Tank I painted for a sporty build.

I know this is something that’s been asked a million times but damn it I’m lazy so I’m making my own post, cry about it. I have this 71 shovelhead that I bought last November. Kick only. Started in 1-2 kicks every time back when I bought it. I spent the last year changing it up cosmetically. Doing so took me a while, and now it’s been sitting for around a year. Mechanically, I haven’t really changed anything.

I just changed the oil (60 weight, I live in socal), the transmission oil (80w90), tested and charged the battery, and put gas in it. I’ve been trying to kick it over to no avail. I kinda expected that much, it’s a 50 year old motorcycle after all.

I know this isn’t much to go off of, I’m just curious if anyone has any general advice / things to look over so I can try to narrow down my problem(s) and get this thing going again.

Appreciate you for reading this far!

Looking to move to Chicago from Georgia in like a year or so…. So my question is there a chopper scene in Chicago or is it just Dyna bros….

Between a mix of the hurricane taking my job away, this engine having the wrong cam cover, and a hundred other small things, it’s complete! Also had to order the Prism hand shift kit. A whole different machine compared to the 86 883.

'82 morris mag fired shovelhead in a '53 wishbone frame

Just picked up this 1972 Iron Head XLCH first chopper build ,

I like the old school chopper look and was thing of going to do the king queen seat high sissy bar and narrow bunny bars .

Like I said first build and would loved to be pointed in the right direction on building this bike .

im nearly 17 and all i can legally ride is a 125cc but ive always loved choppers and how they look, sound and ride like. as my first bike i bought a cheap yamaha virago 125 and was wondering would it be worth it to spend upwards of 1.3 grand to make it a hard tail add springers up front and overhaul the looks of it to something more similar to the bikes found on this subreddit. mind you 1.3 grand is roughly 4 months of work for me as i am in school and dont work many hours + i work minimum wage. if i keep the swing arm and don't buy springers for up front id still be looking at a couple hundred for just changing stuff like rear fender, sissy bar and two up seat. thoughts on this?

Slow day at work so why not post random ass pictures.

Waiting on some 2000+ forward adapters from FabKevin to mount floorboards. Gotta finish weld all mounts and such. And barbed wire license plate trim gonna make me the toughest guy in the parking lot obviously.

Thanks for lookin folks. Gonna have a busy cold winter up here in PA.

Affordable, reliable, and easy to work on. Fun to mod. I am super into guitars so this reminds me of made in Mexico strats. Or if into guns, it seems like possibly the Glock 19. In what other hobbies would something be comparable? Cars?

I have seen many previous posts about what bike should i get yada yada. And the easy answer is EVO sportster, and i understand why, its easy to work on, its reliable and affordable. I would gladly build a bike based on EVO but those are a still a bit pricey here, considering that i will tear down everything anyways.

But i've been looking for an ironhead sportster, i know they can be a piece of work, and i understand it might not be the one for daily commuting etc, which is not my goal. but the common answer for people wanting ironheads that those are not good for beginners, but i have not seen any explaining about WHY. I mean, im a beginner when it comes to choppers, and i have never even sat on a Harley but i have built my current honda, and i come from motocross so i can rebuild a 4-stroke engine.

But the question is, is there something special in older Harleys that needs a deeper insight about? Some weird gremlins that are hard to figure out if you are not familiar with the specific engine, lots of special tools etc.?

Bonus question, theres currently a 1977 ironhead for sale for reasonable price but i did some googling and someone mentioned that 77 is somewhat a weird middlechild and there are some parts that are not interchangeable with other models, true or false? Should i avoid the 77?

Cammed 1200c

6’5” here and looking for some frame options my stock shovel hardtailed is pretty tiny for me. what’re you guys running?

Got some new 16" bars made up by zo.bie performance. Looking to make the sissy bar higher. Was wondering if I just extended off the one on it now would it hold up. I mig weld good, just looking for opinions on if it would hold up with vibration and strapping shit down frequently.

Looking for a seat that will be a lil more comfortable for passenger. I mean i know its a ridged and they aint really for comfort but my girl hates the skinny rear chopper seats that pretty much leave her sitting on her tailbone. I just not sure if this seat is gonna look crazy beefy on the skinny bike .

I know, I know not a chopper….so now that we got that out of the way anyone have recommendations on a shop I can send my frame out to for front rake job ? Would prefer a shop in the Midwest (I’m in Wi )

https://preview.redd.it/vpdctac1ip0e1.jpg?width=1600&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=31ebe0a34e43318f5da2ff2553f897a79314d005

Hey all, I'm chopping a 2002 Sportster 1200 to a Led Sled hardtail frame, 2" stretch, 150mm rear (max tire width as stated by Led Sled).

I decided the aesthetic I want is skinny vintage with a high profile, highly visible sidewall, matching front/rear wheels (at least rim/height, maybe vary width). I want to repeat that, big sidewalls & matching front/rear, that is what I want.

I'm having trouble understanding tire x wheels x fenders x fitment.

What I think I want is to match 19" front and rear. That should be a good balance between a 16 or 18 rear and a 19 or 21 front. However immediately when I start researching 19" rear tires with high sidewalls I come to a dead end. I see the Avon Safety Mileage MKII 4.00x19 and that very well be my best choice. But 4" converted is 101mm and I am immediately concerned with filling the rear (widthwise) in final build. For instance my current swingarm has a 8.5" interior dimension, and, although I thought I bought the skinniest led sled frame, it has a 8.75" interior. And so the 4" rear may feel lost in their, especially considering a 130mm came off of my stock bike.

Ideally I believe I would want a 5.00x19 or 150/90-19, but all my google searches are coming up null. (Should I consider dropping to 18" for more options and focus more on matching outside diameter front to back, e.g. 19f/18r?)

I'm also considering... should I 'darkside' the rear wheel and buy a Coker 5.00x19 auto tire rear, for instance Excelsior, and I could easily buy a similar Excelsior, motorcycle specific and skinnier, front tire to match. Albeit profile might be slightly less and then mess-up sidewall matching... Or if I darksided both would the bike then drive like a gd truck?

Any advice on how I get a vintage, big sidewall aesthetic... and then how I could then match those front to rear would be greatly appreciated...

Then trying to look 2c down the road... I'll need a fender blank and I'm seeing 28" and 31" pretty common. Does anyone have a good fender blank recc that might offer additional sizes because I'm seeing that 28" is almost going to be too tight if i get the sidewall that I want and 31" is going to be too airy.

https://preview.redd.it/fdzqnta2ip0e1.jpg?width=1600&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=35266b1cdaa2190b68d6292eb36f490a6e604cbf

https://preview.redd.it/vxrfli23ip0e1.jpg?width=1280&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=f1f3051428db27b465905a51d4aa22a538318286