Harleyvirgin.....don't second guess your decision to get this bike. I bought a basket case over a year ago and have had the pleasure and aggravation putiing it back together, wiring it, accidentally setting fire to it (long story), blowing my knee out trying to start it, pulling my back moving it around my garage, etc., etc..
All in all, just recently I sold my 06 Glide and have decided to have the Ironhead as my only bike for the next upcoming season....I have no regrets over this decision.
I think I can speak for a lot of fellas (and women) out there by saying that it's pretty damn admirable to see a newby go to this kind of Harley as their first endeavor and experience in the Harley scene. Anyonw can go by a 15-20 thousand dollar Harley just to say they are "part of the family", but you chose the old route.....not that one way is right and one is wrong, but hey, it's impressive and refreshing.
There will be horror stories, but the individuality and pride when you go buzzing down the street on this bike will set your soul on fire.
As said before, welcome home, friend....
The Butcher

 

I'm wit Butcher...Just remember to kick through. The kicker ratchet will des-engage around 6 o'clock. (on the big twins, not sure about sporty's) Most injury's are to the knee, from a half *** kick, the motor will fire BTDC and try to run backwards. A miss fire willsnap the kicker pedal clockwise. (kickback) I've learned the hard way, blew my right knee on a fresh rebuild years back. I now kick side saddle (left knee). What I do is push the kicker till I feel a compresion stroke, left hand on the seat, right hand on the wick, swing my right leg up, straighten out my left knee,keeping slight presure on the pedal, and give it all I got to get to 6 o'clock. Yeah its a sissy kick, but hell I don't give a **** as long as it starts. You'll find the sweat spot, pratice, good tune-up.

Crossing your legs, going from a right to left and left to right....will confuze ya in a panick, just leave yourself room, cuz it sucks when u go for the brake and down shift.
Its a hoot....
Get the bike! Sort it out on the road! you'll be a 3%! Good luck!

 

The road less travled has many rewards indeed. A learned appreciation for the machine and it's engineers, an understanding of the inner workings and goings on, skills and TOOLS aquired to do repairs, knowledge that can be passed on to others, a higher level of respect (in my opinion), and many memories and stories.

These are the best stories around the campfire at a two wheel only campground with someone you just met and cracked a beer with and will share the road with for a few hours the next day.

 

The '68 is a right side shifter. Same pattern as newer ones, up for higher gears, just uses the other foot.

As long as you attend to the points every month or two and keep the sparkplugs clean, 1 or 2 kick starts are normal once you work out the cold startup formula. I'm not sure just when they changed to the Bendix carb, but if you have one, cold start is a snap. 1/4 to 1/2 choke, 3 or 4 twists of the throttle to prime the intake, turn on the switch and kick. If it has a Tillotson carb, full choke, kick it over slow 2 or 3 times, 1/2 choke, switch on and kick hard.

Drum brakes will skid the tires if you hit them hard and they are in good condition, can't do much better than that. They do require a bit more force though, so you would want to plan your normal stops a little farther ahead. In a way this is good, because the wheels will only lock when you really intend for them to. Because they are better shielded from the weather, drum brakes can stay dryer and work better than disks in light to moderate rain.

A magneto is a good thing because you can forget to shut something off, run the battery clear down and still ride home. Some start better than others though. Some are just a straight drive on the breaker cams, some have a ratchet setup that holds the rotor back when you are starting the engine, then lets a spring snap it ahead so you get more starting voltage. Both are good, one starts easier and the other has fewer parts to break.

As for launching the rider over the bars, it can happen, but only if the ignition is fully adanced and you forget to keep your knee bent. This is not a wives tail, even the little detuned 45 in our Servicar once tossed the OL into an open dumpster once. It only happened once because after that, she retarded the spark before kicking it over. I also got my old 80 inch flathead to chuck some smartmouth into a rose bush years ago.

 

Get it, I miss my 64CH. I hope the f#$*&^ that stole it killed himself on it.

 

Over the Handle bars is not a urban legend. The early magnetos were fixed spark advance some of the later ones had a advance built in. Anyway ratching gear slip is a common problem and will mess up a knee in a heartbeatA buddie of mine (350 lbs) tried to start my 69 when i tired out from kicking and didn't retard the timing. Thebike kicked back and he was so large that instead of launching him it shattered his ankle