Neat local Shovel find

[Dr. Benway]

A friend of mine just scored this FLHT road couch locally for $3300. Kinda jealous.
5 speed trans, rubber mount from what I gather.

Need battery, rear tire, some starter tinkering but it's pretty solid overall.
I know you're not going to turn this into a T-bar'ed Wassell tank lane splitter but I thought it was a pretty cool score for a big old battlecruiser shovel.

Look at all that storage!!

[govmule84]

Oh, fuck you.

[Fat Hack]

Damn! That scoot there is the Queen Mary on wheels! Sheeesh!!

[VonWegener]

I'm not up on my late model harleys. I thought the shovelhead rubber dressers had that dual headlight frame mounted fairing. What year is that?

[govmule84]

Originally Posted by VonWegener

I'm not up on my late model harleys. I thought the shovelhead rubber dressers had that dual headlight frame mounted fairing. What year is that?

A Shovel is late-model? Jesus wept. Looks like an FLH/FLHT to me.

[Dr. Benway]

'83?

What exactly is rubber may well be my misunderstanding so take that with a grain of salt.

Looks like you could carry enough parts to build a Sportster when you got to your destination.

[Cain]

It's 1983 FLHT. It uses the rubber mount FLT frame, with early style 5 speed tranny, and the batwing fairing instead of the FLT's frame mounted fairing.

I think I know who own's that

Oh, and I think you could fit a WHOLE sportster in all that luggage!

[Dr. Benway]

Who the hell are you again?

OK, sounds like it was one of HD's "transitional" bikes then?

[Cain]

Meh, just a lurker.

Yeah, I think it's kind of a "betweener" bike. It was the first year for the FLHT, which was basically the FLT frame and some different other doo dads (like the fairing) Not sure of any differences between this frame and a FXR frame, but it looks identical to my FXR. It's also in the same manual as the FXR, so I wonder if they were just ramping up to to forth coming EVO engine. I'm sure it's not exactly the same, but it's got all of the same motor mounts and rubber isolators that the FXR has. I don't know too much more about it other than the price was right and it's a shovel. Anything else cool is just a bonus.

[Sporticus]

It needs lights - tons of them. Maybe even a few flags flying from the trunk. It was a Miami phenomenon when I lived there.

[HD48FL]

Originally Posted by Dr. Benway

Who the hell are you again?

OK, sounds like it was one of HD's "transitional" bikes then?

Fact checked by Cain!

Nice score, lot's of good deals on Shovels!

[govmule84]

Originally Posted by HD48FL

Nice score, lot's of good deals on Shovels!

Let's go shopping together...

[Friday]

for godsake dont strip it, Ive seen 1 with no pants on or fairing .....ewww!

if thats an FXR frame , Im yet to see one converted . arent the shockies mounted behind the axle?
either way scored a shovel wahoo

[Dr. Benway]

I think that's why it was up on CL for a while for relatively short money. You can't chop/strip it because what's under there is ugly; and anyone looking for a bagger doen't want to tinker on a shovel.

He's sworn not to mess with it, he knows he'll get stuffed in a trunk if he does.

[little d]

Doc,
tell him a softail bat will fit between the frame rails, under the seat and late moddel bags and side covers will fit also (ya gotta drill a hole in the cover for the filler neck). Late moddel bat wing faring or road king narcel will also fit....

[JAWS]

Great looking parts bike. Could get back some dough from scrap. Sumbitch is heavy!

[2_wheel_nation]

know what would look awesome on that? a brown lepera scorpion seat. what kind of tires are those, they are sick!

[BigDawg]

Originally Posted by Dr. Benway

Who the hell are you again?

OK, sounds like it was one of HD's "transitional" bikes then?

The FLT/FLHT. It was the touring version of the FXR beginnings. Glass tank, triangulated rear, rubber-mounted motor, 5 speed...and plenty more. The dash is integrated into the top of the forks. They're a bad start if you want to "chop" it, but they're a unique bike that can be had for pretty cheap because they're a bastard.

I typed that out and THEN realized that others have already made those points, but will leave it anyway.

[shupe]

The H-D lineup for 1983:

[little d]

Dawg,
I think your right about the fxr frame except the neck...The flt/flht necks are stretched (goose necked?). I think this is done because the fork tubes sit behind the neck bolt...The first time I raised mine off of the floor and the front tire centered itself, freaked me out a little....