This bike is the bike that made me want to ride from the beginning. My grandpa owned it from brand new and he and myself are considering selling/trading it because it is becoming more of a project than we can handle and a new Harley for me to start with sounds like a decent idea. I was wondering what others think about this decision, should i sell or not? it would defiantly help with the cost of a new bike. and if we sell is anyone out there looking to own a great classic bike, it runs well and has been my favored mode of transportation for the last 3 years.
Yikes? I'm probably the worst guy you could talk to in here (except maybe PintSlayer?!
) about this particular sled but…. Of the 12+/- Harleys I’ve owned over the years, my past 1979 FLH-80 Electra-Glide ‘Classic’ was the one H-D I absolutely would never EVER care to have back again! Gotta’ say truthfully that old scoot and myself just didn’t get along! Again, I’m one of those (?) ‘odd-ball’ people out there that really had pretty good luck with Harleys over the years. Be they Shovels, old Cast-Iron Sporties, or the later (with SOME gripes!) Evo (Blockhead) and Fathead TC. But that old (AMF Worker Sabotaged!) Higher-Comp first model 1340’s Shovel I had was like Oil and Water – we just didn’t click!
However, in your case you got something I didn’t: that ride IS practically ‘family’. And that factor is like all the difference in the world. I’m saying if there’s anyway you can swing it, find some way (some how) to hang onto that ride… and keep it safe (to pass on to future generations). That’s my take on it, for what it’s worth….. Nuff’ said.
All I can add is some 12 years ago or so I lost (had to get my family bills paid...) my (first) 1981 FXS-80 Low-Rider Shovelhead, the first H-D I ever had brand new (in 1983) and a ride that I surely thought I would have forever. It wasn't the best bike I ever owned but I trusted that scoot... to go out for a day's ride OR to take cross-country. I really understood that bike and I swear we had (if such a thing IS even possible?!) an 'understanding'. Can't say I've felt that comfortable with any machine since (and they've let me down accordingly). All I'm sayin' is sometimes you gotta' step back and look at the big picture (between the lines): are these just 'things', just lumps of money that come and go from out respective lives?! Or is there something more? A spirit perhaps?! One that can be good or evil, but perhaps something more then just a collection of parts? I dunno... but I choose to play it safe (with most things) and just give em' all a benefit of a doubt.
Most dealers wouldn't touch it with a ten-meter cattle prod. If they do take it, they'll hose you on the value. They don't even like Shovels on the property, and they're starting to turn their backs on some of the earlier Evos.
Keep the thing. Make a project out of restoring it to showroom condition. Enter it in some shows or something. As much as I despise Harleys, I'd hate to see you sell Grampa's bike. Not many people can fire up a bike that's been in the family for three generations for a Sunday ride in spring to smell the lilacs and hot leaking 50-weight!
My 2012 Softail won’t start. I performed a speedometer diagnostics test and I get an “ECM N” reading. Does this mean my Electronic Control Module has gone bad?
The factory and recommended tires for my Roadster are Dunlops. So far they work well, but at the rate I put on miles, I will probably need a replacement set by the end of the year.
I would be looking for a mix durability and economy in a tire. (Not something that can handle 250MPH for $2000...
This regarding my 2018 sportster fuel tank. I accidentally dropped a dime size of plastic cardboard from an additive cap inside my motorcycle fuel tank. Is that going to clog my gas flow? How can I fish it out?
As some of you know, I just got my first Harley earlier this year, a 2012 Super Glide Custom, a FXDCI, I think. Anyhow, since buying the thing, I've been doing some internet reading and also reading on some of the Harley Davidson forums just trying to learn more about the bike.
Somewhere I...
Hopefully I'll be mounting my new tires on my '12 Super Glide soon. Been watching all the YouTube videos and starting to feel confident I can do it, even on a Harley.
On all my bikes over the years, when re-installing an axle, I gave it a light coat of wheel bearing grease. The YouTube...
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