Buy it Now Price: SOLD
Price Range: $17,000 – $19,000
Overview
As a high school kid, the current owner of this bike had lusted after an early Super Glide. Of course, being a high school kid (with no car), he couldn’t afford $2,000 for a motorcycle. Yet he never forgot about his dream and years later, in 2000, he bought one at age 45 for a lot more money.
Searching the internet, the current owner found “the One” in Virginia and had it shipped to Wisconsin where he resides. The previous owner had owned it for 20 years. In 1983 he had the engine and transmission rebuilt (mileage unknown) and in 1997 he had the bike restored by a Harley dealer with all H-D parts. At that time it had 38,375 miles on the odometer. He had also tracked down and purchased several obsolete NOS parts, which are also for sale. These are shown in the photos. The parts, along with the NOS seat, NOS exhaust header, and literature the current owner has collected over the years will certainly add to the value of this bike alone if they are sold with the bike.
It now has 41,266 actual miles on the odometer. It has not been started for about a year, but it has always started for the current owner with 1 or 2 kicks. Just this year it has begun to seep oil from the crankcase gasket in front. There are no other issues of which he is aware. It runs strong and gets lots of attention when ridden. The current owner has also added a Heritage Softail muffler to create a little more rumble, but it can easily be replaced with the stock cigar muffler.
Most Harley folks (including many “experts” and coffee table history books) are wrong about the “boat tail” Super Glides. The fiberglass “boat tail” is NOT the same piece that was used on 1970 Sportsters… the Super Glide boat tail has a “step up” for the passenger section. Also, the Super Glide boat tail was factory fitted to all 1971 and some 1972 Super Glides. All Harley-Davidson literature for 1972 shows the Super Glide with the conventional steel fender and cobra seat. The only exception the current owner was able to find is in the February 1972 Enthusiast, published by Harley-Davidson. It shows a few photos of a 1972 Super Glide with the boat tail fitted in a feature entitled “Around the Country in 90 Days”. You can tell a 1972 big twin by the shape of the gas tank emblems and graphics… clearly different from the 1971s.
H-D called the red/white/blue graphics the “Sparkling America” trim option. It was available over Birch White paint in 1971 only, and over Black paint in 1972 only. Other paint colors were also available for both years, but these colors came without the Sparkling America trim. The orange color of the 1972 NOS stripes and tank decals is due to the reflective nature of the 3M tape product that H-D used for much of the 1972 lineup. It looks orange in daylight, and red when photographed or illuminated by lights at night.
List of Accessories Included with this 1972 Harley Davidson FX Super Glide:
• Bike Show Display Sign • Used Muffler & Clamp
• Exhaust Header Comparison • Used Exhaust Header
• FX in the Press • Stock Muffler & Clamp
• HD Brochures • Stock Exhaust Header
• HD Pricing Literature • Rare NOS Vinyl Seat
• NOS Decals • Rare NOS Exhaust Header
• NOS Exhaust Closeup • NOS Vinyl Seat Bottom
• NOS Manual & Dash Panel • NOS Muffler Clamp — one of two
Mileage
41,266 miles on a working odometer.
Paint
Professionally painted during restoration, using NOS decals.
Sheet Metal
Sheet metal is excellent. No dents, chips, or scratches. Front and rear fenders are fiberglass, also in excellent condition.
Chrome
Excellent, except for normal bluing of the exhaust. There is a NOS exhaust that will go to the new owner.
Mechanical
This motorcycle is in excellent mechanical condition. Just this year, oil has started to drip from the bottom of the crankcase. The rubber parts in the carb and fuel lines were replaced in the summer of 2015. That is the last time this bike was started.
Wheels & Tires
Rims are stock, chromed steel
Front Tire is 3.25-19 Continental
Rear Tire is MT90-16 Continental
Title
Clear Wisconsin Title
Engine # 2C39932H2
Frame # 2C39932H2
Belly # 72-16922
Valuation Resource Guide
NADA “FX 74ci NIGHT TRAIN”: $21,405 (Excellent)
NADA “FX SUPER GLIDE 1207”: $15,315 (Excellent)
It is unclear why NADA has two choices here. Harley lovers have always called the Boat Tail Super Glides “Night Trains”, while the conventional steel-fender version is sometimes called the “Midnight Express”. Neither is an official name, although both names appear in H-D magazine ads for these bikes. That probably explains the price difference, since the Boat Tails are scarce and thus more collectible, especially the ones in Sparkling America trim.
Accessories
The fiberglass front fender is period correct and rare, from the 1972 Harley-Davidson Motorcycles and Accessories catalog (included with the sale of the bike).
Please keep in mind that there are lots of rare and valuable parts and printed materials (shown in the photos) that will also be sold.
SEE LIST of ACCESSORIES ABOVE
