Shovelheads: Slabside vs Cone

[Ansutton21]

Highway to the cone zone. Slabs are cool, but six grand for just a motor? Fuck, these dudes must have forgot that most of us are blue collar family men. Someday, but till then- i think cones look sick as hell! the only nice thing is if you have a slab in most states you are exempt from a lot of nonsense i.e. directionals, horn, headlight during the day, all that shit. It would be nice to do away with that shit and not have to pay fines out the ass.

Somebody buy my sportster so i can buy a more unreliable, leaky no good piece of shit shovel.

[panheadjay]

the no headlight during the day rule is for 56 and older motorcycles.

[panheadjay]

it is funny when some dipshit has to make a remark about amf being the worst ones on the road. they don't realize there are still a bunch on the roads today. its all about how well they are taken care of. u don't work on them like they are farm equipment, it takes a person with skills and pride. look at it this way if u keep one going along with a new bike, u are better than the guy who bought a new one and brags about how much he rides.

[Guest]

i it takes a person with skills and pride. look at it this way if u keep one going along with a new bike, u are better than the guy who bought a new one and brags about how much he rides.

same goes for the triumphs the t 140s get critisized becauseof the short stroke eng ,,all i can do is smile while i stroll down the roadall bikes need someone to care about them and maintain them,,nuff said

[TheSandman]

Is it safe to say that the "don't buy that year, it's an AMF bike" doesn't apply anymore?

I mean all the shortcoming of the "AMF years" are 30+ years ago, haven't all those "problems" been resolved?


I'm not arguing, just trying to enlighten myself.

[easyspeed]

Is it safe to say that the "don't buy that year, it's an AMF bike" doesn't apply anymore?

I mean all the shortcoming of the "AMF years" are 30+ years ago, haven't all those "problems" been resolved?


I'm not arguing, just trying to enlighten myself.

I'de say for sure. The engines weren't much diferent from the slabs anyhow. It's not like they took the genny shovel and said lets fuk it up. Most of the things I have noticed on my 76' have been the cosmetics of the welds on the frame. Some here and there look a little ametuer, but still solid.

This engine is the last of a dead bread. The shovel is one of the last engines a skilled , patient dood can rebuild in his garage with a manual and an average set of tools.

[dirtbag]

Wasent the generator shovel made for just a few years and the rest are cones....I would love to have a generator shovel but would be real happy with a cone....

[WingNut]

Were the AMF issues flawed design or execution? Rebuilding should fix poor execution issues.

[Dinlow]

Wasent the generator shovel made for just a few years and the rest are cones....I would love to have a generator shovel but would be real happy with a cone....

I think you just answered your own question. Always go for what you love.

[westcomb]

Wasent the generator shovel made for just a few years and the rest are cones....I would love to have a generator shovel but would be real happy with a cone....

generator shovel was made from 66 - 69 than cone shovel from 70 - 84 altho there was a few made in 1985 also as far as what one you should buy there are not much defferent on the cone shovels early ones oil a little different as long as you have the right parts you will get a good long lasting motor, if you are gona beat the shit out of it than It better be a good motor before you beat it up! but thay will take it, if you wont to hot rod one maybe you should stay away from the 66 - 68 shovels these use loose rollers on the left case and won't take as much hp before thay brake but were talking in the 100 hp mark here, all shovels can be dependabile If there is a range of years to shy away from it would be the later ones the 80" ers had crappy heads (79 and later) compared to the early ones that will only be a bitch if you plan on running a big cam tho so just buy the best deal on a good runner you can and any other info just check out shovelforum and start reading for days!

[bobscogin]

Were the AMF issues flawed design or execution? Rebuilding should fix poor execution issues.

I doubt AMF engineered anything that reached fruition during their tenure at Harley-Davidson, so any design issues were inherited from The Motor Company. You can be sure that the Nosecone design was already done when AMF came on board. I think most of the problems with the AMF bikes arose from quality control issues rather than what happened in engineering. That said, most AMF era bikes have probably been rebuilt, and rebuilt, and rebuilt so whatever issues occurred as a result of errors during assembly have long since been remedied.

Bob