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Feature Bikes

Eric’s Penny

Article By: Roadside Marty
Photos By: Carsten Fritzen

Originally Published In The April 2016 Issue Of Cycle Source Magazine

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The first time I saw one of Eric Stein’s bikes was at The Smokeout in Rockingham NC a few yearsback; it was a cone Shovel in a rigid frame and it just blew me away. I wasn’t able to track him down that weekend but it was in Daytona at Choppertime and I gave it the award for Best Shovel. As luck would have it Eric had rolled out of the show early because he didn’t think he would win a trophy! Let that be a lesson to all of you… don’t leave until all of the trophies are given out! It wasn’t until a year or so later that I ran into him through a mutual friend and realized that he was the guy that I kept missing. Needless to say we had a good laugh over it and I told him that the next time he did a bike to let me know. Low and behold at last year’s Smokeout he casually asked if we would be interested in this sweet swing arm Shovel that you see here; to which I responded immediately with a yes!

Eric doesn’t build bikes for a living, it’s always just been something he enjoys. He started out building a 100” 250 rear tire long bike back in 2004 and he says he had absolutely no idea what he was doing. Before that time he had never even owned a street bike let alone even worked on an HD. From that time he’s learned an awful lot of what not to do. Since then Eric has built about 10 bikes for himself as well as a few friends. It’s no surprise that this bike was actually built for a friend of Eric’s from NY, Lee Schellhorn. Lee had been bugging Eric to sell him his ‘80 FLH for a while so Eric suggested just buying a complete running Shovel and he would turn it into something that Lee would definitely dig. So with more than a few available in the NC area where Eric lives they found a really nice ‘71 FLH from
a true Southern gentleman. The only thing that Lee requested was that the tins be painted Range Rover Zanzibar color and that it have vintage looking tires. To keep the costs down Eric was able to sell off what they didn’t use from the original bike, which has always been a good formula to follow when building a custom from a running bike.

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The wheels were taken apart and delivered to Ben “Hollywood” Jordan, who’s no stranger to these pages himself, who powder coated them gloss black which really looked great with the stainless spokes that Eric re-laced them with. The engine and transmission ran like a top according to Eric so that was a blessing. Most people replace the “Banana” calipers that HD used from the early 70’s to the mid 80’s but since they worked great Eric just kept them in place. As a true testament to the saying that most HD parts are interchangeable he used the round swingarm which was originally designed to work with juice drum brakes. A horseshoe type oil tank was used because Eric was
gonna make this a kick only bike with a jockey shift, so he really didn’t need the stock oil tank and battery tray set up. This is so much cleaner and really compliments the 1 1/2” BDL belt drive nicely. Eric kept the stock forward controls and fabbed up the shifter side to work as a suicide clutch. A solo LePera seat looks perfect on this build as it complements the frame and fender as well as the look that Eric was after along with the ape hangers and floorboards it not only looks cool it’s actually an easy bike to ride.

While Eric was gettin everything else ready local painter Justin Kucewesky started to prep the tins for the Range Rover Zanzibar color that Lee had specifically asked for, Eric couldn’t have picked a better man for the job because Justin’s day job is painting the 88 and 48 Cup cars of Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Jimmie Johnson but loves painting bikes as a hobby and as you can see from the pics he absolutely nailed it! Eric delivered the bike to Lee at
The Smokeout and says that Lee absolutely loves it and still constantly thanks him to this day!

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Penny Tech Sheet
Owner: Lee Schellhorn
City/State: Farmingville, NY
Fabrication By: Eric Stein
Year: 1971
Model: FLH
Time: 5 Months
ENGINE
Year: 1971
Model: Shovelhead
Builder: Unknown
Ignition: Crane Hi-4
Displacement: 74”
Pistons: Std
Heads: Shovel
Cam(s): Andrews B
Carb: S&S Super E
Air Cleaner: S&S Teardrop
Exhaust: Modified Paughco
Primary: BDl 2”
TRANSMISSION
Year: 1974
Make: Harely Davidson
Shifting: Jockey, 4 Speed
FRAME
Year: 1974
Make: Harley Davidson
Rake: Stock
Stretch: None
Forks
Type: Harley Davidson
Builder: Harley Davidson
Extension: -2”
Triple Trees: Stock
WHEELS
Front Wheel: Black Spoked
Size: 16”x3”
Front Tire: Shinko 5.00-16
Front Brake: Stock Banana Style
Rear Wheel: Black Spoked
Size: 116”x3”
Rear tire: Shinko 5.00-16
Rear Brake: Stock Banana Style
PAINT
Painter: Just Kucewesky
Color: Range Rover Zanzibar
Type: Shiny
Graphics:
Chroming: None
Molding: None
ACCESSORIES
Bars: 12” Apes
Risers: Harley Davidson
Hand Controls: Jay Brake
Gas Tank(s): 3.5 Gal Bobs
Front fender: Stock
Rear fender: Stock
Foot controls: Stock Floor Boards
Seat: LePera Bare Bones
Oil Tank: Horseshoe
Headlight: Stock Style Nacelle
Taillight: Tombstone
Speedo:
Photographer: Carsten Fritzen

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