Father Son Shovel

July 22, 2016

Article By: Milwaukee Mike

Photos By: Kerri Schindler

Originally Published In The September 2012 Issue Of Cycle Source Magazine

At the second BMR, our friend Fritz overestimated a curve on the Cherohala Skyway, busting up himself and the bike you see in these photos. This is becoming a trend that was started by Tattoo Duke the year before. In fact, it was the same corner on the skyway that broke the aforementioned machine and man. Thankfully, that was a trend that only lasted two years. So, a redo and remodel was in order after that crash which was unfortunate because the bike was only finished just over a year before. The original build took its time as the bike was acquired as a basket case 11 years earlier, and it took almost of 8 years to complete, the first time. The big motivator came in the form of Fritz’s 20 year old son, Jason, as he saw how they were building bikes on TV, and he thought, how hard can it be? Well, he found out in a very real fashion. Every part of this bike has had some custom touches that give it the stance and very distinctive look that is far enough from stock but not so much that you can not tell it started life as a 1972 FLH. The biggest tip of its custom pedigree is that if you look close, you will not see the shocks, but you will see it has a swingarm. Now how is that possible? Well, Fritz took a hint from HD and built his own version of a Softail out of this Shovel. He reworked the rear tranny mount to make room for Softail style shocks underneath, and then triangulating the swingarm so it works just like a Softail.

Father and son then chopped an inch and a half out of the seat area to give it a lower seat height and look. The look was completed with a Wyatt Gatlin style rear fender (swap meet find) with internal struts so it appears to float with no help from big bulky stock struts that are the norm on a Shovelhead. The frontend was also a conglomeration of different parts to make the best working and looking combination without spending a fortune on it. Basically, it is a set of late model Wide Glide trees with bagger lowers and tubes completed with GMA brakes and calipers, both front and rear. The front master cylinder has a 5/8 line w h i c h moves enough fluid so the binders actually work. The tanks also have a slight remodel. The petcock was moved to make room for the dual Dyna coils, and the cat’s eye dash was done over to fit the shape of the tank. The center hole was then filled in to fit the look. The attention was then turned to the engine. It was left as a 74” but 9.5:1 Wiseco pistons were used with a V-Thunder 4020 cam. Fritz also went with JIMS lifters and blocks and gave a lot of attention to the heads. They were ported, polished, computer flowed and dual plugged, then capped off with an S&S Super E carb. It has a sweet spot thanks to a 24 tooth sprocket and runs out at about 75 mph so there are no worries going down the freeway. Fritz and Jason went on to build an exhaust with torque cones a n d a n adjustable washer setup so it works like tuning discs. It was all made in the backyard shop and Fritz says it makes it “more better.”

The wheels are basically stock, except the rear was 16”x 4.00” which meant stuffing a 160 rear tire into a stock width swingarm. This is not an easy task when you need a tire. The front is a 16”x 3.00” with a 140 tire, and fender-less. Power is moved from the engine to the kick-only tranny via a 3” BDL belt drive. The lower frame also holds the custom plate and cat’s eye taillight, also made in the backyard shed. The coil mount holds two dual port Dyna coils, as I mentioned, and also holds the key and headlight switch. The only part of this bike that was a donation is the oil bag from Fritz’s Panhead. It is still languishing in a stage of readiness, but it was needed because it fit without alteration. The rest of the bits on the frame such as the pegs and grips were all swap meet cheap and very functional. As I said, this bike was the victim of the killer curve on the Cherohala so after meeting the guardrail at high speed, the tanks, fenders, frontend, speedo and pegs needed to be redone after the crash. A little clean up lead to the way this bike looks today: gorgeous. There is just something to be said for a straight up, well functioning bike and this one looks great as well. Fritz told me that he had to have it done for this year’s BMR because he wanted to ride it to his favorite rally in 30 years of doing runs and rallies. I agree; it is my favorite too. Fritz would like to thank Larry Dar for his work on the lower end of the engine and the machine work; Mike Cox for spreading the even black lacquer on everything that isn’t chrome; and his buddy Gary for holding stuff and just being there to lend a hand. Of course, none of this would have happened without the push and the help of his son Jason. Can’t wait to see what comes in the next few years from this father and son team!