No idea if anyone here is into motorcycles or not, but thought I’d post this up as most dudes like things with two wheels even if you don’t ride.

I have been wanting to build a chopper for a while, I have a couple other bikes and just finished a 99’ EVO Softail this summer. Something about 60’s and 70’s inspired Harley’s has always appealed to me…….stretched out just enough, low to the ground, etc.

I looked for quite some time trying to find something on Market Place to start with. Finding something that’s not already half baked or un-titled is pretty easy. Finding an original numbers matching frame and motor with a title was a little trickier. However, I was patient and a 1973 Shovelhead with a numbers matching frame and motor with a clear SC title popped up a couple months ago. I quickly scooped it up and have been picking away a little at a time.


This is basically what it looked like when I bought it (not my messy ass table).

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The motor is a Cone Shovel as opposed to a slab side…..I have an alternator.

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I know the stance I wanted, but spent a good bit of time trying to figure out the suspension. I had a spare set of wheels and tires that I mocked up and used a broom stick to try and figure out my front end.

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I ended up deciding on what is a 2” over front fork (2” over stock). I also decided on 11” rear Progressive shocks. Tons of people hard tail these bikes by welding a section in place of the swing arm, but my back can’t handle that and I really wanted to keep from chopping up an OEM frame.

For wheels I love a traditional 40 spoke wheel. I went 21” on the front and 16” on the rear and am going to run Shinko Tires that certainly look period correct. I have a shit load of things planned and have a bunch of other parts coming over the next few weeks. The motor is being rebuilt by Pete Hill in Greenville and I picked up an original 4 speed Ratchet Top transmission that has been rebuilt last week.

I plan on kick start only, foot clutch and a jockey shift with an open primary. I am going to run a front brake and my forks have a single caliper setup.

Things I plan on doing next:

- Mount the tank…..I am going to weld in some bungs. I went with a 2.5 Gallon Frisco style tank. It sits up way high on the bike and gets rid of the split tank that would have originally been on the bike.

- Make sure I can get my fender mounted. I bought it from Low Brow Customs and it looks pretty sweet.

- I am going to have to weld in several things to make all my controls work and get my foot pegs mounted.

- I am going to take the forks and shave them so that they are smooth and I’ll shave off the fender mount as I don’t intend to run a fender. After that, I am going to send a pile of parts to get chromed.

Pretty much anything I have to drill, weld or fabricate will happen next so that I can begin to get ready for paint. I also intend on mocking most everything up and keep working on collecting parts and pieces……lots of things to figure out as this is obviously not going back in its original configuration.

Anyway, here is where I am as of today:



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