Start out with one like that, and you will learn to hate Harleys. Assuming it's even in any kind of decent shape, and hasn't been cobbled together by some drunken hack, it's still going to be a challenge to both ride it and to keep it running. I could not think of a worse bike as a first Harley.
Shovels (if that is in fact what it is; it sounds like an Ironhead Sportster, which were right hand shift until '75) command respect in Harley circles wherever you go. Mainly because you actually made it. We call them "trouble heads" for a reason. Yes, you can keep one on the road, but you had better be a damn good Harley mechanic. Just knowing a damn good Harley mechanic isn't good enough - it has to be you. You are the one who will get stranded by it.
I know whereof I speak. My Ironhead, mine since 1979 or '80 (can't remember anymore...):
