Build #2 - '82 shovel

[bpeak]

Yes - the springer goes away. The only thing I'm keeping on the bike is the frame (will hardtail and maybe mess with the neck), engine, trans, and belt drive. Everything else goes. The new design will have a repop vintage OEM style HD chrome 2-over springer on it. With 18" apes.

[bpeak]

Question for everyone... I'm considering running a mag on this bike. Since it's already (and going to stay) kick only... was thinking of just going super simple and reduce as much as possible. So, magneto and the battery eliminator capacitor deal.

I know... I know... there are a MILLION wiring diagrams. I get it. But if you saw what I did on the ironhead in the planning stages of the wiring you'd know I am a bit of a geek when it comes to this part.

Problem is - I don't know much about mag wiring setups.

So --- if you could take a sec to check out the image below I'd appreciate it. I created this in CAD today very specifically with some ideas in mind as far as how I'd route the wiring through the frame too. So I really want to make sure I'm on the right track. Does it look about right?

[bpeak]

Ended up revising the wiring diagram again. More on that later. In the meantime... got some more tear-down done.





Starting to fire up the parts-sales-machine. Gotta get some cash to get this ball rolling.

[bpeak]

New neck cups. Kinda dig em.





And as of last night... just got this bad boy in the mail. She's super purdy.



I'm a huge fan of front ends. I think, even more than the motor or any other part of a motorcycle, that the front end - defines the personality of the bike and bike builder. I felt the same way with the narrow springer I put on the ironhead. That thing defined my style at that slice of time... in metal and chrome form... on that bike. This one, is going to be no different. This speaks volumes about me. Who I am. Where I'm at in my bike design stage-of-life-slash-maturity. And what I'm currently interested in. This front end sets the tone for everything else to come on this build. Some would say "oh it's just an OEM repop 2-over... big deal". But to me that's a major cop out. There's so much more to it than that. There is to me at least. I love this thing. It's beautiful. I guess that's all that really matters. I dunno. I'll get off my soap box now and get back to work.

Cheers fellas.

[thecarfarmer]

New neck cups. Kinda dig em.





And as of last night... just got this bad boy in the mail. She's super purdy.



I'm a huge fan of front ends. I think, even more than the motor or any other part of a motorcycle, that the front end - defines the personality of the bike and bike builder. I felt the same way with the narrow springer I put on the ironhead. That thing defined my style at that slice of time... in metal and chrome form... on that bike. This one, is going to be no different. This speaks volumes about me. Who I am. Where I'm at in my bike design stage-of-life-slash-maturity. And what I'm currently interested in. This front end sets the tone for everything else to come on this build. Some would say "oh it's just an OEM repop 2-over... big deal". But to me that's a major cop out. There's so much more to it than that. There is to me at least. I love this thing. It's beautiful. I guess that's all that really matters. I dunno. I'll get off my soap box now and get back to work.

Cheers fellas.

Yeah, I think I get what you mean. Sometimes one component - and it could be something a hell of a lot significant than the front end - really becomes a piece that somehow sets the tone for a project.

It just sets the tone.

I think one thing that sets some bikes apart from the crowd as far as being just "right" is the builder taking the time to let the bike tell him what it needs, as opposed to just using whatever is cheap/free/on sale at J&P...

Judging from your Sportster, I expect this bike is going to be really awesome, too.

[BurnoutNova]

On the wiring... I prefer using circuit breakers rather than fuses. I wired up an ironhead sportster recently and the battery eliminator we used didn't seem to make any difference in the lights being super dim at idle. It did have a generator with a cycle electric regulator though, not an alternator like your shovel has

[bpeak]

Judging from your Sportster, I expect this bike is going to be really awesome, too.

Thanks man. Big respect.

[Stix]

Great work to date mate.
Can I ask who made the repop springer you have ?
Cheers

[bpeak]

Great work to date mate.
Can I ask who made the repop springer you have ?
Cheers

I purchased it off eBay from Americanclassicmotors. From what I can tell it's a "hardbody" brand? Not 100% positive I guess. But it's real nice. I'm very pleased.

[bpeak]

Got the springer on. Looks amazing (in my opinion). Testing the reach and position a bit with the bars. This will change slightly when I install the hardtail which will drop the seat height a bit. All good. Still messing with the hardware for the risers. More on that later.



Jockey shiftin'



Then I got some goodies in the mail yesteday thanks to @chopperpartsforyou. Cool dude. Good supplier.
- 18" rear wheel for an ironhead drum
- Normal alien 2.2 gas tank
- Weld on hardtail (which will have the axle plates cut off and replaced later on)

So excited to get this roller set up.

[bpeak]

Just received the 21" spool wheel from TCBros. Same one I ran on the ironhead. Love this wheel. So good.

Also just ordered this bad boy kit:



Should get here next week then I'll take a run to my local scrap steel place for the box tube steel that it mounts to. I think if I was only hardtailing the frame with the weld-on basic unit... I may have been able to get it done with clamps, lines, etc. But once the hardtail is on... I plan to cut off the axle plates and replace them with this design:



And once all that is done, and I have the tires on the wheels, and see the bike sitting on the ground, with the bars on, I'll make the final determination on the neck. There's a good chance that I might end up going a few inches up on the neck, and as a result of the hardtail lowering but having a 2 over springer, I might need to de-rake to get the forks back to a 30 degree rake. We'll see.

