Flash forward five or six decades and what’s considered Old School today was no-school to me until the late ‘60s when real (and often half-ass) custom builds began to occasionally show up on the streets of the industrial town I lived in. If a fine-looking bobber like our feature bike ever passed through my town, it would have knocked me over seeing it go by. Instead of a minty-fresh green paintjob like this bike’s sporting, it always seemed like all the bobbed Harleys of my time were still pretty much beat-up police bike black. Maybe somebody might hand-paint a skull and crossbones or their club’s name somewhere on the bike, but otherwise they were not modern day flashy ─ more blue collar affordable and capable of hitting the road if they could get it started.
Jack Cofano found this lovely bobber sitting around looking handsome as hell at the recent Smoke Out 17 and when it popped up in his photo gallery I was immediately intrigued as this bobber’s got it all going on as far as what my ideal “Old School” bobber would be like. I love the fenderless fat-tired look of the 16-inch classic laced wheel up front that perfectly matches the one out back. Same goes for the reproduction 5.00×16 Firestone Deluxe Champion tires with a squared-off classic tread pattern that brings real Old School to modern day builds. I don’t know why, but it just looks right to me and apparently to a lot of you too. Harley’s runaway success with the Sportster Forty-Eight has got to be mainly due to that lusciously plump front wheel.
The rigid frame this bike wears so well is definitely street ready with a minimal rake for real world handling approaching a stock Harley street bike. The short, but attractively angled chromed springer just looks perfect in this setting. Old School simplicity and nostalgic good looks make it a winner in my book. A huge single disc out back worked on by Performance Machine’s burly four-pot caliper brings the whoa to the go and even looks good too.
Speaking of “go” and I now am, the Harley Shovelhead engine sitting front and center is a beauty if there ever was one. The polished and chromed finish is impeccable while the exquisitely beautiful Throwback Cycle Parts heavily-finned Shovelhead rocker box covers puts this particular Shovel right in there with a nice Knucklehead when it comes to looks. Throwback’s cast aluminum Bird Blocker air cleaner and stunning finned and cut front pulley cover completes the nostalgic view and, honestly, this is one of the prettiest Shovelheads I’ve ever-ever seen. It’s got an Art Deco feel to it that reminds me of the Chrysler building more than a product of AMF times. Short, fat, and straight-back dual headers completes the picture and lets you know when this baby’s come to life with a sound only a Shovel can make. It’s a gem of an engine build that’s museum quality and might make most people wonder what kind of an ancient Harley engine this is.
Tinwork is minimal but every square inch of it is pretty. There’s nothing there that you haven’t seen something like before, but the package is wrapped in bodywork that looks natural without trying to look natural. It just is from fender to fuel tank to oil tank. What some did just to add their own touch in the form of ribbing on the fuel tank and fender and those lovely end caps for the oil tank. They made it theirs within the unmarked boundaries of retro style. Covering all of this up in minty green paint is a knockout surprise in a perfect hue that lends this bike an air of timelessness. It’s not trying to be anything other than its lovely self and it doesn’t need to because somebody somewhere had great taste and knew what they were doing. The overall design and execution is right up there with the best classic Old School builders. Little touches like the rear struts and those gorgeous handlebars that just grow out of the springer shows me the builder had it all going on.
Like they say about potentially being disappointed when you meet your heroes in the flesh, that could have happened here to if a line was out of place or a poor parts choice made. I’d be all over it to show my ‘superior’ taste. None of that happened anywhere on this build and the unknown builder is now on my list of unknown heroes. This bike has got it in spades and meeting my dream bobber has not left me disappointed in any way. You can’t ask for much more than that.