[EarlyPorsche]

Originally Posted by Jeff Higgins

"1965 Pan harley is my dream bike..." Hmm... it will be until you own one. Alas, like an old VW bus, the best cure for wanting one is getting one. Make no mistake, they are great "hobby bikes", but the hobby revolves as much around wrenching on them as it does riding them.

They are their own worst enemy; they quite literally shake themselves to death. HD has put as much work into addressing this one single issue as it has probably everything else put together. Out of this effort has come the rubber mounted motors in the Touring and Dyna families (and now Sportsters), and the counterbalanced Twin Cam "B" engine in the Soft Tails that still rigidly mount their motors. This effort probably has more to do with their significantly reduced maintenance requirements than all of their efforts at engine re-design.

Performance is another issue with the old Pans (and even Shovels, for that matter). They just can't keep up with today's traffic. You will run one ragged just trying to maintain 70 mph on the freeway, or even just trying to accelerate away from a stoplight with other traffic. They run quite hot in heavy stop and go traffic as well. Their drum brakes are another significant issue; even in their day, no one raved about HD drum brakes.

But, yes, like most old things, they do have a lot more soul. Riding one does have a way of making a guy slow down enough to smell the roses. Make no mistake, though, they do require a good deal more commitment than modern bikes, or even than cars of their same vintage. They are a lot of work to keep on the road. If a guy knows that going in and accepts it, great. If not, a newer bike would be a far better choice, in that it will always be ready for that occasional ride. Many old bikes fall out of even occasional use due purely to the maintenance hassles. There is always something to do as you put it away. There is always something to do when you get it back out. And, most of the time, there will be something to do on the side of the road. While you smell those roses...

Roger roger loud and clear.

I am friends with a guy who has somewhere around 2 dozen pre-shovel Harleys (nothing newer than 65 in his collection) and more than that in parts...a multigenerational collection in his family. Lets just say they all have giant pans underneath them to catch the oil that slowly comes out of areas that were never intended to ooze oil :LOL: He also never rides any of his old Harley/Indian/Excelsior bikes and his rider is a Valkyre...and he just picked up a second Valkyre :LOL: He's an awesome guy with awesome bikes but they never move!