BREAKING Down On 1976 HARLEY Davidson IRONHEAD Chopper BOBBER Clutch Cable Install 

Ah, the joys and pains of riding old iron. It can really be a love, hate relationship.

Ah ironhead memories some good some not so good. Cheers from Australia.

All I see is a dude who loves his old bikes and will put in the time to keep them on the road. Good stuff.

Some sweet jazz in this production I might add. Two thumbs up.

Each old bike has a soul of its own.....Majority of the time 3 prime kicks bring it to the compression stroke...Turn on ignition and kick it..... My Pans and my Shovel seem to like this sequence.... Almost got my 55 KHK together...We will have to learn her secrets....

The proof that someone really Loves to ride bikes is that all of the problems, weather, breakdowns and repairs just gives us more determination to Keep On Keeping On!

Old Harleys are a love/hate relationship. We love to hate them! Blessings to you and Mrs.Tramp.

Been broke down more than running lately I feel your pain see you soon

Man, how I enjoy your videos! They're honest and straightforward with your unique personality. Thanks Amigo for sharing you moto life with us!

Those old Harleys of yours, too much drama for me. But it's fun to watch you work on them. It'll help me when I stop to help the next Harley rider I find on the side of the road. 😊 One of the spare parts I want to carry is a cable repair kit. So I can replace that ball that usually breaks off the end of the cable. Maybe you should be like Scooter Tramp Scotty and carry a spare cable. A friend has a 103 Harley. His thinking is if the battery shows the first sign of cranking slow, change it, Now!

Diggin the old smooth-jazz daddio... ;)

Sorry to see you had the clutch cable blues, been there myself on more the one occasions. When riding my old iron I keep a Barnett clutch cable repair kit anchor with me, these little dudes will keep you rolling down the highway. All my clutch cable problems were at the anchor ball on the handlebar hand lever and this little device fixed my problem. I am pretty sure I still have a few of these left. When I find them, I’ll mail one to you. Ride safe my friend🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸

Before you installed the new cable, it was a good time to run some lube through it. They are usually dry from the factory. Don't feel bad, I usually forget too.

I hope your videographer and editor are well compensated. Excellent work by them. Great choice of music backgrounds too.

Great video, thanks for posting! My 83 shovel has been sitting in the garage for 3 weeks because it needs a clutch and the discs are back ordered from Dennis Kirk.

We have led parallel lives as far as old Irons go lol

A new battery and a Dyna ignition would sure help your kicking program:)😇

When I was in my 20s back in the 80s I had a 72, and a 79 Iron sportster. THe 79 was a really clean bike, two over fork tunes, king sportster tank. This bike was very reliable, didn't leak, and only required minimal maintainence to keep it on the road. The '72 was a mess it leaked, had electrical issues, a junk carb. I tore this bike down to the frame, completly sealed the bottom end, and rebuilt the top with 010 9.5 to 1 pistons, added sifton 440 cams, and a 40mm dellorto carb kit from Riviara engineering. I mocked up the bike without the motor cut off and smoothed out all the unsed brackets, Painted the frame, get a friend of mine to paint the tins, added a chrome oil tank, rocker boxes, engine cases, all fuel and oil lines were braided stainless. This bike was very leak free and reliable for the next couple years until I sold the bike because my girl had a baby. I miss that bike, it was my first big build, and I was only in my 20s. Iron heads can be reliable, and leak free with the proper maintainence. A friend of mine has a 76 FLH I'd like to buy and get back on the road.

don't feel bad about your clutch cable. 25 years ago my brothers Sporty did the same thing and I rigged it up with 2 pairs of vice grips and got him home about 35 miles. everybody laughed except my brother. Sometimes a crude roadside repair is the best. Keep the bikes going!!!

questionable patrons at the gas station eh ? that bike is just cool love the paint as always you fixed it again 🎉 tramp is da man! houdini 💪🏽

Brother, I have an Ironhead. These bikes were often sold with tool pouches. If it had leather bags there were parts in there. If it didn't have bags, that sissy bar out back? In that rolled up sleeping bag held on with bungee cords were parts. It was the life of pans, knucks, shovels and Irons. Back when David Mann was doing his thing a pack of bikes were all tooled out and a rolling parts store with simular bikes that did have interchangable parts. A different time. Keep on keeping on brother.

Been there done that. 1977 XLCH. (Kick only) Timing is everything when kicking is the only option. 👍

Dang easter morning beautiful morning got five miles from home on my 73 XLH turned on white rock road first second third pull in the clutch and tink the cable snapped bummed out my whole day thank God for AAA put a new Barnett cable and figured while I got it apart put a new complete Barnett clutch in she's rippin road again 👍😎🇺🇲

Sometimes a bike is about personality not money. Hope you and the misses are doing well.

Ain't that bout the way it usually goes when u have the AUDACITY to feel good about things😂? At least it was still sort of rideable. I'm gonna build a 76 chopper one day sooner than later. I was born 1976! Bicentennial kid😮. Love the old school choppers. Stay safe!

