My Shovelhead is Broken Again!

[@SaddleTrampTV]

My shovel has certainly given me an education over the last two years. Worth the time and effort.

[@buttcrackcycles]

Hopefully I get this one pretty dialed in soon!

[@randymarks4011]

Been wrenching shovels since the 70s, equipped to do everything on them bottom end up, still learn something new occasionally, went to school for American v twin in the early 80s, made a few expensive mistakes when I thought I knew what I was doing, have 3 ironheads now, had 5 at the start of the year, sold 2, and have 3 shovels. working on one now for a friend.

[@ukariah]

I just got my first Harley, my second bike at 18 years old and its a 1980 shovelhead, right now its just a rolling frame for now.

[@michaelmitchell5909]

Great bike man. Im glad your not giving up on it. Love your channel.

[@lawnboyfromhell]

The only people I ever met that know everything, seem to choke when you hand them a wrench! One good guy to watch for older bikes is Pacific Mike, nothing arrogant about him, and he should be awarded a Wizard's Certificate for his knowledge!

[@buttcrackcycles]

He's absolutely one of my favorites to watch!

[@lukewilson4824]

He loves those Panheads!

[@ironheadsally]

Sweet man, glad to see another update on the shovel. Every single bike we have had with those forward setups like yours have shifted horrible, lots of slop and couldnt get em to shift smooth. Mids all the way, *if ur not scrunched up 😁 happy wrenching! Atleast the ironhead dont leave ya walking (normally) 😜💚🏁🦅

[@buttcrackcycles]

Hahaha yeah I really hate the forwards! They're staying for now, but, eventually gonna send em packing! Hope y'all are well

[@TheWolfsnack]

Big grin here....as I just went through some rear brake drama with a 93 FXDL after I swapped out the stock brake line for stainless with new fittings...first ride.....about a mile and no back brake....replace the broken new brake line....ride to teh next town and no back brake....the exact same thing. I wound up putting a longer line taken off my front brake when I swapped out the handlebars and a zip tie to keep the line in a half loop and it works awesome. Having had panheads, shovels, flatties and Sporties....but my fave so far is my old Evo.

[@Crimepaysaskapolitician]

Don't worry about the negative comments. Almost if not all of them come from trolls that don't even own a motorcycle.

[@pastorbobncc365]

Last used shovel I bought 1970 FLH I brought it home and striped it to the frame, inspected everything as I put it back together, rebuilt the top end, and replaced everything that looked worn. Bike has never broken down sense.

[@doncollins786]

The zip tie method works great! I just bought a second Shovel, a 77 with 11,000 miles. Love Shovels!

[@buttcrackcycles]

I'm glad I found it, it definitely helped!

[@dominicfazio2793]

Great content. Love the shovel. And the shirt is awesome!

[@2na-phish]

i'll give a one finger salute to the keyboard experts for you. you are in the same position i was 35 yrs ago with an old (50's) scooter. most of my education came from an every brand bike mechanic that worked in a local shop. i traded a spare engine and frame to him for guiding me through a clean frame rebuild with no part untouched. he built my engine and trans and made me watch every step and then i had to build the rest of the bike with his guidance (and approval of my work). cost me big dollars and a year of my time . but he was right about knowing a bike from the ground up. a good bit of that knowledge stays with me to this day. FWIW i think this is a case of go over it one piece at a time or check it out from the ground up and know it. best of luck and looking forward to more videos!

[@shameless6963]

When you get everyone else's screw ups straightened out then I'll start running better.

[@lawnboyfromhell]

The stuff you are learning is gold, and when it does run good, it's kinda rewarding. A true Dual Sport bike, ridin and wrenchin!

[@garyhill1659]

I see a big problem on the trouble head. That master cly is so straight up and down that if you have the smallest amount of air in the reservoir it's going to make its way into plunger. I really would suggest maybe a master cly with a remote reservoir . Other than that looks pretty sick!

[@s0-s08]

nice old bike! love theys old shovels, one thing about the shifters is they like there linkage to be tight with very little slop. iv had this problem many times where they just dont shift right, try getting as much of the slop out of the linkage as you can and then adjust the clutch bolt where you have a little bit of play in the clutch lever and that fixes it right up. also if that bike has the ratcheting shifter tranny top in it they have a lot of problems when they start to wear out. look for the 1980s models they fixed it and made them more reliable.

[@warrenp2022]

Unsolicited advice is easy to give when you are far enough away that nothing can be thrown at you. Here's mine (😀), as you moved the shifter, the slop in the linkage arraignment made me wonder how it was able to shift at all. I am one of those detail people that drive normal people away, can't help it. I have several pieces of old iron that keep me thinking of new ways to keep them on the road and not go broke. Your doing fine.

[@buttcrackcycles]

Yeah the shifter linkage is really a mess! Probably need to start completely over on that, I would like to ditch the forward controls so that would be a good time to fix the slop

[@mavision6525]

Subscribed. I do like the videos the most where you're showing the work and steps. Very informative.

[@lawnboyfromhell]

I'm not sure what size washers you need, but I have way better luck not getting leaks with the Drag DS-097014 Banjo sealing washers, that number is for 3/8 banjo washers, and DS-097015 is for 7/16 washers. they come in 10 packs so you always have some.

[@FourIntoOne]

I ride a 42 year old ironhead sporty. Every single ride is a test ride lol, so I know how you feel. 👍

[@buttcrackcycles]

My Ironhead is pretty reliable, though it definitely needs its share of wrenching too 😅

[@jeffysue]

ditch the forwards my man for some mids. unless you are partial to them of course. and as you know, cough out carb indicates lean so rich up a bit but not tooooooo much or else she'll let you know, hahahaha. such a love hate relationship with these damn bikes.

[@buttcrackcycles]

A nice set of mids is on the list, eventually!

[@happymark1805]

dot5 will give you trouble unless all components are made for dot5(they were not from the factory), it took me a long time to find that out, dot3 and dot4 let all the rubbers expand, dot5 does not do that and will give you leaks, I heard dot5.1 does expand like dot3 and dot4 but I have not tested that yet

[@buttcrackcycles]

Straight out of the 78.5-80 FL/FX manual, I think the manual part number is 99482-80, page 1-9 "Use only DOT 5 brake fluid." I've heard others say this about DOT 5, but all of my late 70s/early 80s factory manuals call out DOT 5 for brake fluid, so that's all I use

[@happymark1805]

@@buttcrackcycles I tried dot5 silecone on my 1980 shovelhead, the dot5 came out of my brake lever , so I tried new internals with a rebuild kit, same result, leaking, I could not understand why untill it became clear that the dot5 was causing the problems

[@buttcrackcycles]

@@happymark1805 interesting! I'll keep an eye out for it, who knows maybe a fluid change is in the cards!

[@southwestcatfishsquad7347]

That bike is running poorly because it needs to be opened up.Its being babied to much

[@twicepipes7437]

Could you share the info on the syringe set up? I need one for the war chest.

[@buttcrackcycles]

I got it at harbor freight, part number 59513, I've got another I use for evacuating fuel and oil from the top of pistons on diesel engines. I should go buy a third as a spare 😅

[@twicepipes7437]

Thanks!