Saturday, October 11, 2008

1979 Shovelhead Bobber

Believe it or not, this unique piece of machinery began life early in 1979 as a Harley-Davidson FLH although the majority of those tell-tale signs are gone. Surprisingly enough, the VIN numbers on both the block, engine cases and frame neck all match and the unstretched and unraked frame is just as original.

Other than the motor and frame, no signs of an FLH are left. The fenderless front end features a 12" over stock Paughco springer front end with 19" Avon rubber. A Thunder Cycle velocity stack feeds air into a S&S Super E carburetor.
The stock 5 gallon gas tank has been replaced with a 1.75 gallon peanut tank with "old school" custom flame paint job.
The custom fabricated exhaust tucks nicely behind the forward controls. The steel tractor style seat is wrapped in naked leather and blends nicely into the natural looking flames.

The custom bobbed fender and discreet tail light with laydown license plate really set this bike off. The beach style handlebars allow for a comfortable wide arm ride.

The original kick starter is still intact and perfectly operational but the bike has an under the seat "cheater" electric start. A custom chrome oil tank fits nicely under the seat.
This bike with the straight pipes will shoot an unbelievable stream of flames! This rip your arms off bobber is not for the faint hearted or yuppie biker. I'll see you down the road!

1 comment:

Unknown said...

nice job john, im interested in your seat, can you tell me where you got it, or what its made out of? ive seen similar ones before. thanks! tim