Build #2 - '82 shovel

[bpeak]

Well son of a gun. Went and did a thing.

Got to know a cool dude over the past year or so. Just so happens that I have always wanted a shovelhead as the main project and daily rider. I was expressing this to him and he had a brilliant idea. That we trade.

So here's the scoop, we'll be trading bikes. My ironhead chopper (see the full build thread at http://www.chopcult.com/forum/showthread.php?t=50933 for all the info). For his shovel build.

All things considered, it's totally fair. And I know it's fair because we're both happy. Haha.

So the bike is a 1982 FXS 1340cc manufactured in York, PA. This is super cool because I was born in 82 (Instagram and YouTube is actually bpeak82 even)... and lived most of my life in PA. And it's a SHOVEL!!! I'm so stoked. This, is, my, perfect, bike.

The plan is to rebuild it nearly from the ground up with a new design. It will be a clean sharp bob, prolly with a lot of glitz and glam. If you've seen my ironhead build, this will be along a similar vane (as opposed to a roughed up all original bobber or anything). Funky paint. Lots more engraving. Some trick bits. I have tons of plans, drawings, renderings, sketches, the whole nine already done just in the past few days. I'll post as much info as I can along the way... and will definitely be leaning on the wisdom of this board now that I get to dig into a big bike. Looking forward to it.

So the trade will take place once we get er all back together. We have a new stator coming. Once that's back in, we'll mount the bars, get the bike running and straight, then execute the swap. Until then, it's in my garage to tinker on.

Much, much, more to come. Stay tuned!!!

[Down]

Can't wait to see what you do with this one! Congrats on your dream bike, I know the feeling. Nothing can beat it!

[brooklynbomber]

I tagged you in a classified post, a fender emblem from 1982. Probably came from a shovel, thought it was kinda cool. Congrats on the new bike

[bpeak]

Cool thanks man. I saw that. Sweet piece but not really matching the direction I'm headed. Much appreciated tho.

Speaking of direction... This is the current drawing of ideas. Trying to up the game from the ironhead now that I have my feet wet. Lots of details on this one that I'll have to work out in fab. But it will be fun. Always wanted to try apes. More info to come. Cheers.

[bpeak]

Spent some time getting to know the new bike. And by that I mean... cleaning it from top to bottom, with a spray bottle and rags. Helps me to see all the little nooks, crannies, stock stuff, aftermarket stuff, how a shovel works, etc. Soothing.

I have the bars and seat still off in this pic. That's soon to change. Hoping to have the bars and primary all back together this weekend and take er for a spin.

In the meantime ---- PRE-SALE! In a few weeks, a ton of these parts are going to be for sale. Like, darn near all of em. If you see something you like let me know. Otherwise keep an eye on the Classifieds section.

[RedHerring]

Looks like the beginning of another great build. I'll be tuning in to watch this one for sure.

[Hubbard]

Those big spoke wheels ain’t gettin it. No insult intended.

[bpeak]

Those big spoke wheels ain’t gettin it. No insult intended.

None taken - and I agree. Not my thing. Those will be coming off and replaced with a classic 40 Spoke.

[Tattooo]

None taken - and I agree. Not my thing. Those will be coming off and replaced with a classic 40 Spoke.

Awesome..... I didn't like them in the 90s and I still don't.........

[bpeak]

First "I need help" question. Petcock rebuild.

The unit on the bike when I got it had a small drip leak out the bottom pin.
Got it pulled apart. One oring was still intact (but dried out) in position #1.
Another oring had disintegrated inside... no idea which position it was in.



Question: Anyone ever rebuild one of these? Anyone know the manufacturer? Or where the orings go? Or how many?

Someone online elsewhere thought this was a Golan petcock. I reached out to Golan and they confirmed that this is NOT one of theirs. There is no name or stamp (so likely not an official Pingel). Who knows.

