oh ya....

[Chris Lastinger]

Nice history lesson but think we all already knew it. MUst not have been in my right mind cause I still have the T shirt and don't own an evo. Point is if you have an AMF bike that runs odds are really good that you've done the American thing and fixed all the little problems. Ham cans are ugly if you dump it and slap an s&s in there the thing really runs. The electronics upgrade to single fire dyna, a little cam work and presto. You now have a ride that holds it's own with the twin cams in the twisties. By the way ..get rid of those piddly front brakes, PM makes some that will let you bring yhe rear wheel up and helps in those twisties. Now if per chance you own one of the 2 good years ...disregard all the above and save it as is. Hows the blood pressure?

[Jack_Hester]

Break out the blood pressure pills..... Another opinion is coming. The last good running, great performance, off the show room floor, Harley, was the Shovelhead. You destroke, debore an Evo or TC, to the specs of the 74 Shovelhead, and they are dogs. A stock Evo can't hold a candle to a stock Shovelhead, in performance. Granted, there are a lot of great improvements on the Evos and TC's. Crankcase breathing comes to mind. Performance ain't it. They increased the cubes, in the TC's, to make up for the loss. Then, sell you the performance add-ons, that should have been stock with the bike. The Evos never were performers, stock, compared to either Shovel configuration. And..... The last real 'potato, potato, potato' sound was with the last hemi-head machine. Everything later was a 'blat, blat, blat' sound. If that's what you want, buy a Yomama. That's their signature sound. 'Nuff said. Call 911. I think you're in arrest. Thanks, AdminGuy, for the Shovel catagory.

Jack

P.S. - I'm a Flathead guy. But, my Shovel has been my friend for many years (74 cubes).

[VPH-D]

Shovels

I have no experience with generator shovels, but am pretty familiar with the post 70 models. As everyone knows, the AMF years were plagued with poor quality control issues. The early 70 models had a lot of different problems, while the late 70 models had fewer problems, but they effected nearly every shovel manufactured.Some of my favorites were, locking rear brakes, sticking valves and failure of nearly every first gen. ignition module. The 1980 FLT model brought new heights in warranty claims.

However, once the quality control issues are worked thru, and the gradual cheapening up of components [ inner primary covers,
the cow pie ratchet lid] are dealt with, shovels are reliable machines. I have had a 73 FX since 1978 and like the shovels, overall.
VPH-D

[Hrdly-Dangrs]

My old Shovel was great and reliable....but my snowblower is a lot easier on my back.

[indianut]

I have never considered the TroubleHead to be any improvement over the Pan. 4NUT, I am sure the 2-cam you are referring to is an Indian Chief, cause I have a well-worn 2000 Cop RoadTurd and THE ONLY thing it does that my Pan or a Chief won't do is run the Interstate at modern highway speeds. It is a total piece of crap around town and very un-Harley like! I consider it a loud, expensive Jap-Bike. It is the perfect example of a DISPOSABLE VEHICLE!

[Kojack]

Are we even allowed to discuss bikes newer that 35 years? I've got a '76 FLH that's been a real fine machine in the 10 or so years I've owned it. The guy who owned it before me had died about a year before I got it but it shows no sign of ever having been apart in it's 27000 miles. Lately though I've had some problems with noisy lifters.

[Jack_Hester]

My good neighbor, Ray, came over this morning. We hooked up my trailer, and rode a few miles over to my buddy's heavy equipment shop, where my 76 FLH has been in storage for over a year. I'm just now making room in my crowded shop, so that it could come home. Wrapped slings around the frame and hoisted it into the trailer. Use my engine hoist to unload it, onto a dolly. Sure is good to get it back home. I haven't seen it, except for one brief moment, after I got out of the hospital last year. Much work, but I'm looking forward to it. I believe good neighbor Ray is more excited than I am. He's retired, and wants something to do. I told him that he can take stuff off. But, I do the fixin'. It goes on the back burner until the WLA and Chief are at least sitting on wheels.

Jack

[INLINE4NUT]

JACK,
Glad you got your child back home ! good luck with it and show us a pic once in awhile on your progress !!!




SEASONS GREETINGS ONE AND ALL!!!!!!!!!

[Jack_Hester]

Thanks. It will be slow progress. Not really concerned with making it look new. Just want to put it back with OEM parts. And then, back into service. We pulled the front forks off, yesterday. Boy, are they shot. The trees are bent, too. Looks like the frame fared well, though it will get a thorough alignment check for straightness. I was real fortunate to find a set of NOS forks for it, last Fall. I've got to find a set of black 76 fenders and tanks. Crash bars. Those things really work. They took a serious blow. But, protected the major components. Amazingly enough, the front wheel looks reusable, though it will get a checkout on the wheel truing stand. I haven't spun it, yet. So, I don't know. Anyway, I've got time. Sure is good to have it back.

