1972 Shovelhead Build Harley Motorcycle 1965-1984 Discuss 1972 Shovelhead Build in the MOTORCYCLES forums; Well, here it is. The 72 Shovelhead, the way I got it on August 20th, 2009 Checkin' her out. Then I stripped her down to the frame, and started to ...

[unclepsycho]

Well, here it is. The 72 Shovelhead, the way I got it on August 20th, 2009









Checkin' her out.








Then I stripped her down to the frame, and started to add different fenders etc...





Learned about Isolating the Primary, which I plan to do this winter.





Tried this seat... I dont like it,





Found a better seat at a swap meet, and also got a tank along the way too!!!!





I made a couple shock bolts, but the shocks wernt right, so I put the old ones back on.








Next I started on my sissy bar... I used ornamental iron ballisters with the 'cages' in them... I need to weld them up to make them stronger.
also I need to make hidden rear fender struts... that strut held in place with the vise grips didnt work....





Then after a test ride... I needed to clean the gunk outta the clutch!!!!




and then clean up the points and weights a bit too.





As you can see... I put all the stock tanks and fenders back on...

next I lubed the clutch cable, so I could ride some more.



And that brings this build up to date!!!!!

I will add pic's and stuff as I get to it...

[unclepsycho]

Yesterday I got into the wiring harnes, and found this!!!!

the wiring diagram says the white wire is the high beam... so someone almost burned the bike up. they cut off all the turn signals and used one of them extra wires to get the high beam back.

I bought a selection of 6 differnt colored wire so I can repair the harness, and try to keep it close to stock.

[nuklhd]

whoa, man that wire looks scary. i like the looks of the sporty tank. if you slim it down like that have ya thought maybe about seeing what the front end would look like with the cow bells and head lite tins removed. thats #1 of 100 suggestions from the first guy that cant keep his nose outa your build.

[Buzz_Kanter]

Glad this old Harley ended up in your hands where it will become something cool and get back on the road. Too many of these old Shovelheads end up in some bonehead's garage taken apart and ignored until rust sets in and parts are lost.

Look forward to seeing where you go with this project.

[Bigincher]

Pretty interesting stuff, Uncle........

[portagepan]

Have fun, and ride the heck out of it. What exactly is 1972 on it? I see several years, I think.
Mike

[Greybeard Bob]

Just curious, what kind of lathe is that you have there?

Bob

[unclepsycho]

Originally Posted by nuklhd

whoa, man that wire looks scary. i like the looks of the sporty tank. if you slim it down like that have ya thought maybe about seeing what the front end would look like with the cow bells and head lite tins removed. thats #1 of 100 suggestions from the first guy that cant keep his nose outa your build.

I welcome any and all comments and suggestion.... thanks!!

I was looking at a springer for the front and missed buying it. So now I think I will strip off the cowbells etc... like you mentioned. It does look too "fat" in front

Oh yeah... the wiring seems simple when I got in there and started following each wire and identifying it. I found the wiring diagram on the CD that Big sent me (Thanks) then I printed the correct page and started taking notes on which wire was different from the stock diagram.

Originally Posted by Buzz_Kanter

Glad this old Harley ended up in your hands where it will become something cool and get back on the road. Too many of these old Shovelheads end up in some bonehead's garage taken apart and ignored until rust sets in and parts are lost.
Look forward to seeing where you go with this project.

Thanks Buzz... I do plan on attempting an Iron Butt next summer on this bike even if I justput it back together with the same fenderrs and tanks it came with.

Originally Posted by Bigincher

Pretty interesting stuff, Uncle........

Thanks

Originally Posted by portagepan

Have fun, and ride the heck out of it. What exactly is 1972 on it? I see several years, I think.
Mike

The motor and frame are 1972 FX the rest is all part of the history of the bike...
Shocks are 66 or 67??? I already forgot...
Front end is 4" over hydra-glide
The wiring harness is from an FLH with all the turn signals removed, and wires cut short.
Wheels and drum brakes appear to be correct for the last year for that.
Fenders and tanks are from an FLH, I dont know what year. the hinged rear fender has been tack welded and then painted. fenders and tank all look to have been painted many years ago.
From what I found...the FX did not have a starter... and the FLH does...so that means the tranny and primary are also from an FLH
the carb is aan S&S Super-B. I plan on installing a Mik-42 (only cuz I know how to tune them, and the other bike I have with one runs real sweet)

Originally Posted by Greybeard Bob

Just curious, what kind of lathe is that you have there?

Bob

That is an armature lathe given to me by my grand-pa. he gave me a truck-load of tools a few years ago after he turned 85 had a strokeand decided he didnt need them any more. I got the growler to go with it too, and a lot of other tools from the 1940's and 50's. He was an auto mechanic., He also rode an Indian up in Canada back in the early 30's (when he wasnt flying the biplane....)


Thanks everyone... I just wish I had bought a Harley back in 1980 when I started riding....instead I found my way into a yamaha dealer.... oh well....

[Big Ed]

Damn.... that is one fine looking shovel. Nothing as sweet as bringing one back to life.
Isolating the primary is a lesson I learned the hard way.

[unclepsycho]

As soon as I got the bike... I rolled it on the lift, dumped the tanks and cleaned them out. then did a quick clean-n-go on the Super B carb, just so I could ride it around the yard. Changed the oil. Poured new gas in there. cleaned the points and checked the gap, and it actually started on the 4th or 5th kick!!!
so I set up the tri-pod so I could get the first start up and ride away video.... well it didnt go exactly picture perfect.
I straddled the bike to start it up, and .....kick...kick..kick...pufff! kick kick kick puff... it was rolling down the hill a little since I wasnt holding the front brake as tight as I should have, so I go to put it back on the kick stand and leaned her over...and 'Snap" the dern kickstand breaks and the bike flops over on it's side!!!! I kinda did a spin and hop as I jumped over the dropped bike and as I walk back over to turn off the camera you can hear me say... "guess the kickstand needs fixin" I didnt even cuss!!!! and I got it on video!!!!
No biggie... I pick up the bike, kick it and she starts right up first kick... guess she didnt like getting thrown on the ground!!! Lucky there was only a little rash on the primary... no real damage.

I roll it up on the lift and proceed to weld up the kick stand...and did it up right.

That was the first weekend as I remember it.