Older Harleys.....Sporties & Shovels ?

[GearJammer]

Thinking out loud for the overview..

Had considered that CM400, but told him to go ahead & sell it if he found another buyer. Pretty sure he's sold it as he had 3 bikes he was trying to sell to get the $$$ for another bike he wants. Looks like he sold the CM400 & the Gixxer.

Had also seriously considered owning a 2nd 450 Rebel, but am changing plans & looking into an older Harley. I REALLY dig this 450 & will keep it as a dependable turn-key & go ride & will keep modifying it towards more of a total bobber style. If/when this 450 gives out, THEN I'd look for another one. Absolutely!

Have always been open to owning an older Harley (pre-EVO) but have talked myself out of it for various reasons...too expensive, hard to find parts, parts too expensive, lots of wrenching, too expensive, too expensive & not forgetting too expensive....hehehe...

Over the past several months, have been getting more of a desire to add an old Harley to the stable. Owned a '78 1/2 Shovel back in the day, but admittedly in those daze I was doing more partying than I was wrenching.

Recently looked into prices locally, not seeing any old Shovels offerred yet, but a fair amount of old Sporties (late '60's thru late '70's) and they're going for around $4000 running & ready to rock! (Not as expensive as I thought & I know that running Sporties here about 7 yrs. ago were going for around $3500, so they haven't gone up that much). Have to check with the bank to see if I could get a loan if I find one in the near future that I'd like to score. Can easily turn loose of one Brit chop to get some ca$h as well.

Looking for input on older Sporties.....just how difficult is it to find parts ? Any years to definitely stay away from ? Any years to prefer ? Strong points of the bike ? Weak points ?

Thanx in advance......(The bank will be the deciding factor here. If they say they'd float me a loan then I'm going to be looking. If they say no-go, then it's no-go)

[cTc]

Go with the shovel | Go with the shovel | Go with the shovel | Go with the shovel

I'd go with a shovel. well actually I'd go with a knuckle or pan, but the shovel has a much better top end oiling system and not to mention that knuckles and pan are expensive and I think you mention something about nothing to expensive :lol:

I can get you just about anything for the shovel, in fact I can locate you a 73 right now you can pick up for about $2200ish, the trans needs spacers, minor fix, the guy didnt put them in and it locks up now when it gets hot, pretty common problem on those bikes, other than that its a sweet ride, only needing a paint job to the likeing.

I have started my parts pile for my first build, I am planning on using an original shovel, but I think I am going to change as the 15000+ miles a year it can expect will not be to its likeing. The guy I have helping me out on the project works for a shop that restores classics, hd, triumph, bsa, mg, aprillia, ducatti, bultaco etc.

The old hd stuff is hard to find and expensive (that word again) But the aftermarket world is flooded with good parts at reasonable cost. So if you go that route and get in a bind for parts, give me a shout, I'll see cant I locate it.

Hope you find what you are looking for.

Later

[GearJammer]

Thanx very much, cTc! Yep, those Knuckles & Pans are sweet, but pricey. A friend of my son is building a Pan from scratch & it's depleting his wallet.

Have always liked the old Shovels, the last of the 74"er's. Pretty sure that's the classic "Harley sound" that H-D copyrighted, LOL!

I truly appreciate the offer of the one near you, but I'd rather shop locally to keep it simpler & still need to talk to the bank. But if I score one, I'd definitely keep the spare parts option in mind & it's very much appreciated!

The market here is looking like lots of Sporties & no Shovels available (right now at least) If I'm able to get a loan, I'd really want to find one that's running without any needed wrenching immediately. Cosmetics wouldn't bother me, but mechanically, I'd like to start with something that was already up to snuff, especially after signing for a loan, LMAO!

The old Sporties had respectable hp & an old Ironhead in a rigid frame would boogie pretty well. We'll see....it's a visit to the bank first & then hopefully start shopping. If a Shovel appears, I'd be real tempted, but wouldn't have a problem settling for a Sporty.

Do you know if parts access is better for Sporties vs. Shovels or about the same ?

So, on your build, you were going to use a Shovel mill, but might be changing plans & going with a different power plant ? Man, S&S always turned my crank, but talk about pricey! LMAO!

Thanx again, Brother & will touch base again when I know more on this end.....

[cTc]

Far as sporty / shovel it an even match on getting parts around, and like I say the shovel has a ton of stuff on the aftermarket that will not drain funds. But either way you cant go wrong.

