Custom creation: Shovel board tracker

Walter Trout or Wal, as most folks up the north-east of Tasmania know him, had good reason to smile when the sound of the final siren blasted from the radio perched on the bench in his shed. The mighty “Hawks” were playing just down the road at Aurora Stadium and had just kick off their 2014 AFL season with a 48-point win over the Brisbane Lions.

For most of the afternoon he’d been tinkering with his bikes in the shed listening to the game. Sometime during the third quarter while thumbing through the pages of an old bike magazine he spotted a picture of a pretty trick custom bike with a Shovel engine and momentarily paused to glance at his old Shovel engine under the bench.

For some time he’d been tossing around the idea of building his own custom ride. After all, he had that old shovel engine out of an ‘80 FX that he’d ridden for years, sitting under his bench collecting dust. What a great starting point for the first build he’d often contemplated and, right there, shortly before the end of the third quarter, he decided that bike from the magazine was the style of ride he was after.

Kitchen capers
After some extensive research Wal decided to use a Paugcho S131 rigid frame with a 30-degree rake for the backbone of the project. As he was chasing a classic old bobber look, he decided on a Replica UL Springer fork assembly with a 21-inch 40-spoke rim to complete the front.

The rolling chassis was taking shape nicely and, with the old Shovel engine sitting in the mocked-up frame, Wal was pretty excited about the progress and how well it was all coming together. However, his excitement hit a brick wall when he removed the tank he was going to use for the project from his old Fatbob and sat it on the Paugcho frame.

“It just looked so ugly. I knew it wasn’t going to work so I went home somewhat dejected that day. Nevertheless, a few days later I was at the kitchen table with a big polystyrene block and roughly hacked out a rather crude square shaped tank. It looked really slick right from the get-go.

“Right then the theme changed to build something would resemble a board tracker,” Wal added rather passionately. “So then everything happened around a fuel tank.”

MIG pilot
“This tank is about the sixth one I’ve made,” Wal explained.

“Look, I’m not a welder or sheet metal worker by any means. I’d originally engaged an experienced fabricator to build the tank, but after six months of waiting I’d nothing to show and really got sick of his shallow promises.

"Consequently I bit the bullet, went out and purchased a MIG welder then taught myself how to weld. After that I figured out through a lot of experimentation and persistence how to build a tank from scratch. Once I’d mastered the art of creating two identical halves the tank came together quite easily.”

In order to give the tank that J-Model period look, Wal required a small box to house the switchgear, which would operate the bike’s electrics. He found the solution in the form of a $10 chocolate tin from the famous Goulay’s Sweet shop in Launceston.

“It was the perfect fit. It also became a convenient place to terminate and house all the electrical wires. I wanted to the keep the handlebars free of wires and retain a clean, neat look similar to the original board track racers, yet still be a practical and street-legal ride.”

Market find
To keep with the period look of the tank, he also added the fuel primer and oil pump, which were common on J-Models of the early 1920s. Wal has cleverly disguised the fuel tank breathers in these two custom pieces, and if you look closely you’ll notice that they have tiny holes drilled under the top which allows air to flow in and out of the tank.

“My good friend Hank VanTurner did all the lathe work for this build,” Wal explained.

"He turned up all the brass work including all the lights. The headlight is actually an old brass potpourri bowl I found at the markets one Sunday morning that managed to pick it up for a few dollars. Hank machined all the brackets up out of solid brass to mount it as well the retaining ring to hold the 12-volt light in place.

“Hank also machined all the handle bar risers and clamps. The idea was to keep everything at the front of the bike really clean. So we came up with the idea of mounting the speedo cable on the rear wheel assembly where the brake caliper would traditionally be located.

"This forced us to use an 11.5-inch sprocket/disc combination which came with a four-piston caliper. Hank machined up a suitable spacer and milled a slot to receive the speedo’s drive lugs. Not only did it function as we’d expected but it really looked neat too.”

The front brake lever and brake reservoir are Roland Sands Design, coupled to a single spot Performance Machine caliper and rotor.

Kick off
Wal was keen to ensure his old 1980 Shovel engine would deliver enough power to honour the legacy of a board track racer. Back in the ’80s, Wal had tweaked the engine up with a set of Andrews B grind cams and S&S Super E carby, which gave it substantially more punch to tackle the terrain in Tasmania with a tenacious attitude.