Point is - with all this frame stuff, a jig seemed like a good investment. I've read a lot of solid reviews on this jig kit, and watched a few YouTube videos of dudes who used it, all with positive vibes. I'll be posting a bunch more pics along the way once things get a bit more interesting.

Cheers!

[bobberadam]

I had seen those kits before but never really payed much attention, that looks like a really nice set up and the pieces look really quality. Let us know how it goes when you get it. Good on you for wanting to do it correctly. The bike is looking really good, keep up the good work!

[DeJongMike]

Just bought a 77 shovel this weekend! Can't wait to see how/what you do with this! I'll be looking for the parts you put up on the classified!

[bpeak]

Just bought a 77 shovel this weekend! Can't wait to see how/what you do with this! I'll be looking for the parts you put up on the classified!

Hey man. Sounds cool! I just hit you up on the instagram machine. I'm @bpeak82.

[bpeak]

Curious your thoughts especially if you have experience in this area. Could use some input. The plan for the alien gas tank is to do it fully welded and molded to the backbone. What's the best/safest way to do this? Leave the tank intact and just weld the mounts and then misc infill sheet metal? I might need to deepen the rear tunnel back by the seat to get the lines right. And if I'm doing that, I wouldn't mind dropping the front tunnel (red arrow) to get more gas capacity. So should we reset with a new tunnel, weld up the tank, pressure test, know that the gas will be contained well, THEN weld it to the frame, then infill sheet metal to close the gaps? How is best to do this to minimize vibration cracks in the bondo? Thoughts?

[bpeak]

Kind of an update I guess. So these handlebar risers... I bought for cheap. They didn't fit as-is. Had to modify them. Drill out the bore. Then drill for countersinking the bolt heads into the risers. So that was a task.

Then needed to split the bars. I knew the bars were too narrow at the bottom to fit. I have a plan for welding in a spacer then covering that spacer with aluminum (engraved). More on that later. Point is, I was able to get just a little visual about how the mockup looks. Slowly starting to look like something.





And this also arrived. Frame jig components in hand. First impression - this stuff is legit. Obviously the hardware is just hardware. Threaded rod. Bolts. Washers. Etc. That stuff is nice but I could get it at the local Ace Hardware. But the cones, spacers, plates, and brackets - these are super nice. Solid. Heavy duty. Powdercoat is clean. Machining on the cones is great. Good stuff. Going to try to find a good local steel supply place to get the sticks of rectangle and square tube for the frame of the jig sometime this week. Will keep you posted.

[TriNortchopz]

Curious your thoughts especially if you have experience in this area. Could use some input. The plan for the alien gas tank is to do it fully welded and molded to the backbone. What's the best/safest way to do this? Leave the tank intact and just weld the mounts and then misc infill sheet metal? I might need to deepen the rear tunnel back by the seat to get the lines right. And if I'm doing that, I wouldn't mind dropping the front tunnel (red arrow) to get more gas capacity. So should we reset with a new tunnel, weld up the tank, pressure test, know that the gas will be contained well, THEN weld it to the frame, then infill sheet metal to close the gaps? How is best to do this to minimize vibration cracks in the bondo? Thoughts?

Never did it, but think that a new tunnel that hugs the frame would reduce filler - metal or bondo. I wouldn't weld the tank to the frame as it will be the shits when or if it cracks from vibration. Maybe just some old school molding for a near seamless fit - just a hairline crack between tank and frame from the saran wrap used when adding filler. Tank could have tabs removed and threaded bungs welded inside the new tunnel and stepped bungs welded through frame for hidden allen head bolts from below.

Seen this thread:
2012 Thread: Welding a tank to a frame?
"...What are some positives and negatives of doing such?..."
http://www.chopcult.com/forum/showthread.php?t=24140

[bpeak]

Never did it, but think that a new tunnel that hugs the frame would reduce filler - metal or bondo. I wouldn't weld the tank to the frame as it will be the shits when or if it cracks from vibration. Maybe just some old school molding for a near seamless fit - just a hairline crack between tank and frame from the saran wrap used when adding filler. Tank could have tabs removed and threaded bungs welded inside the new tunnel and stepped bungs welded through frame for hidden allen head bolts from below.

Seen this thread:
2012 Thread: Welding a tank to a frame?
"...What are some positives and negatives of doing such?..."
http://www.chopcult.com/forum/showthread.php?t=24140

Yea man I keep going back and forth on that part. Thanks for the thread link. I'll definitely check it out. Cheers!

[bpeak]

So... I think I'm going to try something I've never done before. Going to carve this monkey head out of a solid chunk of aluminum as a shift knob. Why not, right? What could possibly go wrong? Shape idea is not original... go to www.monkeyedge.com and check out their monkey head jewelry beads. This is similar to one of them. But I'm sure as the carving starts... I'll adapt and change the shapes a bit. We'll see. Wish me luck.

[TriNortchopz]

Hell ya. Those lip corners look like finger holes...maybe the middle of the cap needs to be blowing back and up a bit to fit your middle finger...