Harley was still making real Electra Glides when they brought the FLT out in 1980 and they didn't call the new bike an Electra Glide then, they called it the FLT Tour Glide. The modern touring Harleys of today all evolved from the Tour Glide. When customers wanted a more traditional headlight/windshield Harley gave them an old looking nacelle and windshield and called it the FLHT. After Harley scrapped the old FL/FLH solid mount frame platform in 1984 Harley attached the Electra Glide name to their current touring lineup even though they are in no way derived from the bikes that came before because they wanted to lend a little old-school gravitas to the new bikes.
Late to the party, but that's exactly how I remember it. I think it was a combination of using what they thought was the better frame, and the economics of not having to make two different frames for the touring bikes.
I enjoyed the post. As a rider of the AMF Shovels, I could not help but notice an error in two of the pictures. Where you say that in the early '80's they had an enclosed chain drive. The Electra Glides did not however the TOUR GLIDES DID. In 1982 Harley did a first. Belt primary and belt secondary drive. the primary belt that was sealed proved to be too dry and they went back to the chain drive the following year and kept it to the 1984 model year, though utilizing the secondary belt drive. One reason I know this is that in 1980 or so the Sturgis had come out and on my trip to California they were installing the belt drives on the Electra Glides there as an add on. Impressed by this, I started asking the dealer when they were going to put them on the glides here? They did not know. I bought the '81 and then the next year they came out with the dual belt drive in '82. I was bummed.
Your '84 Is really nice! I am currently redoing my '81.
The more I look at them, the more I am starting to like the late Shovelheads.
I'm not consider this but do you have any idea if the later inners fit those old batwings fairings? I have one and I'm wondering how much their shape changed.
Just as evidence of how far we've come, I found this the other day.
Yes, that's exactly what happened. My comparison to the Corvette is a good one. While Chevrolet was building the Corvette they decided to try a unibody, a new technology on a new car and they called this car the Corvair. Chevrolet built the Corvair alongside the Corvette for multiple years. It's true the Corvair has back seats but realize Corvair actually is a combination of the words Corvette and Bel Air. When they discontinued the Corvair they used the unibody technology in the Corvette. The Corvette was already a long standing and very popular car so Chevrolet did not want to discontinue the Corvette. Instead they used the unibody on newer models and called these new models the Corvette. They were small high performance cars that upheld the tradition of the Corvette line. The fact that the unibody technology came from another model is irrelevant. The unibody Corvettes upheld the Corvette tradition but with new technologies.
New Corvettes had a V8 but not the same V8 as the old Corvettes.
I have to set this straight as I have been a "Vette guy" a little longer than a "Harley guy". Corvettes have been manufactured with full frames from day one and still are. My first Vette was a 1962 and my current ride is a 2000. I totally agree with your theory of "evolution" on both vehicles. My first E-glide was a new 1983 belt drive model. My newest was a 2012 Street Glide, see avitar. There was for sure a huge evolution between the two. I have owned 7 Eglides and the changes were subtle as I always just moved up a few years at a time, I have enjoyed all of them. My current Electra Glide is a 1988 "Sport" which I just acquired. I guess as I have aged simpler things are more attractive to me now. I guess thats why I can not bring myself to buy a newer Vette, even at 100K miles I enjoy the simpler interior and engine.
The more I look at them, the more I am starting to like the late Shovelheads.
I'm not consider this but do you have any idea if the later inners fit those old batwings fairings? I have one and I'm wondering how much their shape changed.
Just as evidence of how far we've come, I found this the other day.
I am not sure about the fitment. I had a cycle sound one of those. But in the end it shook the guts out of my Cobra LTD Cb stereo cassette deck. I would not mind having an original factory one like that.
08-15-2017, 07:04 AM
