Is this worth the trade?

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  • garystaven88
    Senior Member
    • Mar 2014
    • 347

    #16
    Ironhead Sportsters make for a terrible motorcycle.... but decent Choppers. There.... I said it.

    With that said, you can get pretty much any Big Twin or an EVO Sportster which will make for a far better MOTORCYCLE and chopper to boot!

    Not worth the trade.

    Comment

    • Phail
      Senior Member
      • Dec 2011
      • 455

      #17
      I had a 70 Sportster. What a pile of crap. Finally got it running and looking right after six months then it give me the gift of Sportster Knee. I sold it and the guy I sold it too ran it for a month and it blew up. Not sure what he did to it.

      I picked up an Evo crate engine from Harley and a Paughco frame and went from there. It's a lot better. Saving my penny's for an S&S Generator Shovel now.

      Comment

      • garystaven88
        Senior Member
        • Mar 2014
        • 347

        #18
        I had a 77 XLH.... first Harley. Oh the stories.... looked great though!

        The big problem (other than it being ancient, temperamental, etc), is the same time, effort, and in most cases LESS money can be put into the same era Shovelhead and it will actually retain some of its value.

        The Shovelhead being a better/more reliable bike overall due to the fact that there is still good support out there for them as well as good retrofit shit to keep them in the 21st century (such as 6 speeds Hydro pushrods, etc).

        The EVO Sportster night/day for obvious reasons...

        NOS and GOOD quality aftermarket parts are getting real scarce for the Ironhead

        NO disrespect at all to Ironhead owners. I know some DIEHARD Ironhead enthusiasts who get *mainly* nothing but smiles riding them. Thing is you need to not only be a Harley enthusiast... you need to be an IRONHEAD enthusiast to keep them going!

        Side note: not sure if anyone here went to the Deadbeat Retreat event last year. The burnout pit on the trailer... yup, Shovels, FXRs, Dynas, many of which did burnouts (not that I condone this for longevity of your bike).... but the ONE Ironhead that went up to burnout.... broke.
        Last edited by garystaven88; 03-22-2020, 1:59 PM.

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        • Superman27e
          Member
          • Jan 2016
          • 37

          #19
          I went and checked it out yesterday, and it looks great. It was built right. It fit me really well too. I got my bike at a steal, really. And the ironhead is worth more than what I bought my bike for. I’ve done a bit of research on the value of older ironheads, and it does seem to be greater than my bike. I’ve checked cycle trader, Facebook, etc and they all seem to have the same values. Idk, it seems like a fair deal to me. As I said, I am mechanically inclined and do all mechanical work myself, so I am confident I can keep it going. I’m just trying to convince myself here

          Comment

          • Hatchet54
            Senior Member
            • Sep 2012
            • 721

            #20
            Well you've got a thread full of people who have already tried to convince you otherwise, lol. We mechanics are a shifty bunch - sometimes the most ill-advised projects turn into our favorites. You've gotten the advice, you've done the research; at the end of the day, it either feels right to you, or it doesn't. And if it does - go for it!

            Comment

            • Davestune
              Senior Member
              • May 2014
              • 3292

              #21
              Originally posted by Superman27e
              I went and checked it out yesterday, and it looks great. It was built right. It fit me really well too. I got my bike at a steal, really. And the ironhead is worth more than what I bought my bike for. I’ve done a bit of research on the value of older ironheads, and it does seem to be greater than my bike. I’ve checked cycle trader, Facebook, etc and they all seem to have the same values. Idk, it seems like a fair deal to me. As I said, I am mechanically inclined and do all mechanical work myself, so I am confident I can keep it going. I’m just trying to convince myself here
              you do what you want to do cause its you who rides it and has to dump cash into it, But remeber you trade and that shitb I meen fine american bike sits for months you aint riding cause your ride is sitting.
              2 grand ,to 3 grand will get you a sporty , It may be best to sell ya bike and then buy one running...

              Comment

              • farmall
                Senior Member
                • Apr 2013
                • 9976

                #22
                All those values are PRE-Corona-induced economic crash. I've lived through multiple recessions and it takes a bit before reality sets in. Economy faw down go fucking boom worldwide. Big money gone. Many jobs gone long time. GOOD bikes cheep soon. Sell rice, hold money, get deals, RIDE and enjoy.

                I’m just trying to convince myself here
                Sounds like a boot in love with a single mom stripper. "She's really a nice girl and I can FIX her!"

                Have fun!

                Comment

                • Hatchet54
                  Senior Member
                  • Sep 2012
                  • 721

                  #23
                  Originally posted by farmall
                  All those values are PRE-Corona-induced economic crash. I've lived through multiple recessions and it takes a bit before reality sets in. Economy faw down go fucking boom worldwide. Big money gone. Many jobs gone long time. GOOD bikes cheep soon. Sell rice, hold money, get deals, RIDE and enjoy.
                  I've been hearing you say this for the last few weeks and it's got wheels in my head spinning. I hope hope hope you are right man, and if so I'm putting my new $1200 straight into my Shovelhead fund

                  Comment

                  • Sugarcubes
                    • Mar 2024

                    #24
                    What Farmall said is 100%.

                    For what its worth my first chop was a 1979 XLH sporty that I bought knowing nothing about vintage bikes other than everyone said they were super cool. I had that thing for damn near 10 years and probably spent the same amount I initially paid for it over the years, and that was a fairly reliable bike too! If you buy it, be prepared to get your hands dirty and your savings pillaged. They are fun to ride through city and town and on country backroads but as someone else who is 6ft2 and 210lbs, you will feel like a gorilla fcking a tennisball on that thing. Good fwd controls are hard to find and look a bit weird on a short bike so I stuck with mids but put forward pegs on mine to stretch out on.
                    Also, bear in mind this thing looks like it has a paughco or Flyrite frame which is shorter than the bike I had which was stock front loop but 4" hardtail welded on.

                    I bought a 1995 evo heritage a couple years ago as a like doing longer runs to see friends and the ironhead hates the motorway runs even with longer gearing due to the 4 speed. The evo is bulletproof, cheap, easy to work on, loads of parts, fits me perfect and is a dream on the motorway. I loved my ironhead but would never go back if I could.

                    Comment

                    • Sugarcubes
                      • Mar 2024

                      #25
                      Originally posted by farmall
                      After Germany surrendered G.I.s could get a blowjob for a few cigarettes. Be the guy with a pack of smokes.
                      you should see what an average looking man can get just walking up one of the main nightclub streets in Glasgow after 2am with a bag of chicken nuggets and fries

                      Comment

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