.kristine (aka 71 flh ) needs some lovin.i,ve neglected her for a couple of years and now she wont come out of the shed til i,ve treated  her like the lady she once was.

i need to give the 3" belt drive the flick and stop the front exhaust header dropping onto the road.questions;

who do i contact about 1 1/2 enclosed belt drive and a decent clutch,

the front head has had a helicoil fitted for the exh stud.is welding it the best repair?

what oil is the ducks nuts for these old bangers now?

thanks badcooky.i,ll need to do a trip to adelaide to get the good oil.the 50wt stuff isnt easily available in some parts of the country

Hi,

Shovelheads always had a bit of a problem sealing at the exhaust. This was caused by the fact of 1 bolt holding things together. Some I know stripped the thresds on the heads by tightening the bolt excessively. And steel will win over aluminium every time. Helicoils were the usual way to fix it.  A way to help the situation I found was to use a bolt slightly longer than stock, then run a nut and washer on the bolt. Fit the exhausts pipe on, screw the bolt into the head untill snug tight, but don't overtighten it. And of course a bit of anti-seize on the bolt is a good idea. Then tighten the exhaust pipe using the nut and washer on the bolt.

This makes the bolt act like a stud, and the tightening force changes from twist and pull to just pull, reducing the risk of stripping the threads.

Don't use a stainless steel bolt, it may bind with the aluminium head. 

And another thing, use an exhaust gasket from an Evo on top of the Shovel gasket, it makes for a better seal.

As far as a belt goes, I ran a Phase 3 (been out of business for years now) 1 1/2 inch 11mm for 20 years. Only had to replace it once, and I was lucky I thought to buy a spare when I bought the unit.  There are good ones around, Primo for one. 

Cheers,

Cris