Featured In The April 2015 Issue Of Cycle Source
Article By: Mitch “Magoo” Bodine Photos By: Dan Venditto
I had been seeing this great shovel all summer long but it wasn’t until The The Race of Gentlemen, that I got an up close, personal look at it and met the man behind the machine. Dustin Cramer. Dustin helped me out in a big way at TROG. We brought a bike down for the Troglodyte Chopper Show and to my shame it was not running, it was having mag issues. Well, after a night of beer and moonshine the show was winding down when I realized I didn’t have a game plan for a place to keep the bike. Dustin came to the rescue! A late night bike push to his garage and a few more beers and the problem was solved. Good times! It was cool to finally put a face to this shovel I had been seeing. Dustin has been into and around bikes since he was a kid. He got his first mini bike at four years old. Some of his favorite memories are of his father riding him on his Harleys and going to the World of Wheels shows back in the 70’s. In 1982 his father bought a new FLH, a few weeks later his father was riding with him and they got T-boned by a car. His father broke his leg and the FLH was totaled. Even after the accident Dustin wasn’t scared away from a life on two wheels. He raced motocross through his teenage years and also rode BMX flatland, which he kept riding up ‘til just a few years ago. Dustin has owned plenty of Harley’s through the years, starting with Sporty’s and moving on to Shovels, Evo’s and a Twin Cam that he put lots of miles on. This was his first full custom chop. Dustin bought this bike as a complete runner from Iowa and he rode it for one season. After spending that first season chasing various problems with it he made the decision to give it a full rebuild and make it “his” own custom. The only pieces remaining from the original bike are the oil filter bracket, the Fab Kevin oil tank and taillight. After tearing the bike down Dustin decided that a road trip out to see Jeff Cochran at SpeedKing was first up to have it hardtailed the right way by Jeff. Next up, the motor went out to Chris Mell’s Motorcycle Restoration in Reading, Pa. for a full rebuild. The cases where split and the crank rebuilt keeping the stock stroke. The standard bore cylinders where bored to 30 over and stuffed with Wiseco pistons. The dual plug heads where rebuilt with new valves and springs. The sweet rocker boxes are from Throwback Cycle Parts. An Andrews cam and hydraulic lifters are used. The Mallory ignition is used to fire it up and a tried and true S&S Super E carb is used to get fuel to it. The exhaust is a hand me down from Dustin’s’ good friend Bailey. Chris Mell’s also totally rebuilt the four speed trans starting with a new main shaft and using Andrews gears. A Rivera Primo Pro clutch is used with a BDL belt drive.
When the frame came back from SpeedKing Dustin and his good friend Todd Cassler of Flames Unlimited in Reading, Pa started the assembly process. The forks are from Jasin Phares Born Free 4 Panhead. They are K model 33.4 tubes with one off Mullins super narrow triple trees. The wheels are 21” spool in the front and 16” in the rear. The rear brake set up is from Jeff Cochran at SpeedKing. Jeff also did the rear fender. One of my favorite parts on the bike is the tank. Dustin went to my favorite place for parts, Nick’s Cycle in Williamstown, NJ and found a Super Glide tank that would work for him. Todd Cassler worked his magic narrowing it and cutting in the #1. Todd used House of Color Cobalt blue flake for paint. Other highlights are the seat from Billy at K&S Auto Interior in Reading. The polishing was done by Mike DeFonzo and Matt Rullo from Philly and chrome is from Don Maloney from DGM Chrome also out of Philly. The whole project was started in early November and completed in April. The first big ride was to the Freemansburg Hill Climb and then a ride to Philly for the Ride to Skate show, where the bike got a lot of attention. Dustin has been riding the hell out of it since hitting some of the areas bigger events including Strange Days, Brooklyn Invitational and Race of Gentlemen to name a few. Dustin also has a beautiful panhead that I’m going to have get in these pages soon. Not resting on the success of this bike Dustin is already working on his next project, a 54 Panhead. I’m sure it will be another beauty.
#1 SHOVEL TECH SHEET
Owner: Dustin Cramer
Fabrication By: Todd Cassler/Jeff Cochran
City/State: Reading, PA
year: 1969
Model: FLH
Time: 6 months
Value: Make An Offer
ENGINE
Year: 1969
Model: FLH
Builder: Chris Mell’s Motocycle Restoration
Ignition: Mallory
Displacement: 74
Pistons: Wiseco
Heads: Harley Davidson
Carb: S&S Super E
Air Cleaner: Heckmans Custom Bird Deflector
Exhaust: Thanks Bailey!
Primary: BDL
TRANSMISSION
Year: 1969
Make: Harley Davidson
Shifting: Hand
FRAME
Year: Harley Davidson
make: H-D Pandhead W/ Speedking Hardtail
Rake: Only In The Fall
Stretch: Before Lifting
FORKS
Type: Early K Model
Builder: H-D / Jasin Phares
Extension: 2 Over
Triple Trees: One Off Mullins Chain Drive
WHEELS
Front Wheel: Spool
Size: 21”
Tire: Avon Pee Master
Rear Wheel:
Size: 16”
Tire: Firestone
Rear Brake: Speedking
PAINT
Painter: Flames Unlimited
Color: Cobalt Blue
Type: House of Kolor
Graphics: Flames Unlimited
Chroming: DGM Chrome
ACCESSORIES
Bars: Custom T Bars
Risers:
Hand Controls: Hip Grip
Gas Tank(s): Modified H-D
Front fender: Not On A Chopper
rear fender: Speedking
Seat: K&S Auto Interior
Foot Controls: Harolds USA/Speedking
Oil Tank: Fab Kevin
Headlight: TA
Tailight: Fab Kevin
Photographer: Dan Venditto
