My FLH 1973 Shovelhead Electra Glide 1200cc (74ci) Deutsch hier klicken

It's really easy: I always thought of the Shovelhead as the best looking HD mill. While most may name the Knucklehead as their favourite, I can still remember my first Harley, that I saw at the age of ten. A Shovelhead FLH. That's it for me! When I started on HDs in 1996 I chose the Sporty rather for financial reasons, and because I was afraid of an old mill that needs wrenching every hour or two.... Well, I still am happy with my XLH.

But when I got the phone call from a local "independant", American Twin in Noeux les Mines, who announced the arrival of an all wrecked FLH, I couldn't resist to go and see. The bike was stored by the customs for ten years (due to a minor VAT problem of the previous importer) and it showed. Claude from American Twin bought her in that condition (ten years of dust and grease) in Avignon, southern France, and I decided on the spot: This one has to be mine! There were no brakes, no electric worth mentioning, some really foul parts and paperwork from the US, saying the last owner was from Illinois, but I wanted THIS ONE! We sealed the deal with a handshake and agreed on a reasonable price including roadworthy condition and the paperwork for the numberplates and our DOT. 

Now if you have only experienced EVOs or Twin Cams, you have missed the best part of Harley. Riding a Shovel is full of heartwrenching sensations. It shakes, rattles and rolls in a different way. The mill is making all sorts of mechanical noise and the exhausts are barking in a different tone. But you sit on it like on two of grandma's spring-cushions. It's about being King of the Road in a very old-fashioned style, but it requires some additional work, compared to a modern bike. On the first 500 km I lost the cover of my braking cylinder and maybe ten bolts and nuts (the ones fixing the pipes to the cylinder, rear fender, floorboards etc.). Today I make a 30 seconds inspection, because I know what to look for. That takes care of the worst problems.

When it comes to acceleration, the 1200 cc mill doesn't fail to impress me. There is something going on between 1500 and 3500 rpm, and you can easily keep up with any group of bikes. I limit myself to 130 km/h, equaling 80 miles, and the bike seems to like that attitude as much as the very long warm-up exercise we do together. For a sled that weights in a hefty 340 kg (750 lbs), it is real easy to handle (a lot easyer than a BMW LT or a Gold Wing) and I haven't encountered any real problem so far. Yes, I think I found the bike for my life.

How to Shove it right in:

One of the best ways to check the Shovel's state of health is to kickstart it. If it comes within 3 - 5 tries, it's OK, else start to tune the carb and ignition. I try to kick her all the time (OK, I do that for show, but what the heck ... it's fun!), and the more you do it, the better a feeling you get. Ignition off, full gas, choke out and three hefty kicks to "moist" the combustion chambers. Now gas down to 1/3rd, search for the "hard point" on the kicker; ignition on and a heavy leg!!! 

CARBS

I recommend the S&S Super B. It's a real simple carb, based on the venerable old Linkert from the dawn of time, but it works under water and in sandstorms. What you have to consider it it's tendency to enrichen the mix after some time. Keep an eye on your sparks and don't turn the idle too low. A spectacular low idle can result in spectacular low oil pressure and that can result in a real spectacular high bill from your mechanic or dealer....

My favorite way to tune it starts with the enrichener screw. Turn it all in, then go one and a half turns out. That is a good basic setting. Come to a healthy idle (about 800 rpm) by the use of the screw just right of the enrichener. Now if you live in high altitude or in an area of constantly high air pressure (near sea level),  you can work the mix some more, but the method here works nine out of ten times just perfect.

Neither Super E nor Super G are satisfying on a stock Shovel. Both carbs allow for high fuel flow and a stable supply of combustible even in high revs. The normal Shovelhead was able to turn up to 5200 rpm (1200cc), and those who survived until today haven't been up there very often.  We don't need a high fuel flow. We need a carb that delivers from the very bottom (kickstart) to mid levels. The Super E makes sense on a hard ridden 80 incher (dresser plus sidehack) or on a stroker (from 84 to 93 cu in). The Super G is an absolute hi-performance carb for racebikes or heavy strokers (96 cu in or more). Put on a standard block they will just drown the engine in gas (black plugs and all).

Another carb I have experienced is the venerable SU (Skinner Union), which earns the price for the best kicker carb. If you ever had an old Volvo car from their moment of glory, say the late 50s to the early 70s, or if you ever got your hands greasy in a Morris Mini Cooper, you may remember the design. Setting it up is a bit tricky and can vary from bike to bike (in fact from day to day), but once you come to peace with it, there is nothing that can stop it from work. Plus this carburetor has the real bad look. I heared they make it under license in the US, and I can recommend it.

