A bud down the street offered me a interesting trade tonight so wanted to see what your opinions are[8D]
A 1982 FLT for my 89' Sporty
He has had it 3-4 years now,he got it for his wife because she was P.O.'d he traded her 77' Sporty for a boat. He repainted it a couple years ago black cherryand had driven it a couple times although I didn't see it or have yet to hear it. It's not mint but he wants my89' Sporty even up.He wants the Sporty for his wife so he can get his 67 out more. I am not sure about the 82' yet as I haven't seen it in about ayear and never seen it run down the road. I could have both worlds with a Hard Bag bike but not really wanting 1,on the other hand he is a bud/neighbor and another bud I ride with may want the Bagger. He is dying for 1 and when I was told he almost offered up his 04 1200 until he thought about it. Then we discussed if he likes the 82' FLT I would take his wifes 99' 883 (3200 original miles/looks brand new) and she takes his 1200.I was just looking to sell 2 of my 3 bikes and it turns into this[&:]

 

Is FLT the Tour-glide model? To be honest, if I were you, I will keep the Sporty. I do think that FLT looks like a 80's Goldwing, oil leak on shovelhead is another problem you have to deal with. If you are looking for something bigger and like the look of it, why not? It really depends on what you are looking for, it is still a fair trade if the FLT sounds mechanically.

 

I am looking at buying a 1981 FXE, next weekend. I would be carefull with the shovels. I think they are WAY cool and sound awsome and I think I will be buying one, but only as a second low miles bike. They are not good for everyday riders. They all leak, in fact my dealer said he has never seen one that didnt leak(not a big deal). You really need to check out the 82. It should be all rebuilt by now, new heads, crank, pistons and so on. Tanks tend to get rusty if it has been sitting. With that said, they are the coolest on the road, you never see them and they can be a real headturner. I love the "galloping horse" sound. There is nothing that sounds like!

 

thanks for the replies,he says it runs like a raped ape.I guess he had it in a local show2 years agoand got an award but today it sure didn't look like a show bike,it has been sitting since.He rides his 67' mainly and this ended up being to tall for his wife.I really wasn't looking for a bigger bike at all but it would be different I guess.I have the 06' Sporty and will not be parting with it
It is an anniversary edition but not original.The gold parts have been swapped out for chrome and it's painted a real dark heavy metal flake black cherry color.

 

82 isn't an EVO. Lasts 30k miles.

 

LoL, if that comment is in reference to Shovel's someone forgot to tell my '81 that it was suppose to 'self destruct' at the 30K mark.

It's got over 80K on the clock, and runs just fine.

I know a lot of guys with high mileage Shovelheads. They aren't any different than other engines, if you take care of them they will keep on going down the road. We use to ride all around the country (same as we do now) back in the days before there were EVO's and TC engines.

The Shovel's require a little more 'tender loving care' than the newer engines, and you did need to be a little more mechanically inclined than many are today, but they will get you where you want to go.

 

I second that.....the Shovels are great engines if taken care of. I rode a 1984 FXE Shovel until 1994 and it had about 60,000 miles on it. It was ridden everywhere and it only saw 50wt and sometimes 60wt.

That Shovel did not leak any oil until it had 30,000 miles though. Never a drop until then. All the time I owned it....it was never rebuilt.

The Shovel is very crude by todays standards. For normal cruising...I would choose the EVO. For the most current...I would pick the Twin Cam. For racing though....Shovel handsdown.

Shovels are still highly sought after engines in the Harley world. They are classic, but are far from being dead.

 

I am not bashing Shovels but everyone I know that has owned one has told me dont buy one unless you know how to work on one

 

I just traded my 80 FLT today (see gallery). It can bea very nice riding bike when all the suspension and bearing components are fresh. The cleve blocks wear on the pivot are shaft mount and it can get squirrely on grooved surfaces and in curves.

I rode it 400 miles in one day through the mountains near Flagstaff with no monkey butt at the end of the day. I did find the foot controls to be in an uncomfortable position for me (30" inseam). I never rode 2 up on mine.

Ifmine would sit for more than 3-4 days the check valve would leak oil into the crankcase and blow it out the breather on the floor when I would start it, so I had to keep a paint pan under the bike to catch the leaking oil. We were never able to get he primary cover to seal - it was always leaking oil on the floor. This was the first generation of the 5 speed design and they are not as refined as a later model transmission.Just like the new 6 speeds and the issues owners are compalining about, they have their quirks.

My bike was updated with many fresh parts and paint. I had it for sale for 9 months before I was able to strike a deal. I started at $7500/BO/trade and had several offers but the banks are reluctant to loan money on an old bike. Today I got cash, an 01 Honda 4x4 and a 74 Yamaha 250 trials bike.

It is definitely a much better ride than a Sporty. I would recommend taking a long ride on it over as many different surfaces as possible and watch for any signs of sloppy trailing in curves, etc. and decide after that. A short ride may not uncover potential problems.

Good Luck with your decision.