Sportsters are NOT Shovelheads !!!

[fulldress79]

 Whats with calling an early 900 or 1000 (ironhead if you want) Sportster, a Shovelhead?!? They are not!!! (I've just been scrolling thru eBay) Only a Shovelhead is a Shovelhead! How did this practice of the clueless start? Where will it lead? Can I sell my Shovel as an "Aluminum Knucklehead"? Its time to halt this deception!!!

[CraigArizona85248]

It's pretty simple... the buyer needs to know what they are buying and not trust what someone on eBay tells them.  It's common for the uneducated to mistake an Ironhead for a Shovelhead.  While to you and I they look nothing alike, to the uninitiated they look close enough alike to be the same thing.  Not something to get worked up about.

-Craig

[jerite]

Amen to that Craig!
Jer

[pappyfreebird]

ive heard alot of newbies call n ol ironhead a shovel..like craig said they see the rockers n thats nuff

[fulldress79]

 I'm not really that upset,I guess I'm just showing my age!

[CraigArizona85248]

I'm not really that upset,I guess I'm just showing my age!

LOL... I understand that... sometimes little things make me grumpy too.  My wife has learned that when I start acting that way, I'm in need of food.   

[dablaze]

It's a miss used term, but its been around forever. When I bought my first bike I wondered why the one "Shovelhead" was so much narrower than the other I was looking at. I was lucky and bought the cheaper rattier one, which was my FLH. The other was an Ironhead.

Ironheads are junk. They at least have a good doaner tank. JMHO.

Craig

[Harpo]

Awhile back, a REALLY clueless chap looked at my Shovel with the large rocker shaft nuts and said, "WOW, a Knucklehead!"  He looked a bit perplexed when I busted out laughing.

[70weight]

It's usually a case of someone that don't know chit about Harleys trying to act like he does. As far as ironheads go I thought they were a good bike. I had a 71 kick start only that I rode fer awhile. Fun bike. I recently tried to buy an 80 but it was sold before I coul get there.

[CraigArizona85248]

I like the old ironheads too.  I saw one recently that had been built to look like on old dirt flat tracker but totally street legal.  It was a cool looking bike.  I'd have fun tearing to work on something like that.

-Craig

Found a picture of the bike... it was featured in Greasy Kulture issue #8.

[96flhpi]

70 - I know someone I used to work with who's got a '79 that needs some work selling for $1750.  Engine runs but it's rough, one cylinder not firing right - says pipe doesn't get as hot as the other.  Have no idea if that's a reasonable price or not so don't take it out on me.

http://newyork.craigslist.org/wch/mcy/980896315.html

[fulldress79]

Actually I'm not anti-Sportster,in fact I like em. My first was a 1967 XLCH,I bought myself for my 50th birthday (sort of).I had wanted one since I was 16-a long time to wait! When I first started riding Harleys in '73,you could buy a Panhead much cheaper than a 'CH.By the time I got one,I couldn't quite get used to the right shift left brake,so I was always mashing down on the shifter to stop. Not good in a panic stop situation. I'd still love to have another though-if I could keep my Shovel too.

[Hillside Motorcycle]

I like the old ironheads too.  I saw one recently that had been built to look like on old dirt flat tracker but totally street legal.  It was a cool looking bike.  I'd have fun tearing to work on something like that.

-Craig

Found a picture of the bike... it was featured in Greasy Kulture issue #8.

That is a very sharp machine!!
Hat's off to the folks that built that one.
Scott

[bob_e95482]

Very cool. I like the way the hardtail was done.

[CraigArizona85248]

I liked the hardtail too.  It's a bolt on piece.  The upside being you can turn it back into a swingarm if you feel inclined to do so.  This bike was built by a guy named Steve Hatcher... from Florida if I recall.

-Craig

[fulldress79]

The only thing is the back of the frame has been cut,where the fender struts bolt to.But with a ride this nice,I'd leave it as it is!

[hdpegscraper]

Wow! Thats Nice, Id even have to say its Bi*chin'. I myself would rather have that bike than some Revtech catalog chopper any day.

[pappyfreebird]

rode a few 900s n 2 1000s n one 1200 (05) resecntly n loved em all..my womins was n 81 1000 had 51000 untouched miles...oil n adjust rods now n then n still dint use ony 1/2 qt in 2 k...they kin be built ta haul azz..them 4 cams take alot

[dablaze]

Ok, I admit that one might change my mind a bit.

Craig

[Jusbo48]

That is a sharp Sporty, I have a very mistreated 1980 Sporty settin around that just might have to get worked into something like that

[ironhead lew]

Back in the old days we referred to both bikes as "shovel" heads.  It's a descriptive term.  Don't expect the young'uns to know this and no harm, no foul.  Only thing that get's me goin' is when someone starts runnin' down the ole ironheads, callin' 'em girls' rides and such.  Them's fightin' words, Skippy.  The Sportster is the legitimate hot-rod king.  Call it what ya want, just ride it like ya stole it.

