Kip Woodring is bashing Ironheads

[amf 71flh]

Read the most recent Thunder Press Motorhead Memo by Kippy Woodring bashing our beloved Ironheads. Below is the letter I sent back to them. I'd like to find this guy in a dark alley....


The AMF story begins in the mid-1960's with Harley-Davidson on the brink of bankruptcy and well on its way of following Indian into extinction.  Some Harley and Davidson family member shareholders who were not involved with the company were looking to cash-out. The company needed funds to modernize the plant which only hastened their actions, so 1.3 million shares were sold to the public. The sale of these shares attracted the attention of a number of firms, one of which was Bangor Punta, a company well known as a corporate raider. A hostile takeover bid was initiated by Bangor Punta and Harley was forced to find a company to merge with to survive. Enter AMF in 1969...

The marriage lasted only a short time. Although AMF invested millions in upgrading Milwaukee 's plant, the move of the assembly line to York , PA. in 1973 sent the union's in a spin which sent many experienced workers packing. There were strikes, poor workmanship, and reports of sabotage by workers on the assembly line. But don't blame AMF, blame greedy unions.

Although not the best of times for our beloved HD, the AMF years produced the FX Superglide line of bikes starting with the Night Train in 1971, which is still alive and well today thank you. Millions of dollars of R&D funding lead directly to the development of the EVO motor, which I'm sure even Kip will agree was one of the best ever made, although maybe not as high-tec or reliable as "the last great Iron XL built in 1970" according to him.

The many problems AMF encountered along the way did not stop the company in keeping Harley-Davidson alive and defining a course of success that was to follow. I still have my 1974 XLCH that I purchased new, which by the way has never been apart and leaks NO oil. Most of the problems with the bikes of that era were the people who wrenched on them. Carpenters and plumbers became instant motorcycle mechanics and their work showed it. My 2005 FLHR has gone through two starter drives and  an outer cam support bearing in under 10,000 miles, now that's junk.

I get angry when the ignorant and uninformed see the AMF decals on my tank and whisper to their buddies that AMF bikes were junk. Most of them would not even know the difference if the original decals were gone. We owe AMF a great deal of thanks, for without them, Kip would be hot-rodding Kias and your rag would be called the Chinese Thunder Press

[amf 71flh]

(*

[garyajaz]

my new 1974 had lots of problems. handle bar wireing caught fire a couple times, other electrical problems, i ended up sorting out myself with out using the stock foreign parts.  warentee (from selling dealer) was non existant.
after first wire burn down in the first month i trailored it back.
completly stock bike.  i must have caused it was answere to warentee request.
all the switches died first year. too long ago to list all.  but was more reliable after i stroked motor and re built and shimmed/adjusted tranny.
rewired competly and reswitched.  also actually handled after i replaced shocks and re did frorks.
on and on.  still have the beast.
oh, i had a lemon painted on tank with  "thanks dan" (dealer name) on it.
it got around.  i had to go to a close town to buy parts after that one...lol...but it was worth it.  anyone who asked about lemon i would tell them of his non warentee policy. i think i might of cost him some sales.
second year the rod bearings went.  was cheaper to stroke it.  the S&S parts been in since 1976. nary a bottom end problem...
to me they were not a high water mark for harley.
but then again, in  my  view, neither was the evo.  the factory sent some pre production ones to the school i taught at to eval and look over.
i did not buy one.  waited for the next offering.  the twin cam, then up dated.

i had a new 1972 super glide also.  different dealer. they did warentee tranny for me. first time...second time was "on me"
then cam  went and some other problems.  was happy to sell it and went with a 1968 gen shovel.  sure did like my ol slow pan though. it just kept running.

[Paniolo]

One dealership I used to frequent in the AMF days started carrying Japanese bikes just to survive. One day I was there and saw a guy cleaning up. He said a battery exploded on a showroom Harley when the went to start it. The battery was either loose, the wrong size or both. When they hit the starter button the battery exploded. The guy said it was probably shorting out on the frame or the battery cover.

[amf 71flh]

I owned an auto repair shop for many years. One day in the late 1990's a good customer walked into the shop holding the key to his car with the lock cylinder also attached to it. I guess when he turned off his Hyundai and went to remove the key, everything else came with it!! This was the time when Hyundai  first started selling cars in the US and they had some lets say, problems. So he asked me why that happened and I told him the truth; "those cars are junk". He turned and walked away and I never saw him again...

But I learned a valuable lesson from losing that customer. One mans junk is another mans treasure.

[Eccool]

I bought a '79 Sportster in 79.  Kip Woodring is right; that thing was way to close to junk.

[Maddog]

beats the hell out of me I still own an ride my 73 XLCH which i bought used in 76 !!  Its out lasted one wife 4 dogs, an a handful of girlfriends alone with one shovel, an a dyna   so go figure !

[garyajaz]

too bad about the dogs.

on a rare occasion 3-4 times a year i ride my 1974.
just cause its a race bike.  80 inch HIGH compression and my foot is busted up.
even with comp releases i can barely start it.
but it does live.
so after 38 years of fixing it, yeah, its a good bike.
but stock? not so much.
now thinking of it i was riding it on day in 1976 or so and a shock broke and fell off bike.
made for some weird handling to get home.
i shoulda sold it long long ago....
but i was young and dumb.  figgured i could fix it..

[Maddog]

other then the sporty the dogs were the best of the bunch lol Thanks

[amf 71flh]

I guess it depended on the moon and the movement of the tides if ya got a good one. My 76 FX has been bulletproof....

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[desertrat]

My 72 CH was one of the best bikes I ever owned. Really regret selling that one....

[wreck74]

The old ironhead is like the ol lady, if you don't take care of them, you know the rest.     

[strokerjlk]

Nice bike.

[nibroc]

72XLCH was the only sporty I've bought new and 1st yr for 1000cc's after a run of bsa's--parts guy told me i would tear up the tranny with the 18 tooth trans sprocket i was buying--he was right-- but it did kick a few 750 hondas 

[RVN73]

I rode my '73 XLCH for 18 years. The only problems I had could be traced back to the nut attached to the handlebars.

[desertrat]

Wow, Nibroc, an 18 tooth sprocket. They're for wheel standing. I had one for show dogging. There's alot of get up and go in that. I can imagine the hurting that was put on that bike, but it was fun while it lasted.  I remember those days with my 72 ch....