Lower cases

I have a 81 FLHS, I have had it and rode it for 25 years, the 81'shad a flywheel balancing problem so they had more vibration than most harleys, things would loosen up and fall off all the time ( most of them were decorative items and I did'nt need them anyway ) but there were quite a few nuts and bolts that I had to tighten on a regular basis . No problem, if you have a shovelhead and dont want work on it get something else. 2 years ago I came into some unexpected money and decieded to have it rebuilt from the ground up including having the flywheel balanced, since I got it back I have had nothing but problems, everthing keeps coming loose, from the tanks, front end, motor mounts (top and bottom ) pipes, oil tank, outer primary, tappet guide, 2 of the cylinder bolts, gear case cover,starter motor, solenoid, and a few other things. This all happened over a 2 year period with very few miles inbetween every 50 to 75 miles . I finally thought I had all taken care of , then when I went for my last test ride all was fine untill i stopped. When I went to start it I noticed the inner primary moving, the 2 bolts on the outside of primary were loose, I took the outer primary off and found the 2 bolts going to lower end ( the ones with the safety wire ) were about to come out and all other bolts except 2 were loose, then i found 3 of the transmission mounting bolts were finger tight and 1 was missing ( I found it on the garage floor). Sorry about all the ranting but I am a little pissed. my question is I am thinking he had to mess up the flywheel, for all those things to loosen up,and the only way to fix it is to have the bottom end redone ( which is beyond my ability ) Any thoughts or comments would be welcome. also I noticed thier was a 1/8 inch hieght differance where the cases come together by the back jug

I am in no way versed with the shovelhead but I do have a couple of options as far as where you can take the crank to get it fixed. I would try either Hoban Brothers, (DarkHorse) or Advanced Machining in Superior Wisconsin. Dark Horse is in Wisconsin as well. If I were you, talk to JoshBob from the forum here, he has a shovel head and has had an array of issues but has worked them out. He is good Shiit as well. Welcome to the forum and sit tight for awhile.

ok thanks

Welcome to the forum, Zoomer. Hate to say it, but it sounds to me like you got cornholed. Same thing happened to me. Bought a "rebuilt" '77 shovel motor and have had to go through the whole thing all over again. Same with the 4 speed tranny. But I never had the excessive vibration you have. There should be some vibration, after all, it IS a shovel, but not like what you're experiencing. You must use a few drops of red locktite on almost every nut, bolt and screw that moves and blue locktite on the rest.
I'd bet the farm your flywheel, rods and pistons are still out of balance. Hope you get it sorted out, brother. I went through hell with mine . . .

Check your frame very carefully, you could have cracked or broken welds, which can also cause a lot of shaking. Check for worn out bushings in the swingarm, too.

Some things to check first...

Comp nut tight
Motor mounts tight.
Drive sprocket and clutch hub nuts tight.
Primary chain tension and condition
Drive chain in good shape and tensioned

Thanks, believe me I've been riding this one a long time I use red locktite on every thing. This was a total rebuild including the frame being powder coated, and yes it was checked. Trust me I know about the shovel vibration ( the ladies love it ) I am pretty sure the flywheel is the problem. I didn't think about the bushing in the swingarm

The comp nut was tight, but most of the nuts holding inner primary on were loose, and motor mount bolts were the first ones to come loose. and as far as the cases being out by back jug you may be right ,seems like they line up every where else, it dont make sense

That thing about the uneven cases is strange. Perhaps another thing to check is if your wheels are out of balance. Balance changes with tire wear. I use Ride On tire sealant & balancer. When you use this stuff, you can take the wheel weights off and the goop will continuously balance your wheels, and of course, seal punctures.

we do alot of balancing & lower ends,and have for 30+ years.unfortuatly theres alot of other shops doing motors that shouldnt be.did the rebuilder give you a balance sheet? or a spec sheet? also,one thing that will cause vibration even more than balnce is the lower end not being true (shifted is even worse)

Maybe one of the case halves has been replaced?

Aloha...Mike