I DO know that I definitely need an oring in position #1 or else the inner shaft falls too far down and out the bottom. But I'm wondering where else. I'm tempted to put an oring in both positions #2 and #3 just to seal up around the ball for good measure. Can't hurt can it? As long as the shaft still spins without binding?

Also - the shaft inside the body is dead smooth. No grooves, notches, or oring seats. Straight bore.

Thoughts?

[bpeak]

Ended up trying almost every oring I could find at the local auto stores. Nothing fit right. Didn't feel comfortable hacking something together... and really need to get this bike back running to get used to it before the tear down. So - decided to cut my losses for now and spring for a new petcock. I can still tinker with this one in the future if I ever find out who made it.

In the meantime, been busy ordering some junk. Got an air cleaner and tear drop. New brass petcock. New brass gas cap (the one on it is chrome which looks out of place with all the other brass bits). New bars. Grips. Oh... and these...



So heres the long story. Someone other than the previous owner (and not me) happened to cross thread the riser bolts in the springer leg. Real bad. Like horrible bad. So when the bike came to me it had no bars on it. I tried to drill and easy out the slug but it was bound in there like crazy. Ended up getting the bolt out of there only by drilling then grinding away the rest of the riser bolt. Unfortunately this left the hole in the springer leg very crappy and likely not plumb/square to the leg itself (kinda sloped at an angle going into the leg). I did my best to grind it plumb. But then had to do an official drill/tap to go to a bigger thread. Moment of truth was with the drill if I could get it straight enough. And no... I dont have a drill press or rig to set it up with a definite square hole jig. So I went for it. Turns out no bueno. So after dropping coin on a 5/8" tap and drill bit - the new riser bolt clearly showed a noticeable angle. Well crap. Just ruined a perfectly good springer. Or...

So after a lot of thought I had two options. The first option was to remove the springer, take it to a buddy to weld the hole completely closed. Then drill and tap a fresh hole straight this time unencumbered by old bolt slag and grinding crap. This sounded like a LOT of work only to get back to a boring same ol springer setup. The second option seemed much better.

In this idea, I'll take a piece of leftover 1" diameter 0.120 wall steel tube that I have laying around, over to the same welder buddy and have him weld on ears to the springer top clamp. I'll get the clamp off the bike, clean it up to bare metal, have him weld on the ears, then plug weld the ends of the tube so that they appear solid. Then later on I can either have him weld up the crap threaded holes in the springer leg, or just run a temporary bolt down in em to fill the hole. I dont know. Point is - bybass the riser stud mount in the top of the springer leg. Then paint the top clamp black to keep it simple.

Then with the dog ears - run a set of dogbone risers to a new set of bars. Hence the brass dogbones. Bars will be black. Should be pretty cool for now till I rebuild the bike overall.

We'll see. Should be a fun weekend!!!

[bpeak]

Kind of a slow start. Had to work out the bars. Bought a set of cheap-o's that kinda match the foot controls. Shouldn't have. The bars are crap. Welds are crap. Finish is crap. Oh well. It's just until I have the funds to start the rebuild.

In other words these are NOT the final bars I'm going to run. Ha.

So with the idea of bypassing the riser mounts via dog ears and bone risers... the bars had to be widened to fit. Rough spacer and welding done. Picked em up last night from my buddy. Now just gotta clean everything up, refinish, mount on the bike, and go for a ride.



Also got some new vibe in-hand to keep me focused on the direction ahead. The bike will still have green... but in a different way... and different locations.

[bpeak]

Really need to find more time to work on this thing. Had 20 minutes this morning before work. Got the risers cleaned, threads chased, top clamp mounted and bars installed just to see how it sits. Will paint everything later. Gotta trim the bars length a little narrower too.

[farmall]

Small bits of tastefully dispersed green will make it look even better.

[xMPRx]

cool build! I like where this one is headed! I agree with ya on the wheels, not a huge fan. You going 21/16? Bikes this style I think look awesome with a 18” or 19” rear.