Freeway SEVENTY-SEVEN
FOR THE TITLE, WE WERE TORN BETWEEN “SEVENTY-SEVEN” AND “JAP STYLE”, PROBABLY BECAUSE OF THE
STRIPES JAPANESE BUILDERS LOVE. BUT THE TANK LOGO WON OUT, EVEN THOUGH THIS 1977 SHOVEL BASE NOW LOOKS OLDER!
Article published in Freeway magazine
| As one of the pillars of the Dirty Fuel workshop in Bègles,
Billy is well known to us and consequently to our readers. Some have already caught a fleeting glimpse of his Shovelhead in an earlier issue, but we are taking the time to cover it in more detail here. Just over three years ago, Billy was riding a Softail Slim, but his friend Alex (R.I.P.) persuaded him to trade his Twin Cam engine for a Shovel, less capable in every respect except vibrations and sensations. The base bike was found near Béziers, and Billy needed a fair dose of motivation to buy this trap, which demanded half a | HARLEY PARTS Frame, swingarm, shock absorbers, Softail Springer fork, 16-inch FLH wheels, engine cases & internals, CV carburettor, 4-speed gearbox. AFTERMARKET PARTS Jay Brake rear brake, horseshoe oil tank, Mustang tank, Paughco Trumpet exhausts, Biltwell carburettor cover, Biltwell plate holder, rocker covers EMD, Dragtron air filter, Rivera-Primo primary, points cover by Throwback, headlight by Bates, Lowbrow grips. HANDMADE PARTS: sissy bar, reworked handlebar, hand-operated gear lever, adapted clutch pedal and cable. | But the test ride brought instant love, and the deal was done. This former 1977 FLH already had a Softail Springer fork but still ran Electra cast wheels. First move: replace the ugly tyres with better-looking Firestones, also more treacherous. The old peanut tank had been “soft-mounted” on springs (!), so it gave way to a twin-cap Mustang. As for the former rear mudguard, it had been patched with generous amounts of bathroom silicone and would spend its final days in a corner of Billy’s garage as an amusing | war trophy to intrigue curious visitors. A flat fender supported by a sissy bar and attached to the swingarm suited the job far better. A strapped-on Kytone poncho adds some rigidity, alongside two round rear lights made from red-tinted indicators from a Citroën Type H van. Billy enjoys small details and scatters them around his bike, as shown by the “No Belt No Gain” lettering on the 3-inch primary belt and the moped piston used as a hand-shifter knob. He paints Japanese characters for the words |