Even though that Shovel engine was still in running condition, Wal reckoned it was time for it to have another freshen up. He sent it up to Lewis Cooper in Hillwood, where the engine was stripped down, balanced and rebuilt.

“To keep it really a traditional old school bike I didn’t install the electric starter motor, it’s kick-start only. Thankfully it’s easy to start and ticks over nicely after the first kick."

Primary concern
Getting the power promptly to the back wheel is a task Wal trusted to a Belt Drive Limited (BDL) three-inch open belt primary drive. Rollies Speed Shop in Brisbane was really helpful with information when it came to sourcing the BDL primary drive.

“There’s an old physics law that states everything at rest or in motion tries to stay in that state until an outside force works upon it. For instance, on a bike when you twist the throttle, the engine accelerates. Then it has to move all the components connecting the engine to the tranny, the tranny itself, and finally the rear drive and wheel.

"However because of this, it takes a certain amount of power to make that change and a certain amount of time to accelerate the mass of all the components. Consequently if I could reduce the mass of the primary drive then engine doesn’t have to work as hard, and it will accelerate faster, which is the theory behind installing the open belt primary. Plus it looks pretty cool too."

Hidden talents
Tassie Choppers’ Scotty Nation got the task of wiring the bike, and he did magic job hiding all the wiring.

The distressed twisted metal used on the foot pegs, jockey shift and rear guard mounts were machined and fabricated from pieces of steel that Wal had a visiting blacksmith from America create.

"It’s worth having a look at the speedo face to; it’s a one of a kind. I built that before Hank came on the scene.

“I’m a sign writer by trade so designing the etchings for the brass oil-tank end and air cleaner cover were some of the easier parts of the build. The tank decal is one of my originals, too.”

Wal painted the bike himself with satin black finish on the frame, tins and engine to complement the aged brass components.

“The build number JS-001 signifies the J-model style with a Shovel engine and the 001 is my first build. You’ll notice that I’ve added Hank’s name to the oil tank.”

One thing Wal was adamant about is that he built the bike to be ridden, not hidden. And if you look closely around the base of the bike you can see the signs of hard rides.

“It’s surprisingly comfortable to ride for hard-tail bike,” Wal admitted.

“I fitted those little chopper shocks to the seat which I picked up in the States, and now it's got a few thousand kays on it they’ve settled down and it's as comfortable as a modern Softail to ride.

“By the way I’m keen to start building JS-002 if anyone is interested…” Wal said as he through a leg over his ride, shifted the jockey lever to engage first gear and clutched off into the traffic."

SPECS: SHOVEL BOARD TRACKER
Model: JS 001
Owner: Walter Trout
Builder: VanTurner & Trout Motor Co

Engine
Type: 1980 Shovel
Cams: Andrews B Grind
Pushrods/Valves/Springs: S&S
Carburetor: S&S Super E
Exhaust: VanTurner & Trout Motor Co
Starter: Kick

Transmission
Type: H-D four-speed
Clutch: BDL
Primary drive: Three-inch Open Belt BDL
Rear drive: Chain

Wheels and tyres
Rims: Paugcho 40-spoke, front 21-inch, rear 16-inch
Tyres: Dunlop
Front brake: Single spot with Performance Machine caliper
Rear brake: Four-piston with Sprokster 11.5-inch caliper

Frame and suspension
Frame: Paugcho S131
Rake: 30 degrees
Front end: Replica UL Springer
Trees: VanTurner & Trout Motor Co
Seat: Chopper Shox

Controls
Bars: One-inch VanTurner & Trout Motor Co
Switchgear: VanTurner & Trout Motor Co
Levers: Roland Sands Design
Grips: One-inch rubber
Mirror: Brass-VanTurner & Trout Motor Co
Pegs: Custom – twisted steel
Lights: Brass-VanTurner & Trout Motor Co
Speedo : VanTurner & Trout Motor Co

Guards and tin work
Rear guard: Jimmy Curtis – Launceston
Fuel tank: Walter Trout
Control box: Gourlay’s Chocolate Tin
Oil tank: VanTurner & Trout Motor Co

Paint and finish
Painter: Walter Trout
Decals: Walter Trout