An attempt to bring a dead 1974 AMF Harley Davidson Shovelhead back to life from the dead. Doing a small favor for a possible future Harley Davidson shovelhead rider.
I bought a '74 FLH Shovelhead that did not run. Had good spark, accelerator pump was spraying fuel. Checked, rechecked, and cleaned everything on the circuit board. Finally found a dead circuit breaker under the tank. Nothing better than hearing that starter crank when before it was dead as a door nail, lol.
Some of the best Shovels I've had were fast. I installed a Jim's Evo oiling system with a single fire. SS carbs, etc. Kick only . 1 7/8 drag pipes. Always good time. Sometimes, a scary bastard
If the bores were dry from not running then compression test will show low. Pop a very small amount of oil in the bores and turn over a few times and then test will give you a truer test result.
Also while checking for spark you don't have to crank engine when first checking. Just short across points with screwdriver with points open and ignition on to watch/listen for spark. Every time you ark across points plug fires. No spark check electrical, componets, grounds, etc. If you do have spark shorting with screwdriver then you know ignition does work which pretty much leaves points needing to work right.
Tatro be proud man...lol, just kiddin. You know what your doin, be an honor to have you work on my bike. Will you show on video what the owner does with this blue shovel once you got it running? Love to see that man.
Hey Tramp. Hope you and Mrs had a great Christmas and may you have an awesome 2024. Maybe I see you again at the camp out next year. Kevin in South Africa
Good content my old shovel is covered in dust one of these day maybe I’ll crank her up more than just that one to work on though and I keep loosing parts not bike parts fingers 🙏 for no more infections. Hope all’s good down your way
Always love your vids ST. Your laid-back demeanor, honesty, and overall character have kept me coming back for the last 4 or 5 years. Keep up the excellent content and Happy New Year to you and Mrs. ST! God Bless.
Just came across your vid with scooter tramp Scotty and noticed your patch that said live to die and die to live. It put a smile on my face when I knew you were a brother in the Lord and love to ride. Me and my wife have both recently retired and are going to start traveling this coming late fall with camper and Harley and hope to sometime meet up with you and your wife and have some fellowship with you guys And I did subscribe and look forward to your videos. God bless you and yours
After 20 years riding my kick only 1974 shovelhead, i never had big problems with it. I have a hsr42 carb and good old points. In your case i think you have a fuel problem straight out of your tank, fuelline or carb. If you pull off your fuel line from the carb, does it flow? It can't be a big deal to fix this. Good luck mate and already a happy new year 👍🍾🥂
I know you will get the old bike running good ,Some people leave stuff sit for ever and don't put much value on it ,I like riding so I put big value on what I have.
Carb will be the biggest answer to running. Timing seemed ok and good spark should get it running once your fuel delivery problem is helped! Good luck!
Way back in the olden days, one of my town's auto parts stores kept a fully charged up condenser on the parts counter. It didn't happen often, but every now and then, somebody would pick it up while they were telling the parts man what part they needed, and would touch the lead while holding the condenser and BAM!!! Everybody got a really loud belly laugh out of it, and the one who got shocked knew better than to tell anybody, from not wanting to be labelled a rookie, so whoever got electrified would bring another gullible person with them next time and get to be on the laughing side. A charged condenser will knock your... male parts... in the dirt.
my 1st thought was timeing..... sure you got a few carbs lying around.. or borrow off a running bike....lol... l know ya will get it running.. cheers mate & have a Hippy new Years....
I'm working on a bike from a colleague that had been standing in storage for 6 years. I just didn't wanted it to end as a parts bike (it is running but needs work on the rear brake).
"It ain't got no gas in it".... :-) ... LOL! >> I've overlooked bad condenser on points ignition more than once .... Usually = rough running vs no start condition ... > Your troubleshooting / repair skills are as good as anyone else that works on these older bikes ...
