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Post by bagga on Aug 29, 2018 15:00:33 GMT -5
what is that bullet fixture on the handlebars? i thought you checked out of here about a month ago and you were never coming back. i was concerned something was wrong.
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Post by bagga on Aug 29, 2018 20:38:34 GMT -5
and the double white wall up front is the all time classic shovelhead touch.
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Post by oldchopperguy on Aug 29, 2018 23:08:21 GMT -5
when i first saw the pic and before i did some reading, i thought it was mrs. oldchopperguy. those flames are the all time classic and iconic style.....the seat....the tail light. Bagga, Nope, the missus is still 6 years older than our bikini gal... But she's still hot! I've always been a sucker for flames... That old Hog was black with white tank sides when new. Standard Police issue... I repainted it all black the first week I had it! then, did the flames. First, with an airbrush with the red faded over the yellow but it just didn't look "hot" enough... So... I sanded them off and re-did them with (get this...) Rustoleum yellow and red enamel. Sounds awful, but it worked great. I did the red while the yellow was still wet, releasing pressure on the valve at the end of the red areas, creating a spatter pattern that "melted" into the yellow. Two weeks to fully harden, then wet-sanding and clear-coat. I even had pros asking HOW I got that effect. When I told them, they just got mad and said "you just won't tell, will you?"... I did a few other guy's bikes same way and they all came out great. I outlined the flames with a white pin-stripe old-school style. Amazingly, I actually mastered the infamous dagger pin-stripe brush and One-Shot enamel. I was no Von Dutch, but my striping was OK... LOL! I couldn't stripe today if my life depended on it... I've also been a fan of "one-off" prototypes. The iron cross taillight which was common on many choppers was actually the first handmade proto... It was on display at "Ronnie's Harley Davidson" in Villa Park, Illinois where I bought the bike. I talked Ronnie into putting it on my bike to generate interest and nobody ever asked for it back! That swell factory leather buddy seat also got traded off... Beautiful, but just TOO tall! I could hardly reach the ground... I participated in an owner-test ride at the Milwaukee factory on a new model... "Night Train" that never got into production, but became the "SuperGlide". Its one-piece seat was SO slick. I talked the R&D boys at HD into selling me one of the two made for $20... Heck, THAT was $200 in today's bucks! That seat not only looked great, it was comfortable for one, or two folks! Low and slick, it would have even been great on a chopper. Sadly, that Hog did not live up to her looks. Very, VERY disappointing performance. One of the earliest Shovel-Heads, maybe the bugs weren't worked out. Boat-anchor acceleration, absolute top-speed of 90 (on a good day...) and prone to "fork wobble". With no old-school "faucet handle" road-damper, I finally resorted to packing the fork-crown bearings with 1890's era fiber-filled super-thick buggy axle-GREASE. That pretty much stopped the wobble anyway... LOL! If only it would have added another 50hp... Lots of great memories anyway!Ride safe, Leo
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Post by bagga on Aug 30, 2018 7:05:04 GMT -5
those old electa-glides were very under powered and not very quick. my 76 shovel does alright but the weight it has to pull is way less than a bagger. it's been over 2 years since my shovel has been touched. it needs a complete brake job front and back...total rebuild of the whole brake system, calipers, master cylinders and pads. i've been thinking about going to "del's cycle service" the old school chopper shop that i mentioned earlier here for all the parts i need....he has them, but he has everything there.
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Post by oldchopperguy on Aug 30, 2018 11:25:39 GMT -5
Bagga,
Underpowered? You're not kidding... My past Harley riding experience was on my '57 Pan-Head chopper. Under 400 pounds, with over 250hp... Not a fair comparison, but NO acceleration for entering freeways, and a top-speed of a shy 90... Most 1940's CARS could do THAT good... Well, it "is what it is"...
Your shovel needs calipers, pads, etc.? Gosh, WHAT are those? LOL... My 1970 still had the cable-pull mechanical drum front brake, and the NEW, improved HYDRAULIC drum rear brake. Cheesh, WHY in Heaven's name didn't HD put THAT hydraulic brake on the FRONT wheel where it would have done some good? Wow... I think that rear brake was from a 1947 Plymouth or similar...
After shelling out a whopping $2,500 for that shiny new 1970 bagger, I honestly wished HD would have regressed back to the 1958 Pan-Head! In all fairness, it did LOOK really great!
If I recall, my 1970 was the last "real Harley Davidson" before AMF took over HD. They were in MAJOR decline, living on past rep, much like the older Cadillacs with the "throw away" aluminum engines. Of course, today's Hogs are light-years from the seventies, but their cost reflects it in spades.
Harley will always have a place in my heart, but if I had the money (and the health) I'd sure like to try out just one new Indian!
Dang! "Things two-wheeled" sure do get into a guy's blood!
Ride safe!
Leo
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Post by bagga on Aug 30, 2018 19:49:16 GMT -5
my 85 would walk away from your old shovel but it has a 5 speed and more horsepower. compare my 80" evo to todays 107's with 6 speed, it wouldn't even be close but it's fast enough for me. we toured the HD factory in milwaukee in the fall of 85 and watched them make the new evo motors. they were looking for ball park 60 HP at the crank. the motors were all tested on an engine dyno not a rear wheel dyno. the old girl is starting to smoke some but it runs so nice i'm afraid to do anything to it.