Jack

[Lonnie]

Since AMF and shovelheads seem to be synonymous, we need to keep in mind that AMF inherited the shovel from the Founder's sons. When we talk about the Evo's and (from my experience) their stone-cold reliability, we should keep in mind that the Evo was designed on AMF's watch. When the "Eagle Soared Alone", it was waiting on the sidelines, ready to go. Granted, the QC problems that seem to be evident in some (but not all) shovels can be traced to the sheer number of machines pumped out from an outdated factory equipped with outdated equipment, produced by often unhappy workers, some of whom were disgruntled enough to sabotage outgoing machines. So, love AMF or hate AMF, they kept the Company going.
Personnaly, I have had mixed results from shovels also. One, a '72 owned in '75 and '76, was absolutely bulletproof - I subjected to things that it was certainly not designed to survive and it came out smelling like a rose. Another one I had later was an absolute slug and had difficulty getting out of its own way.
Oh, I'm working on a '66 disguised as a '56 bobber. Will be an 80-incher. Should be finished this century.
Thanks for the new section, AMCA folks.
Lonnie

[61 panman]

Shovel Love

Nothing wrong with shovels in my opinion. I am on my 3rd. 77 then a 72 then a 76, all FX's.
I will never forget the feel of that first ride astride that beast. I was 22 years old and on top of the world. It was a frigid December day when I begged that bike off of an older gent one town over for all of $2800. That powerful motor, the girth of the bike and man did I dig that sound. It felt like I was driving a combine tractor with a dragster motor.
3 months later I was headed to California by way of key west. On the third day I burned 4 quarts of oil, top speed was about 55mph and a valve kept sticking. I was ready to leave the bike behind a some brush on the side of 95 and collect the insurance $. This bike only had 8000 miles on it. The whine coming from the motor was so loud I thought a cop was on my tail. I had the top end done in New orleans and the bike made it to Lost angels but it never did run right. I shipped the bike home in a flower truck and picked it up about 50 miles from home during a freak early May snowstorm. Me and the trucker met up by CBradio his handle was "Crazy Wichitaw". After a few days I took the bike half way around the block and boom! The camshaft idler gear exploded...Problem solved. After fixing that problem and replacing the coughing Keihn with a Bendix the bike became one Sweet ride.
That is a tough motor that can go 22000 miles with a too tight gear. Too bad it was not built properly in the first place but I guess then it would not have been so interesting.

[MTroy]

shovel

I have a 1980 FLHS that I found on ebay back in '01. I wasn't expecting to win it.

I am the second owner and the original owner kept it stock except for an S&S and I think he replaced the rear fender and turn signal bar. Original paint on the rest.

Now at about 37,000 miles, had the top end and tranny rebuilt a couple of years ago. Oh I replaced the starter motor.

The only thing I've done, since it is the "S" version, was to "S" it a little more, put on a solo laPera seat, replaced the 2 into 2 stock exhaust, and not much else.

I like it OK.

[mmoore]

yes quanity did affect quality back then my involvement with HD was strained to the point I was put out of the orginization in 81. sporsters came out in 79 with loose pistons and we were only allowed to replace the front (or) loosest ones only. if you find a 10 over on one cyl do not assume the other is the same. some bikes were perfect but others had to be checked good and fixed before they could be put up for sale. unfortunly not all our mechs were good enough to catch all the problems. a couple of rules made them a great ride 1. whenever any motor work is done balance the lower end 2. if not sure after balancing do it again 3.do not bend anything to fit, shim,drill or weld till it fits perfect this includes the exhaust also between 71 and 80 there were 17 recalls for fx models all but 3 were for the brakes. every year had at least 1 brake recall. its nice to see the shovels here (thanks admin guy) but please check your brakes if you run stock brakes now I got to climb up on my roof and wash some smelly brown stuff off it

[jcreighton]

Shovel head

I recently got a 83 FLHP ex police bike with foot clutch and it seems to be a very ridable bike.
Was a left hand brake control ever available on hand shift model shovelheads? Iam having a problem with the front brake on the right hand grip,I've been riding a 49 Servi since the early 70's and kind of got used to the front brake being on the left side. This my first Shovelhead ,and the first bike I ever had with an electric start and turn signals I guess I'm gettting old.
When did HD stop useing foot clutches and chain rear drive ?

Thanks for adding shovelheads to this site
Jack

[exeric]

I had a 1969 FL that was the second best Harley I've ever owned. I traded a Knucklehead for it which tells you how smart I was back in 1988. It was a full dresser and at that time only Shriners and wierdos rode dressers, and I'm not a Shriner. I rode that motorcycle all over the South and it never let me down. Our love affair ended when some dirty #$%&@er ran me off the road putting me in the hospital and the '69 in the back of my shop. Eventually I started to rebuild it but I traded it for a KJ before it was finished, and if you think I wised up with that trade you've never owned a KJ.