[tmacracin]

I'm finally working on my Shovel after a couple MAJOR road blocks on the way. I bought a running bike with a 73 FL frame and 80" Shovel and cow pie trans out of a 79 FXEF and rode it for a summer. It ran good but wasn't what I wanted.I was looking for a nimble around town machine so I thought I put the powertrain into a light bike. So... I bought a new Maximum Metalworks rigid frame,narrow glide,new sporty tank,21" wheel and a few other odds and ends. Work got REALLY busy so I thought I'd have guy I met on here thats 2hrs south of me do some fab work and get it a roller for me because I never had the time to touch it. It was good at first but progress came to a hault and the fab work was very poor and VERY unsafe. He dinged me $3500 for a few parts and shitty welding that I broke off with a rubber hammer and cresent wrench.Again work got busy and the bike sat all summer so I found another "builder" this time 2.5 hrs north of me to get things going...9 months and $3300,and every excuse in the book I picked the bike back up with nothing done too it other than some cheesy fender mounts that I broke off by hand and NO refund on my money. He says he messed up but he'll get my money back to me when he wants.... Anyways sorry for the sob story but I thought I'd get it off my chest due to both these "builders" being members on here.

I'm going to get this bike built if it kills me!!! haha

 

[tmacracin]

The motor and trans were rebuilt a couple years and no miles before I bought the bike but it had been sitting and some leaks had formed. I thought I'd re gasket the motor and trans while it was out so I dug into into it....
Needed guides,seats,springs,valves,jugs,pistons,and a mainshaft in the trans. It was just like new.... I had a local Harley guru named Zeke split the cases,fix the stripped timing plug that was JB welded,check the bottom end and resassemble the bottom end. He fitted it with forged pistons(9:1) new jugs and a J grind cam. My old man gave me a hand with the wore out heads. We put in new seats,guides,springs,Black Tulip valves and new keepers and retainers. Everything is new . Zeke freshened my trans with a new mainshaft,repaired the drain plug that had a rubber plug shoved in it and gaskets. Now I'm ready to roll on.
I'm taking my roller to Zeke's place Friday so we can set the motor and trans in and I can get a few pointers from him on alignment then its time for mounting the rear fender and oil tank.

 

[tmacracin]

Some work done by the previous "Builders"

 

[tmacracin]

I'm thinking of narrowing this tank but doing 1.5" at the bottom and .5" at the top. What do you guys think? Leave it,narrow it evenly or do the 1.5" to .5" taper?

 

[tmacracin]

Shameful.
Those responsible should have their welders confiscated.

Bright side, I bet you could knock those welds off with a chisel pretty easily.

I broke them off by hand....including the rear master cylinder bracket
It just amazes me that they can do this and get away with it. They lied about so much is blew me away. I work hard for my money and they had no problem taking it for nothing. I was trusting but thats my downfall now

 

[tmacracin]

If you have the skills to narrow that tank you could definitely weld on that bike. Of course you should narrow that tank, if you don't like it you can always slap on another,

I have the skills along with a good buddy of mine but we both work in the oil & gas industry and spare time hard to come by. I'm going to do everything myself from now on even if it takes longer.

 

[tmacracin]

I like narrowed tanks and I say do it, but you might want to skinny up anything else you can, like that license plate bracket. As far as which way to do it, I vote for evenly.

I agree on the plate bracket. A buddy and I built it but I'm not sure I'm sold on it. It doesnt look to stick out as bad when the trans and clutch are it. I will post more pics Friday when i have the motor and trans in. I think I'll narrow the tank evenly. Maybe 2"-2.5" ? I still want to be able to make some miles between gas staions so I'm unsure

 

[tmacracin]

It takes a lot of practice and some natural ability to turn out quality work. It seems to work out a lot better if you learn by working on your own stuff or working on your friends stuff for free. But in all fairness, Im sure there are two sides to this story too. Good Luck on your build.

Regards,
Geo.

I know what your saying but if I had the time then I would have but I DIDN'T so that's why I had the work done. There are two sides to every story but I can go on with more pictures,emails,texts and signed contracts that show I got screwed. So I would think its a pretty clear story.

 

[tmacracin]

Name names please. Anyone doing that shitty of work and charging you $7k needs to be called out.

I will in time Trent. The latest guy owes me $3300 and claims he is going to pay it all back.......I'll give him the benefit of the doubt for a short time. I could really use the cash back for the build. My race car needs a bunch of parts over the winter so the bike comes second

 

[tmacracin]

what bars are those?

Front Street Cycle bars,fender and oil tank

 

[tmacracin]

Sounds like your up in ft Mac. I just bring my stuff to work and do it there. I could probably dig up a sporty tank or two if it would fit your project a bit better

No I'm in central Alberta. 1hr east of Red Deer. I worked up in Ft Mac when I was just out of school. I try to stay out of the north country if I can.

 

[tmacracin]

Just got home with my bike after a very productive Friday! Took the roller over to my buddy Zeke's shop to set the motor and trans in after the rebuild on both. Everything slid in nice and Zeke was a ton of help with getting the odds and ends taken care of that I would have missed. I still need to get a bunch of hardware and clutch parts but its getting ordered up next week. Zeke is a vintage Harley guru and specializes in Shovel and older.He's a VERY cool guy that lives and breathes vintage bikes.Currently he is in the middle of restoring a 35 Servicar.Here are some pics of my bike and Zeke's 35 Servicar,Knuck,38 Flathead chopper with Indian leaf springer and 79 FLH with side car. I didn't get any pics of his rigid Pan chopper that he rides 1000's of miles at a time.

 

[tmacracin]

A few pics that didn't attach on the last post

 

[tmacracin]

Spooky welds but it's looking good now.

After that guy pays you back, tell him to open the valve on the gas bottle.

I'd say it makes me go red when I see those pics!!!

 

[tmacracin]

I made a bit more progress on the weekend with mockup. I need to pickup some more hardware. This might be a rookie question but should I use fine thread hardware for motor/trans mounting bolts? Also I was going to powdercoat the frame but now I'm leaning towards paint. Pro's and cons?

 

[tmacracin]

I would say fine. OEM is fine, at least for tranny plate and rear motor mount.

Sounds good. That's what I was thinking but thought I'd ask. Nylocks or just a bit of blue locktite?

 

[tmacracin]

Is the front end going to stay that short? The bike has a really nice stance.

Yes I want to get it as low as a can. I might end up sending the forks out to be shortened but might try cutting the springs to see how low I can go with that. It's not going to have much travel either way so I'm not sure.

 

[tmacracin]

My tank had a flat bottom and tunnel put in it by one of the prior "builders" but was really poorly done so I decided to cut it out and narrow it 1" to start. I might go more its just tacked up for now

 

[tmacracin]

bolted on a new air cleaner too. A local guy builds them with a blank rear plate so you can drill and mount them for any carb.

 

[tmacracin]

Making progress with the bike finally after the holidays. I will post pics tonight.I had to build new rear axle Adjusters/spacers to make my axle length work. I used aluminum instead of steel but made the OD a but bigger so there is a bit more material where the 3/8" slots are for the adjustment bolts. Should I have used steel?