[fulldress79]

 Back when I first started riding ,all the outlaws and cool guys rode 'CH's. Hogs were old man bikes,unless chopped,but that was still more about show than go.I watched "Hells Angels on Wheels" ( I think that was the title). It had the REAL Hells Angels in it. Sonny Barger was riding a '67 XLCH. He can have any bike he wants,and that was his ride. I bet it did a lot to sell Sportsters back then. Nobody refered to them as girls bikes,or would dare. That really didn't start till the "hugger" 883 which was marketed to women. The people that call ironheads girls bikes, don't know the history behind them.Back when Harley was selling the WL 750cc flathead,they also were trying to get more women involved and were marketed that way too. Look what a "45" is worth today! (and you can be sure its not women paying those prices). Nowadays I see gals riding Low Riders, and even Road Kings. Is a Road King a "girls bike" too?.... The reason I started this post is that I come from a time that a Shovelhead was ONLY a Big Twin.That was when the Cone motor was brand new,and some people thought Harley had messed up a good engine! (it was kinda funny looking)There were no "ironheads",because there was no reason to make a distinction,all Sportsters had the same engine.....In fact you'd run the risk of someones wrath if you called a 'CH a Sportster!. 'CH's were only to be called a 'CH,lest someone though you were riding an XLH!!! Ah the "good old days"......Now I'm an "old man" riding a "hog",but I'd still give my left one for a nice stock '66 'CH!!!....

[Dogbone45ACP]

Last summer I overheard a fellow explain to his girlfriend everything he knew about my 96 in. Shovel. he called it a ironhead. Well, it does have cast iron valve guides. Some day I'll tell him the differance.

[ironhead lew]

I know I'm showin' my age here, but I stopped givin' a chit about that about 10 yrs ago...
The ole sportys back in the late 50s early 60s were the only Harleys with shovel-shaped rocker covers, and we called 'em shovel headed bastards. Pappy, you and I are probly close in years, you remember that?  Used to piss off some of the Pan riders when someone on a Sporty dusted 'em on the road.

[triumphbruce]

heck im just a young 51 and always called my bikes scooters
then i went to england.found out a scooter is a vespa the
ones with the motor on the wheel.hell some of those i saw
there could relay scoot.and a harley or big bike was a rocker
us ta worry about the proper name.now i just get a kick listening
to posers explaining what type of bike they are looking at and
dont even have a clue what make or model that it really  is
came out of the bar once when some dude was teling his girl
about my bike.as i got on he said nice sporty i just said thanks
     

[Speeding Big Twin]

fulldress79, you're right about the name of that movie. You mentioned that a person ran the risk of someone's wrath if they called a CH a Sportster. When H-D placed the word Sportster on both sides of the XLCH tank (1971 model shown below), did that bring about a negative reaction from any potential CH buyers at the time?

Craig, I've got a sub to Greasy Kulture and I saw that Sportster you posted a picture of. Coincidentally, I recently put a similar set of bars on my 1999 FXST but I've got three-inch spacers between the handlebar clamp and the top tree. I'm happy with the bars thus far, especially when splitting heavy traffic. Over the last sixteen months I've tried five different bars and three ways of mounting them in an effort to get more comfortable.

ironhead lew, I'm in Western Australia and prior to the 1974 model I'd seen only a couple of Sportsters here. Then some of my mates bought new 1974 XLCHs but we just called them Sportsters then. You mentioned that in the late 1950s and early 1960s you called them shovel headed. Was that term for a Sportster only adopted in certain parts of the country or was it more widely used at the time? I'm just curious regarding how the terms change or move around over the years.     Eric

[CraigArizona85248]

Craig, I've got a sub to Greasy Kulture and I saw that Sportster you posted a picture of. Coincidentally, I recently put a similar set of bars on my 1999 FXST but I've got three-inch spacers between the handlebar clamp and the top tree. I'm happy with the bars thus far, especially when splitting heavy traffic. Over the last sixteen months I've tried five different bars and three ways of mounting them in an effort to get more comfortable.

Oh... thanks for jogging my memory... I need to re-up my subscription.  I love the little rag!

-Craig

[hotham]

Reminds me of the guy that just spent $3500 to make his Evo FXR go fast.  He was told my 82 FXR was fast.  He says lets see what you got.  Two runs from a roll and he couldn"t believe he got beat by a Shovelhead.  I told him many have had that happen.  I think Rubs think a Shovelhead is just old junk.  You got to have a twinkie or at least an Evo.  Slowly they learn.

[fulldress79]

 The people I knew who were radical about not calling a CH a Sportster,scorned the whole machine when the CH lost the magneto.In fact there was even some words about the post 1967 versions being not as desirable (why? I 'm not sure-maybe it was a break from the Model K cam and sprocket covers) These folks were hard core XLCH fans. As far as Sportsters being called Shovelheads--maybe its a regional thing. Around here (New England), in the late '60's a Shovelhead was strictly a big twin.

[shov60]

  I go back to the late 60's when I first bought a 59 pan bone stock for 700. In the 70's everybody I new referred them as shovel sporty's
                                                    My 2 cents             shov60

[RoadKingTrooper]

What about the guy explaining the difference to his girlfriend between shovelhandles and panhandles?