Shovel head Harleys

kmhemi · 08-31-2009, 11:54 AM

Looking at a shovel head I think its a 74. Its a right hand shift 4 speed.
Hardtail chopper with springer front end. Are shovel heads good motors? Never had one before

dhoward · dhoward's Garage

I believe the original shovels had a bit of a reliability problem. I think S&S and others make a more 'modernized' version with improved oiling and ignition...

Looking_for_911 · 08-31-2009, 12:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kmhemi

Looking at a shovel head I think its a 74. Its a right hand shift 4 speed.
Hardtail chopper with springer front end. Are shovel heads good motors? Never had one before

Traded one of the coolest cars I ever owned, a '67 Chevelle, for a '74 Sportster. It was customized out the wazoo and I thought it was so danged cool! Little did I know what that Chevelle would come to mean to me in the passing years!

The H-D was reliable in '74, or at least mine was. It had been bored and stroked so engine work had been done. I would suspect the one you're loking at has, too. Any service records on it? Have a PPI done. You may need to look around and find a good independent shop much like we do on older Porsches now as the dealerships may not have anyone all that familiar with the old engines.

If memory serves me oil leaks were kinda bad on that vintage H-D. But again, if the engine isn't all original they may have been addressed.

How much money are we looking at? Can you post us a pic or two?

LakeCleElum · 08-31-2009, 01:28 PM

A '74 will be left hand shift. I rode a '73 damn near every day for a few years. Worse bike I've ever been on. Could tell stories to fill up pages.....If you really have to have a Harldley Ableson, buy at leavst an Evo motor, preferably a twin-cam or S&S motor....

Another drawback of a '74, electric starter and no kick-start for a back up. When you crank till you run the battery down, start walking......

Chocaholic · 08-31-2009, 04:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kmhemi

Looking at a shovel head I think its a 74. Its a right hand shift 4 speed.
Hardtail chopper with springer front end. Are shovel heads good motors? Never had one before

Can't imagine why you'd look at such a thing. . .unless it's to fill some aesthetic void in your garage. A hard tail shovel with a springer on the front....I can't imagine a less rideable bike. My advice...look, but don't buy.

on2wheels52 · on2wheels52's Garage

Be prepared to be your own wrench or find an indie, I don't think dealers will work on anything older than an evo.
Jim

fritzgator · fritzgator's Garage

right side shift would indicate it's a sportster, which would make it an ironhead sportster,not a shovel. i've got a 71 shovelhead. just like an old 911, enough $$$ can fix anything.

vash · vash's Garage

great bikes! they look great on the side of the freeways...

slakjaw · 08-31-2009, 06:05 PM

A hard tail springer... if you buy it, put a really big back tire on it and only fill it 1/2 way up. That thing will beat you up!

Looking_for_911 · 08-31-2009, 06:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by fritzgator

right side shift would indicate it's a sportster, which would make it an ironhead sportster,not a shovel. i've got a 71 shovelhead. just like an old 911, enough $$$ can fix anything.

That's a pretty ol' bike!!!

Jeff Higgins · 08-31-2009, 06:50 PM

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...):

cashflyer · 09-01-2009, 04:43 AM

As indicated, a right-hand shifter indicates it is an ironhead sportster.

Getting used to the shifter is no big deal.
Getting used to being stranded.... well, that's different.

Here is mine, before I sold it in 2003. It was cobbled together by a drunken hack, from two junked motorcycles. It was kick only. It was my second, and last Harley. It is the bike that taught me to abhor them. To say it was unreliable is an understatement.

Modern sportsters are plentiful in the classifieds.

javadog · 09-01-2009, 04:48 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cashflyer

Modern sportsters are plentiful in the classifieds.....

....largely because they are also crap bikes and this becomes more obvious after the new owners have actually ridden them and they get put up for sale....

JR

kmhemi · 09-01-2009, 05:02 AM

The guys were right. It was not a shovel. The guy didnt even know what he had. It is in fact an Iron head sportster. I have had harleys in the past so I can do any service it needs. I did buy it. I wanted a winter project. I have another harley so this one wont get ridden much

kmhemi · 09-01-2009, 05:03 AM

Jeff Higgins · 09-01-2009, 06:02 AM

A good winter project would be to return that poor thing to original condition, then impale the sorry bastard that did that to it on those hideous springer forks.

Old Ironheads have become the modern day darlings of the Harley world. Not many have survived unmolested, with too many suffering the fate of that once proud example. They were always seen as a step down from a big twin on the H-D pecking order, so they were cheaper to buy, encouraging the budget chopper crowd to hack them up with relative impunity. That has now changed, with a good, clean Ironhead being a real prize in Harley circles. If that one were mine, I would set about "un-chopping" it and restoring it to original. There are plenty of parts out there with which to accomplish that.

LakeCleElum · 09-01-2009, 06:28 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kmhemi

No suspension. Can't see any brakes, but I'm sure it has some minimal system to slow it while towing. Forks will flex enough to absorb some of the bumps. Rake angle and length of the fork make it truly dangerous at any speed.......Be careful out there....

Gogar · 09-01-2009, 06:35 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jeff Higgins

Not to pile on about ironheads, but please note that Mr. Higgins has the prerequisite bag-of-tools ready for action.

Jeff Higgins · 09-01-2009, 06:42 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gogar

Not to pile on about ironheads, but please note that Mr. Higgins has the prerequisite bag-of-tools ready for action.

I wouldn't so much as coast it down my driveway without them...

Chocaholic · 09-01-2009, 06:58 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gogar

Not to pile on about ironheads, but please note that Mr. Higgins has the prerequisite bag-of-tools ready for action.

I might suggest that bag-of-tools should include a 50 lb sack of kitty-litter.

Just sayin'.