Built by Tim Scates for his daughter (she must be pretty hard core) it’s called Amy’s Twisted Bobber and one look at the downtube on Tim’s custom frame and I think you get the picture. But, it’s not what you think. Nope, Tim didn’t twist that, but found it. It’s a forged bit of 1.5-inch solid steel from the 1800s that’s been repurposed into the beefy round-tubing rigid frame. A starkly cleaned and heavily chromed telescopic fork holds a 21-inch round-shoulder rim laced to a spool hub with not a brake in sight.

Out back a lone caliper does its best stopping the classic 16-inch laced wheel with a (Shinko?) replica of the classic Goodyear Speed Grip tire. Besides looking right, this tall sidewall also allows for a better ride trough low rear tire pressure. Hey, every bit counts on a rigid.

    Even though Tim likes to repurpose parts as well as fabricate them, sometimes I wonder if it’d be just easier to start from scratch. But that’s me talking and not Tim. Take that very different take on a gas tank for instance. Tim started with an old gas can and used to top to work around until he had a nice round container that still had all the stampings from the original can. Very cool stuff right there.

    Other repurposed parts were used elsewhere like the ’36 Ford spare tire housing he modified into the rear fender. That’s just Old School cool stuff. Or the Hurst floor shifter handles that got a new life as foot controls. Or maybe the 1920s cop car spotlight that’s now a headlight or the ’56 Caddy air vent that became an air cleaner or the WWI trench knife that now lives a carefree life of shifting the four-speed gearbox. Cool things have a second life at Tim’s work bench.

    Tim’s oil tank looked rather large to me until I noticed those lines running to the long exhaust pipes that run straight back past the tip of the tire that look like plug wires and caps. No, it’s not the first Shovelhead with an 02 sensor, but for shooting flames for 20 to 60 feet behind bike. That’s one option The Motor Company has never sold from what I can gather. Man is Amy gonna have fun with that.

    Of course I can’t leave out the 1997 Harley-Davidson 74-inch Shovelhead that has little externally to do with a stock one other than basic Shovelhead architecture. Anything with a fin as part of its DNA has been powdercoated green and then Diamond Cut. What’s left like rocker, pushrod tubes, etc. has been engraved to within an inch of its life including the lovely split rocker boxes that never get old. A narrow belt open primary brings on the vintage spirit through the green and chrome.

    Speaking of green, there was no attempt at a classic paintjob when you’re spraying it bright Dodge Viper green. That paint must have a radioactive half-life like plutonium the way it glows whether it’s in the sun or under show lights. Some very classy gold leafing adds the proper amount of spice to something that’s already spiced up.

   The nice part of this bike is that it can be ridden although not too far on that tank. My only bitch about a bike this nice is how much time I’d have to spend cleaning it to keep it looking so fresh. With this exquisitely built Shovelhead bobber, that’s a problem I just might be willing to take on.