atengnr said:
Are you serious? They really vibrate that much? So, I cant just loctite everything, tighten up and forget about things falling off??
Yes, they vibrate more than that much. I used to carry a spare coil bracket with me because the bracket's steel would crack apart and then you're trying to get your girlfriend to grab the coil and hold it until you get stopped. Everything vibrates, if you don't have oil leaks that's good - oil seeping is about normal. People would tell me that my bike was leaking and I'd ask them which leak? Tools, spare parts, wiring, oil. Carry that stuff all the time.
Despite all that, I really miss mine. I could and did fix it in a campsite more than once, you just have to pay attention to it, like the morning walk-around and check every bolt and bracket with your hands to see what's loose.
Like others said, I believe that NOTHING sounds like a shovel when they are set up right. I had straight pipes on mine and did some carb work and had a K&N filter. Windows would rattle when I went down city streets.
I rode from Philadelphia down into the Carolinas more than once, up to Groton, CT a couple of times and out into Ohio with it. On the longer trips, I had it die one time (there's a reserve lever, duh......). The only time it just had me stuck was some kind of electrical problem that I just couldn't find because I wasn't smart enough. It would get up to 20 mph or so and that's it. Took it to a wrench I knew, he turned some nuts and changed a wire and off I went.
Shovels are great, but I am glad that right now, if I were to buy one, I'd still have my Evo and Twin Cam -- I don't have to work on those.