A nono is the Mikuni 42. We installed that one on a friend's 1340 Shovel, and so far it's pure terror. It's very heavy (though we put a very light "aircleaner" on it, sorta Dragtron thingy) and the mount broke after 2000 km. Next to that it has a tendency to spill petrol all over the landscape once somebody just thinks of dust or sand.   The mpg goes south as well. The consumption is about 1,5 liters /100 km up (I'm at 6,5 with the S&S, he is at 8 with the Mikuni). Well, it's Japanese and that's what needs to be said about it.

Tyres

Avon Roadrunner is the worst tyre I tried so far. While its clean looks may attract the eye, I was shocked by the poor performance and endurance. The rear was gone after 5000 miles and that's way too fast. It also is a bad stopper, meaning the tyre tends to block earlyer than the Dunlop I had before. Not good at all!

Dunlop Touring Elite seems to be well enough a rubber for a FLH (averaging 9000 mls on the rear), but the bike feels a little heavy in curves. I am impressed with the milage you get out of 'em and have to point out that the Dunlop never let me down. The profile has cavities up to the sides, and that makes for a good grip on wet roads. A smart buy when available (stock is always down in springtime.....).

Michelin Commander is my latest choice. It looks like a life-size copy of the Dunlop 401 Touring Elite (which is a compliment), but everyone told me that the Michelins are longer lasting, so I gave it a look. The tyre is smaller than the others (I use it in 140/90-16 and that's as wide as the 130s of Dunlop or Avon) but I can already recommend it as a good stopper and the profile of the new rubber is very deep, so the long endurance may be true.  It also goes into curves a bit easyer than the Dunlop (the difference ain't big, but you can feel it if you know your bike).

I haven't tried Continental myself, but I would have taken one if available. They seem to be long-lasting and pretty good in rain. The tyre looks extremely large, say the Conti 130 looks a lot like a Pirelli 150! Claude, who runs an Early Shovel FLH, uses Continental and is fanatic of them, in fact he talked me into buying them, but they weren't available within two weeks, so I took the Michelin. I trust Claude's judgement, else I wouldn't have published it here.

Metzeler has a very good reputation on race-bikes and as far as I know they fit a Sporty very well. I haven't heared anything good about them on dressers but they are on a lot of custom jobs. They make tyres up to 240 large!!!

Shinko or Shin Zheng are real dangerous and cheap. They make a lot of off-road and enduro tyres, and that's how they entered the market. Their 130-16 is looking like a mix from an Enduro rubber and an old Dunlop Speedmaster. So far I have heared of two people who had the rubbers come unglued, one of them on a hiway while riding at 60 mph .... hands off!!!!

Handlebar & Windshield

The latest modification was the original Hydra Glide handlebar on very low (2") risers. The stock bars were too high for my taste. Because of my size (1.96 m / 6'6") I can't use anything high or with a lot of rear bow / pullback. I want my back to be slightly slanted to the front, so at about 80 to 100 km/h the wind will "carry" me and no more weight on the wrists, neither pulling nor pushing. An Apehanger seems to be the worst thing to me. The back is bent, the arms have to pull the body to the front all the time and the rider will become tired a lot faster than on any other configuration. Maybe this Ape-shit has something to do with the Hard-Tail-Macho thing. Apparently everything incomfortable and unhealthy (Apehangers, rigid frames, forward controls) is way cool and manly.... I don't go for it! I want to ride!

I added a windshield for the same reason. It makes the ride smoother, easyer, less noisy and warmer. Because I live in a place with four seasons, it's a nice thing to be protected from the worst part of the rain or windchill and the wind doesn't numb your ears   anymore. You still buy these conveniences with two downs: All mechanical noise is amplified, all of a sudden you hear a lot more off clinging, rattling and such and the bike reacts more to sidewinds. It takes more force to work the handlebar, specialy when you run in the shadow of a lorry or caravan. The bike loses a bit of its stability and the frontend gets lighter, loses ground pressure. If you think that's not important for you .... it can be very important when going through a long curve at 120km/h and feeling a little "nervous " in the frame all of a sudden. Be prepared and don't overreact. If you never rode her "naked", you won't know what I mean, but if you come from nude to dressed it's quite a change.

Ignition

I have that old mechanical ignition on my FLH, and all in all it works pretty well. But it is a motherfucker to start and I think about an electronic gadget like the Crane or Accel kits. I've read that they will work down to 4 Volt, so even a dead battery (mine won't crank the motor below 10.5 V) wouldn't bee too serious a problem. The problem right now is that only one out of five times, the bike starts on the first or second kick.  When using the electric starter,  the mill starts very well, but there seems to be a problem when kicking her. I would appreciate any comments on electronic ignitions by eMail or even easyer in my guestbook. Whatever happens, I will keep you posted on my experiences.

Big Mama has already done 160 km/h (100 mph) on a motorway (mix from 3 different counter readings, hers, another bike's  and a car's), and there was some reserves left. She might do 170 km/h on a good day. I did not Dyno her so far (maybe I never will), but I think she unleashes some 65 horses, which is standard for the 1200 cc mill.

last update  13-July-2002   www.shovelinfo.com