1966 Harley Davidson FLH Electra Glide — SOLD!

No, this is not Elvis Presley’s bike, but he did own a 1966 FLH (which can be seen in the movie “Spinout”) and he cruised the streets of Memphis and Hollywood with various beautiful starlets, tightly hanging on.

The 1966 FLH was the first of the Shovelheads, which were fitted with the new “Power Pack” top ends that were good for 10 more horses and promised better top-end lubrication. The Shovelheads lasted until 1984, when federal exhaust and noise emission regulations (along with fierce competition from Japan) forced their replacement by the popular “E-Head engine”, better known as the Evolution. Unique to the 1966 FLH is the fuel petcock on the right side tank (a very rare piece), and Linkert carburetor with front-mounted float bowl. The Motor Company had not yet gone to an alternator for the charging system, so the Panhead engine’s right side gears were still needed to spin the generator. For this reason, these early Shovelheads are sometimes called “Pan Shovels”, “Generator Shovels”, or “Flat Side Shovels”.

All Knuckleheads and Panheads are selling for astronomical prices, so now the early Shovelheads are becoming very collectible, even in chopper form.

This top-of-the-line Electra Glide rolled out of the red bricks on Milwaukee’s Juneau Avenue when the current owner’s dad and grand-dad worked there as a tool & die, makers. Dad even made the tool steel dies for some of the parts it wears.

The current owner of this old-school bagger added it to his collection in 1999 and has ridden less than 5,000 miles on it since then. The previous owner claimed the motor had been rebuilt top and bottom in the previous 2,000 miles. During the first ride at its new home, the exhaust smoked, so a top-end job and other needed service was done (pistons, rings, cylinder bore, valves, guides, rocker arms, tappets, clutch plates, voltage regulator, generator and brake cylinder rebuild, battery, starter clutch, oil lines, and gaskets). The Shovelhead-expert mechanic that did the work said that the bottom end was in good shape and did not need rebuilding.

This bike has a very cool faded patina that has been earned during its 50-plus years of open road adventures. There are a few chips and scratches in various places. Like a Highwayman, each scar tells a story of the past. There are some wrinkling and flaking paint on the left side fuel tank (see photo), but this can be covered with a dash panel that is 5” wide.

It’s time for a new owner to add more chapters to the long history of this road warrior.