I've known a lot of people over the yrs with shovelhead Amf bikes. Some good some not so much. Bowling accessories company is not the first time harley used outside money. They sold many pattens to Japan in the early yrs. Harley VL was built over seas for yrs after it was here. I love the shovels. Amf or not. Most of the problems if any should be repaired by now if you take care of what you ride.

 

Bought a brand new 77 FXE superglide. I really like the bike but.... I kick started it more than use the electric start because the starter sounded like a bunch junk being thrashed. It had good power but once you hit much over 60 the mirrors were no longer functional and at higher speeds 80 plus the gas cap would want to unscrew. Got good fuel mileage around 42 mpg. The bike started to have issues around 25,000 miles and about that time I was getting married. Sold the bike cheap to a friend because the engine was not functioning very well. Friend found the rings were shot at 25,000 miles and rebuilt it. It then ran very well for decades.

Back in the day some of the more experienced guys and with more skill and bucks than I had, would buy a new harley then take the motor right down and then build it up correctly. They ran pretty well then. Seemed to be sketchy quality control at the factory.

I bought a second harley in 2014, a used 2010 FLHTCU with a dealer installed stage 2. It ran well till the crank failed, then after an expensive rebuild it now runs very well. Still like Harley though, maybe I ate too much dust and smoke.

 

I had a1975 Sportster that I owned in 1978, That AMF Harley was a great Bike, No problems at all, Except the Shift linage Slop.
I was a bitch learning to shift on the left side, my old Sporty was a 1974 shifter on the right.