I bought my first Harley in 1990 and it was a used 1983 Ironhead Sportster XLX, Rode it for several years put about 40,000 miles on it best days of my life, I had a lot of fun on that bike Wish I had it back right now.

Life's an adventure! ✌

A cable saver is a must in any tool roll.... just say'n.. saved me more than once...

Buddy you make these jobs look so easy. And you should have entered the bike. First bike that rides so smoothly you don’t need a clutch. All the best. Ride Safe

The real side of owning and riding Harley-Davidson Motorcycles . Great Job !

awesome video as always Corey , i'm still on my hard tail Sportster build a part finally came in from Germany now i can finish the build some time soon 👍

Nice to see people working on their old machines... :-)

Lesson's "ain't" cheap, They're priceless.- Lefty

One time back in the day I went around a corner on my 74 sporty on a paughco hardtail frame and the whole dam carburetor and intake fell off and was just dangling. Hahaha

Corey, Buddy, git yerself a jump box, Sir. And make sure it's big enough to start your cars and trucks. God Bless You, Brother!🙏🙏🙏✝✝✝

Running some 3-In-One Oil through a cable before fitting is a good habit to pick up.

Forget the world ...brother slick told me to check ya out we got similar iron problems so ya got another subscriber.

That was a cool trick with the sparkplug socket and screw driver. Enjoyed it.

1976... have two of them. An XLCH ( kick only) and an XLH ( kick and electric) Something about kickstarting is just awesome. Working on reassembling the XLH.... gonna kick more than press the starter button. lol I'm running a Mikuni VM39 with 35deg BTDC timing..on points. 3 kicks...she comes to life.

Well darned that Sportster anyway!

Watching video as we speak, thankful you noticed that dead tree Joe, otherwise Thankyou for that awesom scenic video, n the vittles lol👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻

Good video. For every day I spend riding the 70 Electra Glide, I spend 2 hrs wrenching on it. Been that way 4ever. It’s a trip to ride though so worth it and I know the bike. Enjoy the ride. Thanks for posting.

They always run the best just before they don't. 🤣

Kickstarterting goes normally easily. What I see when you kickstart is that your kick arm is "to far", so your point has already passed by the spark. Difficult to explain, but try kicking before the "dead point" Good video again and good luck from France 💪👍

There is a quick repair end you can carry with you just for that problem , your guys at the bike shop should have it .

Cool video, love the wrenching videos. Digging the background music too 😎

Love these old motorcycles. Keep up the good work!

I always learn from your challenges and conquerings. Thank you brotherman~~

Dang Corey, you sure do make a lot of videos about broke down Harley Davidson motorcycles. 😂

Hey Saddle Tramp, another fine video from you sir. I hope you oiled your new cable before installing it to your bike? I've owned my 77 XLH since new, still love it. I ride it when I'm working on my 95 FLSTN. Keep them coming!

My first harley was a 76 xlch , Had a lot of fun on that bike. Little hint about kickstarting. Pump throttle three times, set choke, kick three times with the key off. set choke to half,crack the throttle and it'll start on a couple kicks. (don't forget to shut off choke)

Yaass! Great vid. Thats a purrty ironhead, definitely true about the bike shows, may not get judge votes, but get the crowd’s attention! Take the old iron over the new plastic anyday.

I fill up a big needle fulla lithium grease and squirt down the cable.....in 60 yrs never had a broke cable, but I 've always carried a spare cable end, smallest vice grip and a master link in my tool kit.

Another great video.

Great video and as usual.....very educational. 👍🤘

Agreed, always something. My charging system gave out on my ironhead ride yesterday, left me on the side of the road. I believe the genny gave up on me!!! Making a RU-vid video soon!!!

Never had an iron head, but I’ve turned the wrench on quite a few old bikes. Thanks Saddle Tramp. Great video.

Ya gotta love wrenching to ride these bikes!

Absolutely loved the video as I have a 77 Sportster that I bought brand new. It's completely stock except for the pipes but it's fun to ride occasionally. I too have been in that primary case a few times and the clutch cable is pretty easy to deal with. Just want to thank you for the video and the ride on a cool bike. My Sporty is the only vehicle I bought brand new and it still runs like a champ. Good luck with our old ironhead. Their Harley's for sure.

You got that right, go ride to forget the world

thanks for the ironheadache training i need it. Got a 85

You have the best motorcycle channel on RU-vid. Your experience is realistic and I love that. Keep up the good work and stay safe out there. FTW

Quality episode

I would struggle mightily with having a left-hand brake, right hand shift bike, especially if it was the only one of several "normal" bikes to hop on and ride. But then again, I'm not coordinated enough to play drums, either, so there's that! :) Take care, Corey

Just got back from an hour in the supermarket parking lot. Three out of four pushrods miraculously tightened themselves, resulting in sod-all compression and refusal to start, and I had to wait for the engine to cool down enough to reset them with an adjustable wrench and a multitool.

Nice video Corey i also had a couple of times broken cluth kabels,on several bikes but always got home riding. Greets the dutchman.

