First timer shovel question

[TeeJayE]

I was agreeing with you..........

Ah sorry. I’m not good with communication skills in the real world let alone on the internet

[VApatriot]

Thanks for your input. You made a really good point. I guess you could say I'm in the position where I'd love to chase the cool factor of having a shovel, but it'd most likely be too big of a spoonful for me. I've got my eyes set on a couple old ironheads in the area, a little over 2k, great looking condition. I may go with one of those just to get a cheaper and old bike to learn some basics on, or even get a early 2000 Evo. Time will tell, I'll definitely be posting more when I finally get one

[Tattooo]

Thanks for your input. You made a really good point. I guess you could say I'm in the position where I'd love to chase the cool factor of having a shovel, but it'd most likely be too big of a spoonful for me. I've got my eyes set on a couple old ironheads in the area, a little over 2k, great looking condition. I may go with one of those just to get a cheaper and old bike to learn some basics on, or even get a early 2000 Evo. Time will tell, I'll definitely be posting more when I finally get one

Just to let you know a Sporty of any kind ain't a Shovel as far as cool goes... Since you brought it up...

[VApatriot]

Trust me I know haha. But it will still get me some experience with tinkering and maintenance. I'll work myself up to confidently say I'm ready for my shovel.

[flatman]

Ironhead sportsters might be cheaper in the initial buy in but can cost as much, sometimes, more than a shovel to repair and fix. Ironhead sporty or bigtwin evo, go evo 2 cents

[Tattooo]

Ironhead sporty or bigtwin evo, go evo 2 cents

Yes sir.........

[Rhysmort]

I would buy any man/woman/beast a beer who can keep an ironhead on the roads for a long period of time. The things are money pits.

Re your first Harley, like tattoo has mentioned, read, read and read some more. You need to have a head like a soggy sponge and absorb absorb. I've been fortunate that a few of the older guys over the years have been more than patient. I still make a load of mistakes *See my knuckle thread*. I don't know much about shovels, but like all old harleys, maybe albeit evo's they take a lot of time to fix, repair and diagnose.

People will start stripping the heads when all they needed was a new condenser. It's usually the little nuances and small issues that suck your time. My first big twin was a 54 panhead, I had many issues with it as the guy who sold me it ripped me off.. it was a bag of ass. But a great example is I took the cam chest cover off, did some shit, put it back together and had a shim left over? I had no clue where it had came from. Investigating and talking to Russ who is sadly no longer with us he was like try running it without that and it'll be the end of the engine... It was the shim that goes with the oil pump behind the chest. Something as simple as that could have fucked the whole engine.. I got lucky I found what it was, asked somebody far more knowledge than myself and ruined another gasket and quart of oil!

I guess my point is, approach it with ears and eyes wide wide open. Ask for help, and buy a manual!! Good luck and I look forward to seeing what ya get!

[Guest]

I would buy any man/woman/beast a beer who can keep an ironhead on the roads for a long period of time. The things are money pits.

just shy of 10 years here! With no one else that could work on it in less than a 350 mile distance! You owe me a beer

[Rhysmort]

just shy of 10 years here! With no one else that could work on it in less than a 350 mile distance! You owe me a beer

I'll get you a few. One of my pals has an XLCH which is mint also. Keeps eating carb intakes though...! I admire the work as albeit engines are cheap, the work to maintain is a lot!! :]

[Tattooo]

I would buy any man/woman/beast a beer who can keep an ironhead on the roads for a long period of time. The things are money pits.

Nope, and you would be broke as hell if you were around me...... I rode this bike off and on for 5 years before I sold it many years ago and did nothing but maintenance on it.... It's called knowing what your doing..........

[Tattooo]

I guess my point is, approach it with ears and eyes wide wide open. Ask for help, and buy a manual!!

You left out a very important part............ Listen to what you are told and actually do what is asked of you...............

[Rhysmort]

Nope, and you would be broke as hell if you were around me...... I rode this bike off and on for 5 years before I sold it many years ago and did nothing but maintenance on it.... It's called knowing what your doing..........

Seriously good looking car in the background to boot!

[DoomBuggy]

Another Ironhead lover here. After a complete overhaul the '69 XLCH in my avatar took me all over this country. I rode the snot out of that bike for over 5 years before finally selling it to buy a '55 Panhead. Once that bike was overhauled it was also a reliable machine until the accident.

The truth is, any motor over about 35 years old needs TLC. My current Panhead is an example, the bottom end was a total disaster when I brought it home and Jesse is just now getting the heads straightened out on it. However, once that is done I fully expect to get many years of trouble free riding out of it.

When I look at an old bike I automatically add $5,000 to the price as I know a rebuild will fall into that price range. ( Unless you let Jesse start whispering in your ear....then the sky is the limit, lol)

[Guest]

The one thing I will say about going for an ironhead with no prior experience on old Harleys -its a massive learning experience and very rewarding once you get to know your way about the mechanics of the thing. Doing stuff like pushrod adjustments, timing tuneups, carb adjustments and servicing are all things you can apply to other old Harleys should you ever decide to get a different bike. Me personally, I mostly enjoyed the work I needed to do on mine and looked after it like a spoiled child haha

[james69]

My advice is to get yourself a evo, better yet a big twin evo. They are all over the place for stupid cheap, they look super good as a chopper and will crush many many many miles for you. Cool is what you make of it. There are some seriously rad evo choppers out there for inspiration. I love my shovelhead and I would never sell it. But you have to know what you're getting into and be prepared to open that wallet up.