get a cone shovel or hold out for a slabside shovel

yeah I'll go the Ironhead route I think. The big twin would be fantastic but man $$$.

So....did you get the bike?

I wound up getting a 59 XLH, I wound up using only the motor and the rear wheel. the motor needed a total rebuild, the trans counter shaft bearing race was destroyed. I wound up getting the bearing race welded up, put the motor together, decided I didnt trust the repair, torn the motor down again, welded in a reinforcing ring around the race, and am now in the process of putting it back together.

moral of the story, always inspect the transmission case of any basket case sporty, then hold out until you know people in the vintage harley scene and buy a shovel head for the same money. I know of several solid complete shovelheads that I coulda had for what i spent on a fucked sportster engine and a wheel.

I still love 900's though.

AlphaDogChoppers said:

That is why I made the distinction. The ironhead IS a shovelhead, but it is a specific model. A subspecies, so to speak.

Click to expand...

This is absolutely 100% false. An Ironhead is a Sportster. A Shovelhead is a big twin. While the rocker boxes on the early IH's may look like shovels, they aint the same thing.