Yes I agree Carbs needs gone through, and the fuel tank cleaned. Menthol gas is most likely the cause. As a rule of thumb, I won't put any Non Alcoholic gasoline in any of my bike's, weed eaters, or lawnmowers. I have also called it Grass-alcohol. 😮😅😂 Because it'll turn green, if it sits to long.
Exactly the reason I stopped working on other people's vehicles an bikes, you tell them what it needs, an they want to cobble it, or liability. I believe that bike has a little timing an spark issue, quite possible the accelerator pump diagram is bad.
Lol I dont work on other people's bike's either.. my girlfriend complained one time about it and i said so learn to do it yourself.. so I got her started taking stuff off and then went into the house anf got my husband and asked him to guide her through the steps she needed to do cause i didn't have time and because he knows way more then I do lol.. when it was all said and done she just cried she was so happy and at least learned a few things in the process!
Is that starting fluid you're using?? If so you have to get John Deere starting fluid.. that stuff works!! It's not the watered-down junk that's sold everywhere else.. that's a nice looking shoveling.. guessing it's a super glide?? Definitely painted up pretty nicely but you can never trust someone's word when they say it ran like new when parked..
I always liked to put a couple of squirts of marvell down the plug holes and let it sit if it has a kicker kick it through a few time's oil up the cylinders no kicker put it in 2nd or 3rd and turn the back wheel I don't think I would use starting fluid the other thing I was thinking about was the valve guides we use to put marvel mysterie oil in the fuel unless someone changed the guides that 74 wasn't meant to run on unleaded more then likely if it was running in 18 someone put bronze guides in it already is that tranny backwards 1 up 3 down? I 👍😎👍
AMF,another motorcycle failure,sad time for Harley.I wouldn't brag about owning a bike made by a sporting good outfit,scuba,bowling and I would definitely repaint the stripped tanks.Real Harleys.
Hey Bro bro amigo!! Love ya brother! Ur living someone's dream my man, I can't wait to ride down and meet u sometime. Would u be up in the MPLS Minnesota area this next year?
Hey, man! Who knows where we'll be in the future? With all of my of closest childhood friends dropping like flies here lately, it's got me wondering how much time I've got left. We've got room for you though, if ya come down.
I bet it wasn’t just any ol song, but one sung by a big chorus in church, backed up by glorious pipes of an organ 🙂 From Southern California ~ Ride Forever! 🦅
The carb gumming up is always a problem with anything that has sat for a while. No one should be running points anymore. You're troubleshooting would get better a lot quicker if you had to kick that scooter over to get it running. Rode scooters from 65 to 92 without a button. I also have the limp to prove that. Later my friend.
@@SaddleTrampTV Good for you. You are a lot better at troubleshooting than you give yourself credit for. Never a bad idea to take the carb off and put it in the ultrasonic cleaner. I believe that you can put both the o-ring and bands on that intake. Later you journeyman troubleshooter.
Man who was doing your camera work in the opening statements??!! Lol i have a guess……. You know a tripod works great, and they don’t talk back!!!!! Lol😂 im just kidding tell the Mrs. She does a great job!!! Wish i had me a camera woman!!! Your lucky tramp!!! SLICK
30 psi? but both are showing that its most likely a bad test. engine was dry ect... or another thing it could be if it has solid lifters and they are set wrong keeping valves open. chech the manifold rubbers, they will be shit after sitting that long. those s&s super es are touchy. and have to be set right. one other thing id look at is the fuil fillter and screen. this bike was ment to run leaded gas so valve seats/ guides could be bad. but like i say if they are measuring the same probably not.
@@SaddleTrampTV Awesome!! So great to see more old shovel's on the road. Should use the 80 tubes instead of the old rubber bands, they'll leak a lot less.
You will get it. There is no doubt in my mind. You have too many old bikes that run good to not know what you're doing. You may not know immediately but you can figure it out and that is what it's all about.🛠🔧🚵🏁 Be careful, ride safe. Happy New Year to you and Kim.
