Thursday, November 4, 2010

Brian Branch's England Shovelhead



Brian shared his finshed shovelhead, which I really like for the obvious reasons just look at the photos. Functional, simple and clean. Perfect bike for actually riding several hundred miles. Brian wanted to make note of his friend Carl who did most the work.

9 comments:

  1. I agree completely! That functional bike rules!

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  2. can anyone put me in touch with the guy who built this bike.. i need some "inspiration" on how to mount a rear fender so perfectly.

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    1. The fender was mounted to the swing arm for a clean look. It was done by the following method.

      A 2"x 1/4"x 24" approx.length of steel was bent to follow the curve of the tire. Where it mounts to the swing arm there are two plates which have been added to the side edges of the curved steel support that acts like a couple of rigid mounted 'forks' that accepts the swing arm section. Then it is welded together making a sort of box section with the swing arm for strength. Imagine a bigger version of shifter forks and you'll get the picture. This also has the result of standing off the bottom of the fender from the swing arm, so you can get the fender to better follow the profile of your tire, as you are moving the bottom of it closer to the tire. A bit more measuring and thought there to get the distance right. Then the whole plot follows in a smooth curve. The rear fender also has a re-enforcing plate welded to it for strength.

      The fender was fitted to this set up by drilling and tapping the curved steel support so that no nuts were used underneath, just make sure you use 'locktite'. There really was no room for nuts under there. The single support on the drive side is from a Sportster shifter set up. This was modified and used to take any shake out of the fender when the bike was running. It had the benefit of being adjustable too, so that if a different profile tire was ever used the fender could be fine tuned to fit as close.
      Hope that helps.
      Brian

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  4. I know this is an old posting but I love this shovel. I'm building a 78 FX now and wanted to know who makes the head pipes you are using and if you know the part number. Thanks!

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  5. quite possibly one of the most beautiful bikes i've seen-and it's sprung,not rigid!

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  6. David, the header pipes are Paughco items. I cannot remember the part number, sorry. The muffler is a cheap after market shorty chopper pot, cost about £12.oo.

    Michael, glad you like it. Sorry to say that I sold it a while ago. One of those, why did I do that??? things. And yes I miss it, but you have to move on, or back or sideways,or whatever.
    Brian

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  7. I dont know if you will even read this being so old of a post. But you did a beautiful build on this bike. I'm picking up a 1980 FX in a week Is there any way possible you could tell me what all you did to get the stance like that? This is my first Harley and you brought a visual to the look I've been in visioning. Great job bro.

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