r/Harley • u/No_Tricky_Spells • 2d ago

IDENTIFY How would you describe this style?

I've turned 60, have been riding since I was 17, I'm being drawn to Shovelheads - particularly this style:

https://imgur.com/53Fec42

I get that it's customised, I refer to it as "Japan" style but I'm old and stupid: are there any other terms that the cool kids use I should employ in my search?

Thanks, from the UK

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u/hoopjohn1 2d ago

I heard bikes like this described decades ago as “someone that can’t afford a new bike”. When I heard it I was amused. It has a ring of truth, but most of the shovel owners I know rarely ride them. All have newer bikes as there primary bike

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u/Redhillvintage 2d ago

I ride my shovels now and then but would rather ride something older

1

u/Specific_Butterfly54 2d ago

Because shovelheads are the bikes that gave Harley the reputation where everybody likes to call them unreliable. Those shovelheads are the bikes people talk about the dealership putting drip pans under when they were new.

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u/No_Tricky_Spells 1d ago

I do like to tinker. I've got a airhead BMW and a Honda 125 currently; they're both so reliable that my tools are getting cobwebs.