as a shovel up don't care what the year . Only trouble I've ever had with mine ( 28yrs and running ) has been self induced with too much happy hand and that includes many a long distance / high mile road trip . We could get into a LONG conversation about evo's they had more than their share of teething problems to boot , I've reworked a boot load of them .

 

Big difference between a reliable machine that requires little or no maintenance and "keeping something up" after it breaks down. No reason to insult my skills. I took one of my shovels on a 4k mile trip with very little problems. That does not mean it was trouble free. The fact that most shovels are deemed "problematic" is widely accepted more often than not.