We all have those moments where we forget how ours stinks too! 😂 Awesome video man!

Always enjoy your vids. Look at putting in a Lithium battery. They retain their charge for many months and are great for our bikes that don’t get ridden often enough. Cheers 😎 🇦🇺

Always enjoy the vids, and love the workshop ,now after listening to your dialogue, i started to think,hmm dont blame those parts dude like the shifter thats on you, in the summer i spent a week long trip with a good friend mountains lakes valleys, my 74 bobber never missed a beat and nothing fell off, dude was a2019 sportglide and he was amazed,,,,old bikes dont need to be unreliable 😊

Great video. That bike sounds great. Stay Safe.

Another good one 👍👍

Thats a sweet little Ironhead, love it👍

Love the look of that bike.. yeah, my girl needs warming up before take off too! Definitely weird to have metic on HD's being standard, hope like hell I dont have anything metric on my scoot by the time its back in the road, unfortunately most aftermarket stuff is metric anymore, yikes whats this world coming to? 😂 I busted my clutch cable housing trying to cheat and not disconnect the cable before tearing apart my frontend.. live and learn I guess.. I had a king Sportster tank, but now thinking of putting fat bobs on it and a solo seat.. thanks for the tips on the sealer and clutch cable installment! Much appreciated!

Don't you just love when things go wrong as a RU-vidr with great content? Great video Funny I just posted mine having a bad day lol. I love that old bike.

Lance taber has some good back ground music just saying

Another cool video. I remember breaking the clutch cable on my 84 Sporty. I had to do what you did and get it rolling and then shift into low. Up shifting is not to bad after that. But down shifting is a bit jerky.

Love youu keep diffrent bikes man. I got me a 75 ironhead. Love to peace’s. What u did ther w the clutch cable helps me a lot cuz I’m looking at the same thing. Now I now how to get in there You make it seem regular guy can do it. Sometimes if feel scared to get into fixing things and maybe let it go too long. I dig what you do. I do same things like forget to turn gas on or off lol. Nothin better than happy bike. Best to you, keep on brother. Like what u say Rubber down!!

I got a 76 too hell yeah

I like how when shit happens, u role right off it Just listen to the music , 😂

Sold my ironhead i miss it but life choies as an adult, still got a few other bikes. I love that one of urs tho. My son n i started making little you tube vids from is watching you and shadetree n blockhead. He wanted to try too.those old jd's tho kick a$$

glad you got it fixed. i think you could have won something. its still a old bike. good vid

Corey, looks like as long as you have a couple old wrenches, screwdrivers, socket and an adjustable wrench you'll be fat, happy and sassy as you cruise down the road in total bliss. Maybe I'll see you there sometime. Thanks for Sharing!

Cool story! Here's my Ironhead SNAFU. I have an '81Ironhead Sporty, and a 2005 Wide Glide(carb'd), bought right before the start of COVID-19. Iwas riding with a friend, here in Honolulu, and at a traffic light(I was at the very front)! Boom, engine dies! Go to hut the start button. NADA! Sh&t! Light turns green, I start walk/pushing it thru the intersection, luckily, after the left turn, the road starts a gentle slope downward. I pick up enough speed, to coast into the Aiea Shopping Center, about 200 yards down that road. I look over my bike, and see the positive cable has broken off the + battery terminal. Luckily, I keep a small pouch, with odds and ends strapped to my handlebars(drag bars). I remove the seat bolt, ans seat, and figure out my fix. I keep 3/4" copper straps, short drywall screws, zip-ties,... I get one copper strap, bend it to fit the + cable, and broken battery terminal. I screw a short drywall screw, washer, into the lead terminal tightly, and ride it home, < 10 miles away! Joyride cut short, but made it home, due to some forethought (my little bag of stuff)!

i straddled my sportster once it kicked back, like to have broke my knee . never did it again, but see he wasnt having any troubles with that.

Haha you get her home. Happened to my old man one dad while we were riding.

Love the mann poster onyour wall

Well that ain’t so bad I guess . I’ve had my bike down for a bit . To tired to put it back together.

I agree. Riding in and trailer out? Uncool ooints coming your way😂

All of my iron is now old even my newest.

you need some electric battery powered zippy zippy power tools like l do... cheers ol Mate

Had that happen on my 79 Big Twin pulling into a camera shop in Kent Ohio. Did the same acted like nothing happened, rode the old girl home.

I’m first in tramp, good to see you well👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻love your videos

I put sealant on both sides of the gasket and never get leaks that way.

When u own lots of bikes , like me , u need a battery tender for all them ! It will give u better battery life

It’s a cool bike 😎👍

All them heads🤠

MMM , shirt 👍👍😎

I agree, build bikes to ride not be beauty queens on trailers

man, that whole left hand brake thing put me into a cement wall one time on a hotrod triumph. that was not a good day. took a few weeks to get over that.

78 ironhead here, fitted new levers ready for meet on Sunday but cable just snapped grrrrrr