The bike I am building may have an actual original shovel, I am going old school so I thought why not give it an original power plant, but ever time I look at the rev-tech 95ci'er I just cant turn it down, so we'll see what happens.

Later

[GearJammer]

Thanx, cTc....

Will keep an either/or (Sporty/Shovel) in mind if the bank gives me the confidence to start shopping, LMAO!

Those RevTechs sure are used by a lot of builders these days, so I can understand your dilema : "Original Shovel mill or RevTech" ?

Wouldn't see anything wrong with building Old School using a new, dependable & larger mill such as the RevTech. There's a lot to be said about using original, but one reality might be more maintainence/repairs over the long haul with an original Shovel mill, yes ?

[cTc]

over the last few years my main ride has averaged 15K miles, and with all the other scooters in the stable I am good for about 25K a year. So that is my main reason behind leaving the original motor out, I dont want to ride an hour and have wrench 2. So we'll see what happens, the power plant is going to be the last purchase I make, and the fram I have is set up for the new evo/tc style plants.

Later

[GearJammer]

ctc wrote: "So that is my main reason behind leaving the original motor out, I dont want to ride an hour and have wrench 2."

And that's a realistic way of looking at it, Brother. If I can even score an old Harley, I KNOW I've got to be prepared for constant wrenching, same as on the old Brits. With the chopped Trumpet, it's ride it one day, then wrench on it before the next ride. Definitely a labor of love.

The 450 Rebel has spoiled me big time, just turn the key & go, put it away & do the same thing next time.

With you planning a serious build & wanting it to be sweet as can be, dependability & less frequent wrenching would be a natural part of that plan.

Finally rode down & visited that guy who bought a '79 KZ750 project. As we were all chatting, he made a good natured comment about H-D's in general. He said "I couldn't afford the prestige of a Harley, so I settled for dependability & performance", LMAO!

[cTc]

I am looking at a replica 80in shovel to use, it just looks better in the frame than the new tc's. But I am still a ways from needing it so I am in no rush to decided, its an out'o'pocket build so it will be paid for when finished, probably this time next year.

Later

[GearJammer]

A replica 80" Shovel sounds interesting! I'd lost track of H-D once they went to EVO. Is the TC motor the one they dubbed "Blockhead" ? Not the prettiest motor aesthetically, the Knuckles, Pans & Shovels have it all over the TC looks-wise.

[GearJammer]

Just got back from the swap meet & scored a set of 1" Z-bars for $5. Figured I could re-sell 'em for $10 locally.

But on the ride home, remembered a very clean vintage Sporty tank I bought this past winter for $40 & thought....."Hmmmm....maybe it's a sign. All I need to do now is find a Sporty without a gas tank & handlebars", ROTFLMAO!

[cTc]

Never know, you may find just what you need, I have located a stash of older bikes that are sitting in a garage, and the land is for sale, looks to be 5 or so bikes, I am going to see if I might be able to get them for little to nothing if I will take them off and out of the way. We'll see once I know what they are.

Later

[GearJammer]

Don't you just love it when those "barn fresh" type of bikes are found ? Sometimes they're junk, sometimes they're primo finds.

My bud & I were cleaning a lot space for a landlord who's tenants had just up & left, abandoning 3 old Hondas. The landlord didn't know bikes, wasn't interested in 'em & told us we could have 'em if we hauled 'em off. Wasn't much to speak of that time, but there were a few chopper parts.

Please keep us posted if they turn out to be something pretty decent, O.K. ? My Bro told me years ago that if you see a bike or bike parts being advertised in classifieds & if they sound like something close to what you're interested in, it's always good to go check it out 'cause oftentimes there's other bikes/parts that weren't listed in the classified but are available when you get there. Always an adventure......hehehe.......

[GearJammer]

Oh well........no Harley in my future.

Talked to the bank yesterday & even tho' the friggin' payments would only have been around $97 per month MAX for 4 yrs., they denied the request due to bankruptcy in '02. What they don't realize is that I would have been willing & able to pay up to $200 per month.

Guess it's back to prioritizing the Reb & the chopped Trumpets. Even considering turning loose of the Trumpet project to my son to cut down on distractions. No Harley ? No problem. More $$$ to toss at the Rebel & Trumpet for maintainence & up-grades.... :wink: