Phil took those pancakes home, and with the help of stepson Jeff Holmes, combined the two smooshed H-Ds into one beautiful new bike. “My stepfather had to buy all new cases, a new frame…he replaced a lot of stuff,” said Jeff.

Jeff, who lives in Spring Valley, Arkansas, visits his stepfather in Nebraska every year and was on hand for the transformation. “We started with a Paughco frame and added S&S crank cases, 1971 Rocker boxes, a Wide Glide front end and an electric ignition,” Jeff said. They replaced nearly everything, from the transmission, exhaust, choke kit, oil lines, and forward controls to the main wiring harness. They added 19″ custom chrome apes, bullet blinkers and a custom chrome headlight, a heavy duty kicker arm, a cast dash face plate, a GMA rear brake, and a Mustang seat, and a whole lot more. In short, they reconstructed the entire bike, and when they were done, they painted the whole thing Plum Crazy Purple with iridescent flames.

That all happened several years ago. When Phil decided to sell the Shovelhead in 2007, Jeff was in the market for a bigger Harley than the ’71 Ironhead he was riding. “I just always liked that bike,” he said. “My stepfather was getting too old for it. It’s a Shovel, so it vibrates like crazy. He decided to get a Road King.” Jeff bought the Shovelhead.

Jeff always loved the look of the bike, and as soon as he purchased it he began entering it in shows — and winning. “My stepfather would give me a hard time about it, since it was originally his. He said I had to give him the trophies, and half the money,” Jeff laughed.

He rides the bike as much as he can; to and from work, bar hopping, to rallies and just pleasure cruising. Jeff is proud of every ding, dent, and battle scar. Sometimes, wife Sheila rides on the back. He’s added about 8200 miles to the speedometer since he bought it, with no plans on stopping. He’s also dreaming of building a bobber in the near future.

There’s been a lot of flooding in this little corner of the Ozarks in recent weeks. The rains have washed out Jeff’s driveway and he’s chomping at the bit to get back on his Shovelhead. “It’s killing me,” he said. He was laughing when he said it, but you could really feel his pain.