SHOVEL CHOP – TRAD’ WITH FLAMES N’ FISHTAILS!
THE NUMBER OF ‘SURVIVOR’ CUSTOM BIKES THAT’VE BEEN APPEARING OF LATE THAT REMAIN IN THE STYLE AND SPECIFICATION IN WHICH THEY WERE ORIGINALLY BUILT TWENTY, THIRTY, OR EVEN FORTY YEARS AGO, BELIES THE FREQUENTLY QUOTED ADAGE THAT ‘A CUSTOM BIKE’S NEVER FINISHED’.
OFcourse, these bikes’re the exception to the norm, and the vast majority of custom bike builders are, to put it in a way that’s a compliment more than an insult, inveterate tinkerers. They like to change, improve and upgrade their bikes on a regular basis – some move on to a new bike when they feel they’ve reached the end of a road with a bike, others keep on playing around with the same one, occasionally without said bike ever getting to a stage that it can be ridden (guilty as charged, yer honour).
Phooey’s been a stalwart in the UK custom scene for a number of years, and there’s many a custom bike rider in North Wales, Cheshire, and the Wirral who’d not’ve been able to complete their projects or own a custom were it not for him.
This particular bike started when he got hold of a project Shovelhead chopper that’d been imported from the States. As far as projects go, it was pretty much complete, and just needed stripping and rebuilding so that it was suitable for riding in the UK... well, I say ‘just’, but anyone who’s rebuilt any motorcycle knows that ‘just’ isn’t a word than can be applied with any honesty.
The bike came complete with the ’81 Shovelhead powerplant and trans’, the hardtail frame (which he thinks is probably a Santee rigid), and the neatly extended forks, but there was still plenty to get stuck into. Those forks’re not, as some observers’ve thought, standard items with slugs fitted to the tops, but actual aftermarket stanchions milled to have longitudinal slots in between the yokes. The yokes themselves’re standard, with no additional rake – all the rake and stretch is in that American hardtail frame, built to suit the traditional lines afforded by the 21-inch front and 16-inch rear wheels. Staying traditional, the fuel tanks’re a pair of fatbobs, with the usual tank-mounted console, while the rear mudguard’s a 6-inch flattie, and the oil tank a chromed horseshoe item.
Carefully rebuilt to standard, the engine breathes through an S&S Shorty carb fitted with the usual teardrop-shaped S&S cover, with a set of groovy fishtail exhausts that could’ve originated from the Paughco catalogue, although the precise knowledge of them was lost when the bike travelled across the Atlantic.
Resplendently finished in the red n’ yellow flames that’s graced more than a few of Phooey’s bikes, it was done, as was the lion’s share of the work, by the man himself, and couldn’t be any more different to the paint he’d applied to Clive’s Shovel last issue. As it happens, Clive did the wiring on Phooey’s Shovel, and they’re both great advocates for the big 1966-1984 Harley engine. In fact, to those folk who say Shovels’re unreliable, it’s worth mentioning that both Phooey and Clive’ve covered lots (lots!) of miles on their Shovelheads, with very little in the way of problems – one that’s been built with love, care and attention’ll be more reliable, faster and smoother than an Evo that’s been cobbled together without a care in the world…
Those of you who know Phooey’ll no doubt not be unsurprised to hear that, since these pics were taken late last year, it’s changed (although it still remains in a similar colour scheme) with different ’bars, a sky-high sissy-bar, and a dual seat to match, and during the lockdown period not only has he built several bikes for customers, he’s also built himself a couple too, including a very smart Honda digger that you’ll hopefully be seeing in these pages soon.
Ever finished? Well, sometimes, but it’s nice to have a change every so often, isn’t it?