Modern Vespa

I have seen an ad for a 1979 Harley FLH with a side car. I have been looking for a new project and preferably a sidecar, and this looks interesting. The pictures look nice, the right things have been said about it. But I have reservations about the Harley. I had a Sportster a number of years ago, but none recently.

I know Harley had some bad years. Is this a worrisome year? Was it made by subcontractors? Was Harley owned by a bowling ball company and run in a gutter? What should I look for? Are parts available?

I know there are some old Harley folks out there, old Harleys, not the folks, what think you?

Stir up Craig, he'll nail it. (caschnd1)

Yeah, that's who I'm waiting for.

1979 was within the notorious AMF years but the real bad period within those years was the mid 70s not the late 70s.

Whatever, enough time has passed that any AMF Harleys in existence have probably changed immeasurably since they left the factory, so when it was made has less significance than the idiosyncracies of the model itself and how well it's been cared for.

I had a 1990 FLHS with the Evolution motor. A mate had an 80s FLH with the shovelhead motor (like the '79 ). The difference was chalk & cheese.

I owned several shovelheads. If I was buying again,I would not own another. Rather own a blockhead or even a panhead

Google it or Google HD forms or call a local HD dealer.

I wouldn't hesitate to own a '79 FLH (or any of AMF year bikes). Yes, at the time they had some troubles, but all that would have been sorted out on the bike by now. The shovelhead is a good strong motor. Not quite as easy to maintain as a new Harley or the Evo powered Harley that followed the Shovelhead in the mid 80's, but still they can be very reliable with the right person working the wrenches.

If you want to go this route, you'll be happiest if you are a mechanic with reasonably advanced skills. The reason is that it will be harder to find a shop that will work on a Harley of this age. Some shops will take in the work when they really aren't qualified to do so. This can be troublesome. I simply prefer to do all the work I can on my own and closely supervise any machine shop work I have to farm out.

There is a lot of folklore surrounding the AMF years. Yes, AMF was a company better known for making bowling balls. But AMF stands for American Machine and Foundary. They had been doing heavy foundary type work for years for Harley-Davidson before they bought the company. When Harley was struggling in the late 60's, AMF thought it might be better to invest in the company than see it go under and lose their business. AMF had been casting Harley motor cases, heads and transmission cases for years before they bought the company. When AMF bought Harley, they came in and shook things up. They started introducing modern manufacturing processes and this really annoyed the workforce. They did not shutdown plants and move the manufacturing, they simply came in and tried to modernize. They introduced huge improvements to Harley-Davidson motorcycles. Disc brakes, electronic ignition, wider use of electric starting systems, improved suspensions, and better charging/electrical systems just to name a few. I actually credit AMF with saving the company. AMF developed the Evolution motor that was used after the shovelhead years. The Evo motor didn't roll out until AMF has sold the company back to the employees. But make no mistake, AMF developed that motor and it's reliability and power improvements put Harley-Davidson back on the map. A lot of people still like to complain about the AMF bikes, but the problems were largely superficial and not serious design issues.

You don't really mention what you are looking for. But if you are looking for a low maintenance, "never have to work on it" sort of bike, you might want to steer clear. But if you go into it knowing that this is a 35 year old bike and you are willing to put up with a bit of baggage that goes along with that, it could be very satisfying.

A great technical forum for HD is: www.harleytechtalk.org

-Craig

I had a 79 flt, verry similar to the flh, same motor, frame etc. just a different fairing, it was a real good bike, I remember putting 33,000 miles on that one and the only issues i had were the motor mount between the cylinders failed 2 times, and the drive chain boot used to leak a little oil, really not a big deal. also the shovelhead motors are reliable but do need some tlc from time to time, but they are not hard to work on.

Any '79 what's still around will likely only need as much care as any bike that age.

An old friend had a '79 Sporty and it was fine. I've known folks and family with those era bikes and after a few bugs sorted, they were all good bikes.

No, I don't recall what issues there might've been but with this here internet, you'll be absolutely inundated with how-to's if you search out the bike you're interested in.

Craig is the guy to talk about the older stuff. Mine is newish in that it's a '93. All different from the AMF shtuff. But I like em.

Harv

I should warn you... When you own an old Harley you will find yourself collecting old parts. A friend in Mineral Wells, TX found these stock bore 1957 cylinders in a barn and called me. They arrived in the mail last week.

It's a sickness...

Totally OT, but I lived in Mineral Wells, TX both as a student and flight instructor and have all kinds of warm memories of the place!

Thanks to all for the info. It has all been very interesting. I have run down some of the suggestions. Here is the ad that I got interested in:

http://tampa.craigslist.org/pnl/mcy/4215080087.html

I have been looking for another sidecar rig after selling my '80 P200 with California Sidecar. A motorcycle is OK. Here is another I ran across:

http://sarasota.craigslist.org/mcy/4220289596.html

Craig, I thought you would like to see that one. It's a little out of my price range.

I've got to try moving around some stuff in my garage to find room for one. The Vespa fitted pretty well, but a Harley rig is almost the size of another car.

" ....bowling ball company".

They made pool tables too, didn't they?

They have small balls though.

I really wouldn't mind owning a Harley. I just dislike all of the cheesy crap I'd have to wear to be really cool.

Although retired now, I suppose my age is at least right on.

That's a nice looking Shovel! Price looks right too.

The older Panhead is a nice looking custom. The price is way too high at $36,000 though. It would need to be original to bring that kind of money and this bike has a ton of extra aftermarket chrome. Looks nice but actually decreases the value.

Robertsfun, you only need to wear the Harley uniform if you are into that. I don't wear any HD emblems on my cloths. And the only HD emblem on my bike is a patent decal applied to the tool box in 1936. It's almost faded completely away at this point.

-Craig

I got nothing for you. But that's a purdy bike.

"C".....I would think seriously before buying an old Harley!!!!

I've had three Evo Sporties and find them reliable, although the ergos dont fit me well.

The ole Harleys are a project bike.....IMHO......just like my old Triumphs are!!!!

fried okra

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Harley-Davidson-Touring-Harley-Davidson-1979-FLH80-shovelhead-w-matching-sidecar-/121231800334?forcerrptr=true&hash=item1c39fa780e&item=121231800334&pt=US_motorcycles

Same here, along with other Harleys and Buells. I worked out that 15 years of my riding life was spent on Harleys, and nearly 10 of that on Sportsters.

I can't tell you why either, because they blatantly don't fit me, and probably never have!

On another note, that ebay one sounds sorted and looks great.