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The Toad... '78 Shovelhead

36K views 234 replies 25 participants last post by  rhysmort 
by the way,

i know this is nothing new to most people, but to me it actually is,
i don't have a clue about shovelheads.
this is my first overhead harley engine, first 4-speed,
first telescopic front end in my life, so i'm most likely going to make mistakes
here and there.

if anyone sees something wrong, please let me know.

i'll definitely ask a lot of questions about the transmission soon :rolleyes:

took the front end apart to learn about its contents.
i found a nice tutorial on how to rebuild these things,
and i guess it was made by one of you guys here? the guy in the pictures
looks pretty familiar to me. i don't remember a name, but a super nice
survivor UL chopper... is that right?
https://www.revzilla.com/common-tread/resealing-35mm-forks





i found most of the front end was in pretty bad shape, so i went on
to get another one to rob parts from.
the 33.4 needs a lot of love and the stem is too short for the big twin frame,
so i put it away for now and will restore it later at some point.

found some hacked tin primaries that i could piece together to fit the whole thing:





then it was time to cut away the ugly things i found...







and come up with something a little better but still it has to appear
pretty stock to make the officials happy. for a 78 harley there are a lot
more regulations here than for a 42...












yeah harleys welds arent always great, this build is super cool though. ive been wanting to convert my cone to a magneto, i really like your setup
 
in the meantime, while i waited for Gobi to weld the tanks,
i laced the new rear wheel. first time i did that, actually kind of fun





testing the wheel in the swing arm and looking into the juice brake stuff
for the first time...

note that i have the rear axle in from the wrong side, haha... a little head scratching
followed. everything's different from the 45s :rolleyes::eek:





when i was done i found out the spokes i had been sent where too short :(
so i gave the wheel to a shop, let them do it and bought matching spokes from them. they also mounted the tire. bummer, but at least i tried :rolleyes:
next time it'll work.

this is how it looks, and i think i like it.



it's a 19x2.25 or 2.5 rim with a 4.00x19" Avon on it.
i was a little afraid of using a rear wheel that tall and skinny,
but i'm a tall fella and these bikes look tiny when i sit on them.
using big 18x4.50s helped on the flathead, so i figured i'd go even larger
this time :rolleyes:
The 19" rear looks perfect, im a large guy myself 6'2 230ish, but i love tiny narrow bike and thick ass women, opps, but the larger rear does offset the size diffrence a bit
 
...which will not stay. that's just a mock up wheel from some evo sportster
i borrowed from a friend. it was on the bike when i got it but i gave i'll give
it back together with the hideous front end that used to be on it...

i am awaiting an early sportster front wheel with one of the next containers,
i bought it on ebay in the US a good while ago.

the plan is to lace a 21x1.60 or 1.85 rim to the "hamburger" hub and somehow
put it between the 35mm fork legs.

if anyone has a good one laying around, i'd love to have a second one,
or maybe another 33.4mm front end, too.


the shrouds still need some adjustment until they sit dead center,
but i already love the look :)
Ive got a lot of them but they are my favorite front end, i kinda hoard them :eek:
 
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