OLDS COOL......my '76 Shovel Cone.....'n a few other things.

While spending the Christmas with me Mum over the border in Florida,I came across some pics of my '76 H-D Shovel that I got as a basket case back in '95 I think.I didn't know it was a basket case until after I bought it  and started getting into the motor.Bearings beaten in with a 20lb hammer,that kinda stuff.

After getting it running and tooling around on it for a year or so,I saw a few pics of some of the bikes and designs coming out of Holland on a Weerd Bros bike,so out came the Sawzall and a 20 pack of blades and grinder wheels.
Jason deWeerd and his brother were out of Holland,and at the time were making really nice frames.Holland was turning out some really bitchin radical choppers too.They were the first to start putting the big front tire look together,and then of course everyone started copying them,until it got ridiculous like those OCC morans.

It all started out innocently enough,but hanging around with Warren and Billy Lane on the weekends sent it spiralling out of control.Those were the fun days,when we'd ride off on a friday night,take in a church meeting or two,hit the local choir practice sometimes.

This was before Choppers Inc. got big,when Warren and Billy worked out of one small bay up in Melbourne,and we regularly got escorted out of bars right to our bikes.

Those bouncers were really helpful fellas at times,wantin to make sure we were safe 'n all.

So the bike began with a Weerd Bros frame and a 200 rear tire,then a 230,then finally a 270,the only 270 around at the time.The pics are of an Akront rear wheel that Billy had laying around,but that didn't last long.

In fact,nothing lasted very long on the bike before it was cut,widened,grinded,welded,cut again,tacked,re-cut.............and cut one more time,just to be sure.

And that was before I decided to take the motor apart.

We started out handmaking parts like the forward controls,but then switched to SJP stuff.

I think we kept the motor under 100 inches,96 I believe,and made it a kick only motor.

On this trip I couldn't find any pics of the finished build,even though I took plenty.On it's first day out I rode it up to Bike Week at 1 or 2 am,entered it into the Rats Hole Show the next morning,and took a second.

When I find those finished pics,i'll put them up.They're somewhere,I just gotta find 'em.

Here's a few of Warrens old '47 Knuck I took also,I loved that bike.That was one of the first bikes that got them noticed.

Warren was running a SU carb on that Knuck,a cranky and temperamental carb at best,but killer in the looks dept.

And a self portrait to boot.

I didn't even have a good camera then,just a regular Point and Shoot,in fact I really wasn't into photography at that time.

That '47 Knuckle of Warrens is still my all time favorite bike.

Everything was just right on it,and it had so many one off pieces.

I know where Billy is at the moment,who doesn't,but I lost touch with Warren.

If any of the old crew is reading this,give him a heads up for me.

Murph