Any Harley guys here?

Mellowyellow

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Im a mechanic at a harley dealership, i would stay clear of the shovel, they can be great bikes, as long as they are properly maintaned, which most of them are not, the evo would be a better choice of the two but still the evos are getting old enough to where they have been worked on a lot by people with no business touching them, also it usually makes me nervous when they say just rebuilt, cuz most of the time it wasnt done right, if the evo hasnt been messed with they are a great motor, probably my favorite out of the harleys, all just depends on the condition of the bike
 
Very good to know thanks, Love the shovel and the guy says he would ride it to California and back and im in Canada but who knows. The evo sounds like the safer choice.
 
I have owned a 79FLH for over 20 years and I can tell you that I haven't been able to get it worked on at any Harley dealership for many years now. Thats right, its a Harley but they won't even work on their own product. Its all about twin cams now days. On the bright side, I do like knowing I can get any part I need for that old shovel and probably will for many years. What brand has a bigger aftermarket than Harley? I like my Yamaha a lot but there are many parts that just aren't produced by Yamaha anymore. Ultima and S&S do have aftermarket shovel motors that have many updates if you have 5K to spend. A lot of guys ask me why I ride the Yamaha more.
jefft
 
Im thinkin is got to be a harley for the hwy and my xs for around town and the odd hwy trip. My brother and dad live about 8 hours from me and they have been doing some long road trips in the summer down into the US. I have been missing out on the fun these last couple years and need to put some miles on before my dad gets to old to ride. Something I can drive for a full 8 hours and cruse at 80-90mph.
 
I have owned a 79FLH for over 20 years and I can tell you that I haven't been able to get it worked on at any Harley dealership for many years now. Thats right, its a Harley but they won't even work on their own product. Its all about twin cams now days. On the bright side, I do like knowing I can get any part I need for that old shovel and probably will for many years. What brand has a bigger aftermarket than Harley? I like my Yamaha a lot but there are many parts that just aren't produced by Yamaha anymore. Ultima and S&S do have aftermarket shovel motors that have many updates if you have 5K to spend. A lot of guys ask me why I ride the Yamaha more.
jefft

That 74 shovel says its a 1200? I thought shovels where 1350? As far as an extra 5K to spend thats not going to happen hahaha
 
They were only 1340 cc or 80 inch, the last couple years of there use. Before that they were all 1200 cc or 74 inch.
The 1340/80 evolution engines replaced them.
I have a 2003 Dyna Super Glide Sport, The 1450 cc 88 inch Twin Cam. I have ridden it from here to Laconia, that trip was 2100 miles in 3 days. To South Carolina for 2 weeks and back. Ran well all the time averaged 50 mpg at 70 mph cruise.
If you want an older bike just besure it runs well and keep the maintainance up and either one should last a long time.
Either one is a reliable as the XS650.
Leo
 
Before 1979 Shovels were 1200, after they were 1340. My 82 Lowrider was a great bike (wish I didn't listen to the Shovels are evil and Evos are great crowd, because I would still have her) granted nothing wrong with an Evo, but really nothing that bad about a Shovel. I would have no problem buying and riding another Shovel.
 
One of the things many Shovel owners do to increase the longevity of their engines is isolate the primary. Later models came that way from the factory where they run seperate primary fluid in the primary. Shovels shared the primary oil with the engine oil which meant you get a lot of clutch debirs pumped through your engine.
Jefft
 
Ya a lot of shops wont work on older bikes cuz they dont have anyone thats familiar with them, we still work on everything from flatheads and k model(sportster before there was a sportster, to the occasional harley golf cart, we have a panhead a k model and a sprint in the shop right now
 
^If Harley-Davidson had the guts to reissue the Sprint I would try to be impressed by the company. It would be huge down here as a commuter bike if the price wasn't outrageous. Every little Japanese classic you can imagine is used for commuting down here. Often as not restored to like mint condition.
 
Had two Evo's, loved em' both. The Heritage soft tail was a good one up tourer. I'd still have it but had $22,000 in it (much motor work, heads etc.) and wasn't riding it enough to justify the expense. Sold it and have funded my bike addiction with the proceeds ever since. The guy I sold it to bought it for his wife and she never rode it. It's for sale on Crgs List right now for $10,500. 4500 miles. go figure
 
I don't see why most Harley dealerships won't work on the older bikes. If the techs can work on the fuel injected twin cams with all the bells and whistles you can think of, then an old shovel should be very easy. I think its more about money.
jefft
 
buy a street glide you will be alot happier

Hopefully 4-5X happier, because thats about how many times more money you will need than the cost of an old shovel. Even then you will find yourself among many others with a bike just like yours. It isn't that often you see a shovel anymore. Besides you must be a gearhead or you wouldn't be on this site that deals with old motorcycles that haven't been produced in 30 years.
jefft
 
A lot of the reason shops wont work on the old bikes aside from if they dont have a tech familiar with them is the fact that most of them are like opening a can of worms, and you could go for days just fixin what someone else has screwed up, i have to do it a lot at work, as for isolatin the primary, its true the earlier ones did have a chain oiler that went from the engine oil pump to the primary chain when they didnt run fluid in the primarys, but it doesnt pump back to the motor, they had a small hole in the bottom of the primary so it could leak out on the ground, which is also part of the reason harleys got a bad rep about oil leaks, most people didnt realize they were supposed to be leaking on the ground
 
You must have ridden different shovels that I have seen. A shovel primary shares the same oil with the engine. Thats how they came from the factory. All that clutch dust ends up being pumped right back into the motor. Most shovel owners have blocked off the primary so that they can run a completly seperate oil in the primary to lube the primary chain and then the only oil the engine see's is the oil from the oil tank. This is done by many to extend the life of the motor (oil stays cleaner). There are some old timers that don't like this because they say "are you saying you know more than the Harley engineers did?" I usually say well thats what Harley themselves decided to do with the later model Harleys so it must not be a bad idea.
jefft
 
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If you want to stay with a solid bike from Yamaha, there's not many better than the Road Star 1700, imho.

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Rich
 
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