Published In The February 2014 Issue Of Cycle Source
Article & Photos By: Grizzly
Danny from Ghent, Belgium, loves choppers so much that he has a complete collection. He owns — I kid you not — almost thirty of them! This industrial looking gooseneck Shovel is the one that was most recently built. When I first visited chopper collector Danny, I could not believe my eyes. Man, does this guy own some cool stuff! Danny is a bonsai tree cultivator by trade and very successful at it. He is also totally nuts about choppers a n d owns a shitload of them.They are all kept prepped and ready for the road and ridden very often. Sometimes he builds them himself, but he’ll also just buy one if he finds one he likes or he asks a shop to build one for him. For instance, this gooseneck Shovel was partly built by Super Cycles located in the town of Kapelle. Wim, the owner of that shop, is well k n o w n in Europe f o r blueprinting S&S motors. What not many people know is that the man is also an excellent bike builder with a very personal approach towards the matter. His creations are different from what we are used to over here and are therefore immediately recognizable as being Super Cycles. That’s mostly because of the fact that his bikes look so apparently simple and basic. The gooseneck Shovel of Danny’s is a perfect example of what I am trying to tell. “This is the third chopper built by Super Cycles for me,” said Danny. “What I like about this shop is that the owner, Wim, does not need many words to understand what his customer, or in this case, what I want. For me, it all started with the Flathead that Wim had built for his lovely wife Veronica. I liked that bike so much that I wanted to buy it, but we could not agree about the price. ‘But I can build you one,’ Wim said. I owned a cool Shovelhead bobber that didn’t handle the way I wished it would. This would be the perfect base for a new bike with the looks of Veronica’s Flattie. Of course I did not want a copy. I told Wim I wanted some Japanese chopper style elements integrated in the bike and mentioned Zero as one of my favorite builders from the land of the rising sun. I also told him I wanted this specific industrial color, and wrote down some other details I really wanted to see on the bike. But most of all, it had to be a comfortable ride and good handling motorcycle to do long distances with my club.”
First thing Wim from Super Cycles did was chop the frame of Danny’s Shovelhead donor bike. The neck had to be raked to improve the handling of the Springer frontend at high speeds. The right trail was calculated and the wish of Danny to use some Zero style elements was translated into creating a cool gooseneck. Other changes that improved the handling of the Shovel bobber was mounting a less wide front tire and lifting the floorboards. The fat gas tanks are there only for practical reasons. To compliment the sweet new lines of the redone frame, Danny decided to go for a normal seat that sits flat on the frame instead of the springed pan seat he used to have on it. Danny explained, “ Okay the seat was changed for looks, but it also made me sit lower which gave me more control over the bike. Because of the way the frontend works the bike still stays pretty comfy even though there are no springs under my seat anymore. I just did 130 miles on it nonstop and that went fine! The motor on this baby is a fast 1700cc S&S Shovel. I really need that to keep up with the club. Most members ride the newest Harleys and they have never heard about taking it easy. The S&S motor was very raw and vibrated a lot in the beginning, but after breaking it in by doing a few thousand miles, and after Wim had changed a few little things, it runs as smooth as my grandma’s sewing machine without having lost any power or speed on it.” The last thing the men did was paint the bike a color grey that Danny liked. “I have been thinking about having the bike pinstriped, but I really dig it the way it is. It is so pure and simple and that fact enhances the great lines of the bike, I think,” said Danny. This industrial bobber with a Zero touch is a real users’ bike. “I can cruise with high velocities. Thanks to the rake, the Springer doesn’t wobble anymore at those speeds. Taking a corner at 80 miles an hour is no problem either. In short, I love it! Wim from Super Cycles understood exactly what I wanted. I will ride this bike to Costa Blanca, Spain soon and intend to do many other road trips with it,” Danny concluded.
Gooseneck Shovel Tech Sheet
Owner: Danny Ghent
City: Ghent, Belgium
Fabrication By: Super Cycles & Motortechnica
Year: 2011
Model: Gooseneck Bobber
Time: Three Months
ENGINE
Year: 2006
Model: S&S Shovelhead
Builder: Super Cycles & Motortechnica
Ignition: S&S
Displacement: 103ci
Pistons: S&S
Heads: S&S
Cam(s): S&S
Carb: S&S Shorty
Air Cleaner: Crime Scene
Exhaust: Motortechnica
Primary: Chopped H-D
TRANSMISSION
Year: 2006
Make: RevTech w/ Kicker
Shifting: 5 Speed
FRAME
Year: 1998
Make: Santee Modified By Super Cycles
Rake: 40 Degrees
Stretch: None
FRONT END
Type: Retro Springer Mod. By Super Cycles
Builder: Somewhere in Poland
Extension: 4” Over
Triple Trees: Santee
WHEELS
Front Wheel: H-D
Size: 16”
Tire: Dunlop
Brakes: Disc
Rear Wheel: H-D
Size: 16”
Tire: Metzeler Marathon
Brakes: PM 2 Piston
PAINT
Painter: Super Cycles
Color: ‘30s Greyish Blue
Type: RAL
Molding: Some
ACCESSORIES
Bars: Speedster
Rrisers: None
Hand controls: Super Simple
