1973 FLH Shovelhead Chopper

[Johnny Reb]

West Coast Choppers wishes they could do what Forest Acres Choppers can!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Tha Dick]

Make sure to wear your skinny jeans with that open primary.

LK, You're making me want to get started on my project...

[2thDoc]

i have no clue what any of this is but I like your excitement about it!

[Chessbay]

Worked on a couple projects this weekend.

First up was figuring out my rear brakes.

Whoever had the frame before me cut off the brake caliper bar mount. It’s what basically holds the caliper in place. I made a new bracket for it, welded it up and completed the rears….also performance machine brakes. I went ahead on put the rear sprocket on while the wheel was off. As of now, I have a 52 tooth rear sprocket and a 22 tooth in the front which are both stock sizes. May consider messing with it some down the road, but need to research it more.

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I also decided to try and make a Sissy Bar which I think all choppers should have. I bought 20’ of 5/8 Round Bar and have a bunch of 1/4” plate in my shop.


First up was making the brackets…….I wanted them to follow the lines of the fender bracket so I traced them out for each respective side.


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Next up was making a template to fabricate the bar. I laid everything out on a sheet of plate that I had sitting in the shop. It was a good bit of trial and error as I eyeballed the bike and then transferred the measurements to the table.

I used little pieces of pipe of various size to make all of my bends. I welded them to the table once I had it set up correctly.

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After I had it set up, I started at the top and worked the bar all the way down. I used an O/A torch to heat the bar allowing me to make my bends. This series of pictures make it sound easier than in was, but it took a lot of patience and a lot of time to get it right.

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After that, I set it on the bike and mocked up the angle and height I wanted to mount it at.


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Here it is mounted in its permanent location. I and going to put on a license plate mount and my rear tail light, but will save them for another day. After that, I plan on Chrome Plating it. I’m pretty happy with how it turned out.

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[Chessbay]

Last two pics.

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[Kirk]

Very impressive work, Will!

[Carolina Counsel]

You’re a magician. Much respect for the skills that you have and I absolutely do not.

[Chessbay]

Thank you both.


One thing I will add is that those Dewalt tools you see in my pictures are hot garbage. Most of those drill bits are broken (from drilling 1/4” plate and that grinder you see on the floor is dead as a hammer too.

I’ve never had good luck with their stuff…….for what it’s worth.

[DRDUCK]

I got the same tiger print. Nice work!!

[Chessbay]

I got the same tiger print. Nice work!!

Thanks Doc! That was my Grandfathers picture, I’ve had it forever.

[Tha Dick]

Nice!!

[Chessbay]

Small update…..been busy with work and life.

Lot’s of challenges so far…….mostly ordering the wrong parts or trying things that don’t work or I don’t like. Not being able to walk into a store and look at things and having to buy sight unseen off the internet kind of sucks. Especially when you are not building something stock and can’t just use the parts catalog to order stuff.

Ive decided I want to change the stance a little bit, so I have ordered new fork tubes. The forks I ordered were 2” over stock for a newer softail bike which equated to 6” over stock for a 1973 FLH. The steering is a little heavy and I decided to go two inches shorter which will mean I am 4” over stock for an FLH if that makes sense. Definitely took me quite some time to figure all that out.

I am also going to raise the rear just a little as I don’t think an 11” shock will work with this fender……well, it probably will, but I’ll have to adjust the preload so much the bike might as well be rigid. I am going to try a 12” shock and am pretty sure that will be perfect.


I did not like the front brake control I ordered, so I got another one with a smaller boar master cylinder which should be perfect. It’s much better and fits the bike much better.


Some forward progress:

- I finished installing the open primary, clutch, etc. I got everything spaced out perfectly and have perfect belt alignment. I basically used a straight edge and adjusted the transmission until I got everything correct.

- I finished the sissy bar and got my license plate bracket and rear tail light bracket welded up.

- Charging system is installed, new stator, alternator cover, voltage regulator, etc.

- I have pretty much gotten all my oil lines mocked up, my wiring mocked up and my brake lines mocked up.


I ordered exhaust tonight which was a total shot in the dark and I am completely expecting to have to slice and dice it to make it fit. Once I get it in and mocked up I think I am done welding/modifying the frame. I’ll start pulling everything apart and get my parts chrome plated and painted.

Anyway, more later.


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[Chessbay]

I had a seat made by a guy out in California that l like much better than the other one I was trying to fit. It fits perfectly between the sissy bar and looks pretty cool (not bolted down in pic)

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I got my exhaust in from a company called Paughco; I ordered slightly blind as stock exhaust was not going to fit my setup. My brake pedal location is too close to the cone on the motor and will not let a stock pipe route through. I decided to try an “outside the frame” exhaust that would have come on a 60’s era bike. It ended up working really well, but none of the stock exhaust mounts worked. I made a bunch of brackets in order to bolt up the new pipes. Not terribly hard, just time consuming to get it all right.

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My new fork tubes came in from Custom Cycle Engineering and they are 4” over stock length. I swapped all the guts and bushings over to the new tubes and got the forks put back together. This is 2” lower than what I have in the pictures posted earlier in the thread. I like this much more and the steering is not quite as heavy.
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Pete Hill called a week or so ago and told me he’d finished my motor…….the best part of the entire bike. He’s 91 years old and still working every day with his wife and youngest son. I saw last night he was inducted into the Sturgis Motorcycle Museum Hall of Fame and is supposed to receive the lifetime achievement award. Pretty cool to have a motor he built.

He polished the rockers and cone, bead blasted the cases, honed the cylinders, new rings, bearings, oil seals, etc…..top to bottom. We decided to install an Andrews J Grind Cam in it to wake it up a little.

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I’m pretty much done with mockup and started taking it apart last night. I dropped my tins at my painter earlier this week and plan on taking all my small parts and the frame to the Chrome plater in the next week or so when I have time.

I need to keep collecting a few parts and work on a few things, but for the most part will just be patiently waiting.

[Chessbay]

Got my parts back from Chrome Plating and they look amazing.

I just need my frame back and I’m back in business.

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[WoodieSC]

I don't know a darn thing about bikes, but I'm in awe of your knowledge and talent.

[DRDUCK]

That is BAD ASS!!!!

[GBelly]

yep. pretty damn badass, Will.

[willk]

I have zero desire to ride a motorcycle but I do think they are pretty machines. All your projects are bad ass.

[nitro5x6's]

Awesome. Can't wait to see the project finished .

Side note - I installed two new shower heads by myself this weekend. My woman was very pleased.

[Highstrung]

Oh he's got some retentiveness. I'm not fond of this hobby, and even talked to your dad about it at lunch time.