Harley-Davidson Shovelhead Work In Progress

I MOVED to Brisbane three years ago and bought a Narrow-Glide, Santee rigid, four-speed, kick-only, 74-cubic-inch Shovelhead; the key being it was registered as a ’69 model so you don’t need indicators if you’re in the slow lane. A quick look-over, could see no major issues and it was priced right — ha, ha, ha, how wrong I was.

Started stripping it down as soon as I got it in the garage and all those spots you can’t see had major issues. I found the back of the motor-case was covered in a hard epoxy glue type gunk. When I chipped it off, I found the cases had severe cracking. Okay, I said, if that’s the worst, I can deal with that.

I hit the frame with a bit of paint stripper as it looked like it had 50 coats of black on it — not one weld wasn’t cracked and it looked as if some Muppet thought it was a good idea to let his two-year-old try his hand at arc welding. Out came the angle grinder and off with its head, I say (VIN number on the neck). A good hard kick later and it’s off, problem sorted!

Enter Harry from Harry’s Custom Bike Works. I rang some guys from down south and they advised, “If it’s old and rusty, take it to Harry; he’ll sort you out.”

Well, I got the call from Harry two days later — the motor was pulled down and it was only bad news after bad news. From the heads down, the motor was ruined, but the four-speed wasn’t bad.

“What do you want to do?” Harry asks.

“Rebuild the tranny and give me a couple days, Harry, I’ll let you know.”

A few calls around the grapevine and I hear about a drag engine for sale. I should have known better! This isn’t what I wanted but it doesn’t hurt to take a look, does it. Wrong again. Well, the cases are Delkron and look good. The heads and barrels have been pulled off and the guy bought the engine disassembled and didn’t know what to do next. There’s no play in the crank, heads have seen better days, the barrels just need a hone, and the cam, which is unknown, looks good also… the rest is junk.

The motor goes to Harry’s. Well, the evil little bloody gremlin strikes again. When the cases are split, it seems that Muppet and his two-year-old get around as the races are welded in! “Leave it with me,” Harry says.

I get a call later that week: “Fixed. Over-sized races and bearings and a complete bottom-end ready to go. Do you want to pick it up?”

I go to see Harry and we start talking… well I do and he tries talking me out of it. “How about a kick-only stroker,” I say.

“How about I kick you in the head?” he says. “But if that’s what you want, that’s what we’ll do, but you better start working on your leg muscles.”

A quick call to the States sorted out what was needed to make a 4-5/8 stroke, 3-5/8 bore, 98-inch Shovel motor: brand new, dual-plugged heads from S&S (I was gonna need those extra holes for compression releases); Jims top-end oil-kit for Evo style oiling upgrade; Joe Hunt magneto; Cycle Electric no battery kit, rectifier and stator; a BDL 3-inch primary with 1-3/4 offset; support bearing for offset; Fab Kevin torque plate; Vulcan Works compression releases; and a S&S high-volume oil pump.

With the parts at Harry’s, it’s time to work out what to do with the rest of the bike. Unfortunately, the old wheels and tanks were in the back of the ute when it got stolen (damn gremlin) so I have no frame and no wheels now. Well, not knowing what I wanted to build, I’ll sort out the wheels first and build up from there a little in reverse, but hey, I’m not right in the head.

Anyway, so swinging on the grapevine again, I hear about someone with a shed full of wheels, all brand new. I go over there and the guy states, “I got no spoked wheels.”

Here I am thinking, I’m wasting my time, so I ask, “What do you have?”

“I have some mags!”

Not my thing, I prefer spokes, but decide to take a look, so we walk into the shed, and stacked from top to bottom are boxes with the printing ‘Weld Racing’ on them. “I thought Weld stopped making motorcycle wheels years ago,” I say.

“They did. I bought them at auction in the States and brought them back here.”

I start to open boxes and find this nice looking six-spoked, 21-inch wheel. I ask if he had a matching rear and he says, “Yeah, it will be at the back.” (great!)

 Well, I get to the back of Mount Weld after an hour and all I find in that style is an 18 x 8.5 inch wheel. “That’s all I got,” he says. 8.5 inches! I don’t want no beach ball but they are a little different and nice looking so a little wheelin’ and dealin’ and they are mine.

Next I went looking for a front-end at Birds Bitz in Narangba. A little tour through Birds inventory and I find a box with Donnie Smith on it.

“Leave that,” he says. “It’s for my bike.”

Money talks so off I go with a four-inch-over girder front-end.

Now I need a frame! A few measurements and enough math to build a spaceship, and I come up with two-up, two-out and 38-degrees neck, and a two-inch stretch in the arse. In comes Deano from Thunderhead Choppers and I have my frame made and delivered a week later; no hassle, no fuss.

Well I give Harry a call and tell him what I have done and he says, “Why don’t you bring your gear to my shop and you can work on it here, and we’ll mock it up.”

Harry gets to machining the hubs on the front wheel to mate up with the girder front-end. What I didn’t even realise was that it was a narrow glide. Meanwhile, I start building a fuel tank.

Two days later we mock it up and I just don’t like the look at all, none of it. My tank gets shelved — it’s just two short for the down-tube — and Harry orders me a Jesse James Villain tank.

The bike doesn’t look right and the motor doesn’t fit in the frame and it still looks like everything else out there.

I have a couple more ideas so Harry recommends I go see his welder, Nic from Niccom engineering. I am looking over his jobs in the workshop and I have never seen welds this good or precise, so rather than me butchering it, the work is handed over to Nic and a plan to kill that gremlin that has been plaguing me is hatched: the centre tube is bent back 2-inches and notched to allow for the rear head; the rear section is bent down, heated and shaped to create the drop seat; the motor is offset 1/2 inch and the trans mounts are moved 2-inches for offset; the oil tank is built in its vertical form; the rear guard has 1/2 inch taken off the centre and re-welded out to hug the tyre; and a support bracket is welded to the frame (you can jump up and down on the rear guard and it won’t budge); the mounts are made for the seat hinge, the remote oil filter and everything else needed. Then the tank has 2.5 inches taken out of the centre and is v-dished with the Tri Spinner bungs welded in and the petcock welded out the side to get every bit of fuel out of it.

In the meantime, the motor is finished so I go and have a look, knowing I am probably about to piss Harry off with my next request. “Mate, I need you to strip the trans and motor you just built and spray it black.”

“What!” A moment later he is composed and stripping it down with no issues and actually saying he likes the idea. I think he was smiling too but with that 3-foot beard who knows! I dodged a bullet there, I reckon.

It is Tuesday. I would have the frame back Friday and I am anxious to ride the bike to a local party that weekend, but I still don’t have a seat. Harry pulls out another wild card and has Coxy from Coxy Saddles come over that afternoon to chat. He tells me it will take two weeks to shape the leather with the pattern I asked for. I tell him he has until Friday! Coxy, not one to back down from a challenge, heads to his man-lair to create the seat and delivers it to the shop Friday. I couldn’t be happier with it.

With everything compiled in the shop Friday, we put the bike together that afternoon and it was off to the party Saturday.

As far as the paint work (or lack thereof) all I can say is, “It’s one thing to own a bike, and entirely another to ride it like a $50 hooker, and those who spend more time polishing their chrome and ain’t never gravel-rashed a bike at 100 km/h, should buy a fuckin’ Vespa.”

Thank you to Harry from Harry’s Custom Bike Works, Coxy from Coxy Saddles, and Nic from Niccom Engineering.

Thanks to Letesha for helping out at the photoshoot. She loves getting in front of a camera and doing her thing. She did a fantastic job during the shoot and had a few laughs along the way. 

Pics by Jo; words by Ash