Want Old Shovelhead

[Roman About]

I have been tossing around the idea of purchasing an old H-D shovelhead. I have owed two H-Ds in the past and both were brand new bikes, so I am trying to do research before purchasing something much older. Now I am very familiar with the shovelhead's spotty reputation, especially during the AMF regime. Did the shovelhead bikes magically improve after the buy back from AMF?

I would like some practical information from anyone who has experience with these bikes. This bike would be used primarily for commuting to work everyday (100 miles round trip), and of course the occasional pleasure ride. So advice in areas like vibration, chain adjustments, how often things have to be tightened, general reliability/practicality as a commuter, etc. would be appreciated.

I have been looking at bikes from the mid 1970s to the early 1980s. I prefer a bike with disc brakes versus drum and shoe. Does having a belt drive make any difference with a shovelhead?

Thanks.

[MrMarty51]

This might be a good place to start.
http://www.harley-davidsonforums.com...isplay.php?f=2

The AMF Shovelheads were a fine machine,I owned one.

[Hawkmann]

Troublehead

[Badassbrutus]

older bikes require more maintaining but once they are dialed in it dont need that much older bikes have soul newer bikes seem like they all look the same as each others bikes, I personally wont buy a new bike then roll it off the floor and it depreaciates its value by thousands as soon as it hits the pavement.
But if you want a bike that you dont have to do maintance on buy a new one and pay the STEALERSHIP to wrench it hope you have deep pockets.

[48emodelpanhead]

Like Brutus said older bikes require more maintenance and attention, the shovelheads were no different. Nothing really magically happened when HD was bought from AMF. There were some quality issues but the majority of them were small. Could have been due to the fact AMF not wanting to spend money on R&D in Harley affected morale.

The AMF Shovelheads were a fine machine,I owned one. MrMarty51

Like Marty I had one and it was a fine machine. If you're planning on riding it everyday at 100 miles per day I'd suggest getting an evo or later. At that rate you'll be putting any where from 10k up on it in a riding season. My experience with shovels was they generally required a top end at about 15k-20k.

[Badassbrutus]

Iv seen em 50,000 plus and still running strong.

[Jacket4256]

Originally Posted by Badassbrutus

Iv seen em 50,000 plus and still running strong.

same hear, you can get easy 50 on them b4 they need a top then about 100 for a bottom as long as you dont ride it hard 100% of the time and you take care of it

[48emodelpanhead]

Sure I've seen them too. All depends how you ride them. I'm going on an average.

[Badassbrutus]

werd!!

[Roman About]

Thanks guys. The last two bikes I had were TCs, so I wanted something different and unique.