Okay…that's some funny $hit you just offered up there.

 

The biggest problem with Shovelheads is that they are between 47 and 29 years old. You can make them as reliable as any other bike but the problem will come when you are 500 miles from home and you need some two dollar part that the factory stopped making twenty five years ago. It may not be a problem at home since you can search the web and usually locate what you need, but on the side of the road it can be a major headache.

 

Thank you to stiggy for being the only helpful one thus far. I am looking for design flaws much like what you offered. Everything else mentioned is appreciated as encouragement alone. This shovelhead that I'm after is not the first thing I've applied a wrench to. If you need me to qualify that statement please let me know. But I assure all, that I fully understand the concept of human error resulting in unreliablity and I am fluent in most all mechanical systems to include combustion engines. Sorry to burst your condescending bubble but I intend on not leaving the shovelheads to you.

My attempt at this thread was to develop an all encompassing knowledge base of design flaws, such that I and any others interested can understand what needs to be done to a stock shovelhead that may or may not have been properly fixed to make the bike relatively reliable.

As I mentioned, I am looking for design flaws such as oiling issues etc. I'm looking for what isn't written in the manuals, and Twiztid I will pm you with my non-junk email address for use when your book is available for purchase. Access to written knowledge is always appreciated.

 

The most often quoted design flaw is the exhaust port bolt. Shovelheads have only one bolt to secure the exhaust to the head. A constant source of leaks and lost bolts.

 

The fix for that is use a stud loctited into the head with aircraft nuts instead of a bolt and take the time to properly align & mount the pipes & rear support brackets so the pipes just falls into place naturally . If you have to flex the rear mount any it will work itself loose eventually . Also I wire wheel the inside of the exhaust port a bit to clean it and the top of the pipes and use a smear of Permatex Ultra Gray on pipe flange & inside the hole , bolt everything up wipe any excess and let it dry over night . You can loose the front bolt completely and the pipe will stay put with no leaks . Time proven fix .

 

That seems like an easy fix, thank you, I'll add this to my notes. Was this a problem that effected all years of the shovels?

Also before I forget to ask: Has anyone reading this rubber mounted a shovel that didn't come rubber mounted? I'd assume that you'd have to get the torch out and modify the mounting brackets. Any experience out there with this?

 

Simplest solution is to buy a rubber mounted shovel to start with...rubber mounted shovels are some of the cheapest out there...they don't seem to have gained any collector status...and most haven't been apart 20 times. Building one now with 12k original miles..I was the first to take it apart... and that is a first for me on a shovel.

 

"90% of the time all the horror stories you hear about are owner induced from outright neglect and running them into the ground or flat out ignorance" ... ABSOFRIGGINLUTELY !!

 

Unless you find a one owner bike that has all receipts to all work done, you ain't gonna know for sure what is/is not properly fixed. And to add further, finding a "stock' Shovel is definitely going to be a tough nut to crack. My 84 is / was a stock one owner bike. I upgraded the 22 amp starting system to a 32 amp system and went to an evo valve train. While not design flaws I think they are an upgrade worth having.

Interesting how you use the term "relatively reliable" like there is some doubt that they are not. Think about it…would a 29-45 year-old bike even be on the road today if an owner somewhere at some pont in time didn't fix what was wrong, be it design flaws, mechanical flaws, human error flaws. You got to think that somoeone before you came along fixed the problem or the bike would not be on the road today.

'36 knuckles had oil consumtion problems but you still see a few 36 knuckles runnning around (because someone, somewhere way before us "fixed " the problem).

Early pan motors ('48 t0 L'52) came with hydraulic pushrods. Problem is that the hydraulic units were at the top of the pushrod and oil does not like to pump up, especially on cold mornings. My 49 would not even be around if the original owner hadn't taken those out and installed solids ("fixed" the problem). Hell I don't even know of anyone running the original hydraulics.

And here's nugget for you, lest you think I am only including something you have no interest in. Service Bulletin 593 (7/12/69), states that rocker cover gaskets begin use on 69 E-Glides starting in May 8, 1969. Have to say that I have never, ever seen a Shovel top end w/o these (why…because someone, somewhere "fixed" the probem since theye were able to be retrofitted back to '66 modles).

You would be better off looking for a shovel that interests you and then getting knitty-gritty with the seller and looking for specifics re: what has been done to the bike along with receipts/proof of work done and modifications. There are still a few barn-find shovels out there. If you find one then you can look for specifics for that particular model/year should you desire to restore it.

FYI...MoCo issued Service Bulletins through the years that listed some of the issues with their bikes. I have copies of Service Shop Dope III ('41-65) and IV ('62-69). I think these are still available through places like J&P Cycles. I have originals of Service Bulletins '63-76. If you find a particlular year that you are looking at I can check my Sevice Bulletins to see if there are any problems listed. And lastly the 63-76 bulletins were part of the student material provided at the HD Service School. One of these days I will find the 76-84 info.

ADDED thought…if you want to read up on the changes to the Shovel over the years it was produced (and you have to believe that for the most part, HD made the changes to improve their product), probably the best reading material (IMHO anyway) is Donny Peterson's "Unauthorized Technical Guide to Harley Davidson 1936 to Present. So far he has done paperbacks on the Twinks, Evos and has two volumes on Shovels 1966-1985. Some of the material is redundant but in a positive way. He is working on ones for Panheads. if you decide you want to step back farther in time and look for a pan, the best book out there is Bruce Palmers, "How to Restore Your Harley Davidson".

 

4speed tranny often leak from mainshaft... there is 50$ spacer with oring that solves the problem

Banana caliper bushings wear and the caliper wobbles and sags... there is a specific support with a spring to keep it up and prevent this. Or upgrade to Twin Cam 4 piston calipers... you find TONS of take off for little money

Voltage regulator is something that at some point died on my 3 shovels

Ignition: if you have points, upgrade to a heavy duty stainless steel advance unit

Once u get the bike replace the oil lines

Brake lines: if they are rubber and old, replace them, better if stainless steel braided lines

Keep primary and final chain within specs

Starter: upgrade to spike starter

Upgrade to 32 amp charging system

Check and replace all wiring fixes and old hard wires

Shifting can be sloppy: check and replace shifting leverages bushings