I had to take the ft head of my shovel to have the exhaust flange reweled and fixed, thiught well might as well pull both heads and do valve jub. you know how that goes, now the jugs are off and I want to bore it and put new pistons in it, Any suggestions on pistons? Im running stock heads ,andrews A cam, S&S e carb, craine HI4 ign. dont want a racer, but dont want a slug either! also any tips for getting the piston pins out??? thanks for any advice.
Heres a pic of my bike.

 

Yes I sure do know how it goes when you start a simple project! before you know it you have boxes of parts and ask yourself what have I done. The good thing is doing the top end on a shovel head is relatively simple.
First off if you don't have a good service manual get one and read it.
I have had good luck with the Keith Black series pistons, you do need to pay close attention to the instructions for fitting the rings.
Find {if you haven't already a machine shop that has a jig to bore the Harley jugs or they may damage them beyond repair.
Before you start wrestling the piston keepers out pack rags around the case bore to keep any debris from getting inside the cases. I would imagine you have the spiral piston pin keepers installed, I have used a couple sharp pointed tools {small screw drivers ground to fit the need} to get a hold of the little notch on the end of the spiral and work the thing out. {they can be a real challenge to remove}.
good luck keep us posted 1bad2

 

My motor has the snap ring type clips, thats kinda nice, would that make it a newer 74?.
I was thinking about the keith black stuff, nice price. as long as there good, the ones in it are a little worn and look like old tractor pistons. I plan to make a jig out of angle iron today to support the rod nad may use the threaded rod and 2 sockets to get the pins out.

 

The pins on my Shovel slide right out! they are the full floating type.

 

A large "C" clamp may work too using a large socket on one end and one small enough on the other to fit inside the bore of the pin. I wouldn't think they should be that tight.