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Post by oldchopperguy on Aug 31, 2018 0:35:42 GMT -5
my 85 would walk away from your old shovel but it has a 5 speed and more horsepower. compare my 80" evo to todays 107's with 6 speed, it wouldn't even be close but it's fast enough for me. we toured the HD factory in milwaukee in the fall of 85 and watched them make the new evo motors. they were looking for ball park 60 HP at the crank. the motors were all tested on an engine dyno not a rear wheel dyno. the old girl is starting to smoke some but it runs so nice i'm afraid to do anything to it. Bagga, Yes, the newer HD motors are better and better. My old '70 was an early Shovel-Head, and still the classic 74- CID and probably around 30HP. More rpm than old pans, but little torque. The bike weighed over 900 pounds... My Kymco 250 weighs 360 pounds and has 20HP. If it had GEARS it would be downright "frisky"... LOL! I found an obscure site (I've GOT to find it again!) with spec's on all HD motors back to the flatheads. The forties and fifties Pan-Heads were rated at LESS than 10HP... They must have had INCREDIBLE torque! My chopper began life as a '57 FLH Pan full-dress. Last rigid frame... It was truly WORN OUT but still would walk away from my '70 Shovel... That Shovel seemed to have little HORSEPOWER, but unlike the older pans, little TORQUE to make up for it. On the road, with a heavy headwind, I'd have to downshift to 3rd and settle for 65 speed. My BSA Hornet was the SAME WAY. It's almost "disgusting" but the best all-round "do-it-all" bike I ever had was my 1965 Honda Super Hawk 305cc... It just did it all with no complaints! I'll bet these new big-inch Hogs are sweet... The "Milwaukee 8" and such. It's been announced that for 2020 model year HD will be introducing a whole new line of fuel-injected ultra-modern liquid-cooled bikes. Probably a necessity to stay competitive, but they won't be "classic" Harleys. They will surely bring in a whole new buyer-base of younger riders who want the HD name, but on a MODERN ride! Sure are a LOT of bikes out there! Ride safe, Leo
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Post by bagga on Aug 31, 2018 6:37:20 GMT -5
i think ( jmo) the v rod motor isn't dead yet. it will make a come back in a bagger platform. they have little to lose, if it's a success they'll look like genius's, if it doesn't sell, it will quietly discontinued.
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Post by oldchopperguy on Sept 1, 2018 9:40:38 GMT -5
i think ( jmo) the v rod motor isn't dead yet. it will make a come back in a bagger platform. they have little to lose, if it's a success they'll look like genius's, if it doesn't sell, it will quietly discontinued. Bagga,
I think you're right. I wonder just how much "V-Rod DNA" the new liquid-cooled V-twins share? The new bikes could possibly BE the "reincarnation" of the V-Rod to some extent. I haven't seen pix of the new generation liquid-cooled twins. Could be they will resemble the old V-Rod like the Indian Scout resembles the Victory "Adrenalin"... I would imagine the air-cooled "classic" air-cooled big-twin will be with us for a long time to come since the birth of the "Milwaukee 8" version. Die-hard Hog lovers will ALWAYS want a big, air-cooled V-twin that cackles "potato-potato-potato" through however many valves it takes... LOL! It would be interesting to see an "apples-to-apples" comparison between the Indian and HD liquid-cooled twins and their equivalent air-cooled engines... While they're not really apples-to-apples, it would still be interesting for independent testing to indicate whether modern HD or modern Indian is any better in all-round riding, or if they are pretty much equal. I'm amazed at how "all over the board" BOTH makers' prices are now! Like, from under $8K to around $50K... They surely are trying to capture every "niche" of buyer for both brands! Ride safe!Leo
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Post by bagga on Sept 4, 2018 19:09:25 GMT -5
more pix please. i can't get enough of old iron.
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Post by oldchopperguy on Sept 5, 2018 8:17:05 GMT -5
more pix please. i can't get enough of old iron. Bagga, Some friends on "ItIsTheRide" have asked me to search for old pix. Amazingly, I found a bunch dating back 71 years... Yeah, the "Baby Chopper Guy"... LOL! Among them are a fairly complete "documentary" of the old chopper. Also, another Hog, BSA 650 Hornet and Honda 305 Super Hawk. Scanning these and converting some old Brownie slides is S-L-O-W but I'll post some here as I get them in useable form. Lots of really fun stuff from the seventies including pix of our poker nights with a pal wearing a gas mask in defense against choking cigar smoke... Boy, have these pix which I haven't seen since the early seventies been a trip down memory lane! Ride safe! Leo
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Post by bagga on Sept 8, 2018 13:11:51 GMT -5
i picked up some old shovelhead aux. add on turn signal lights today at a HD swap meet today. the brackets to attach them to the saddle bag crash bars are worth more than the whole light set up . $5. i'll get a pic of them later, i lost my camera a few days ago and i only have a dumb phone.
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Post by bagga on Sept 9, 2018 19:16:49 GMT -5
tomahawk is a small city in northern wisconsin. they host the "tomahawk fall ride" every year in september. about 40-50,000 people come rolling into town for all things motorcycles. all brands are represented and all are welcome. they have a motorcycle parade on friday and it takes about a half an hour to get them all through the main drag. there are many more bikes that don't take part in the parade. we did the parade but prefer to watch from a main street spot. this video is a small part of the parade.
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Post by oldchopperguy on Sept 9, 2018 23:22:51 GMT -5
Bagga,
I remember those light bars. Always thought they were VERY cool for "modern" Hogs... Great video!
Lots of issues with the Wife's health taking my time, but I have a number of pretty nice pix from my early days to post. Will do as soon as possible! Some of all three builds of my chopper, my closest pal's dumpster-burned Norton resurrected and another pal's Triumph Bonneville new, then totally chopped! Great memories!
Ride safe,
Leo
PS: If you need a good camera cheap, do check eBay! My everyday beater is a Canon 12 Megapixel I got a few years back for $2 plus $8 shipping! Folks get a better or newer one and dump the old one for whatever it will bring and used digital cameras don't bring much.... LOL!
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Post by bagga on Sept 10, 2018 7:17:02 GMT -5
thanks for the tip about cameras. i'll take a look.
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