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The Shovelhead is a 78' FXE. “I bought it only because it had a good motor in it, everything else was so funky on it. It had a King Sporty tank in bare metal, the forks were about 12” over, the rear wheel on it now was the actually the front wheel and it had a 16” in the back. So you can just imagine how funky of a look it had with a wide front wheel with a 12 over glide.” So Rene went to work and put his own touches into the bike. The bike had a full fender which Rene has since removed and modified to fit another bike he has got going in his shop. “The front wheel I ended up putting in the rear.
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That’s the only reason it’s on there, because I would never have gone with a 18” aluminum wide wheel like that. That’s just not my style. But it kind of just worked out that way and it works. Everything on that bike is just stuff I have laying around the garage and swap meet finds.” Other modifications include the rear fender which is actually a Vulcan front fender. The stock strut is cut and reformed. “A lot of people are tripping out on that.
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This is something I’ve always done. This is kind of the formula that I always go by.” There is full travel in the shocks as Rene has used a 12” shock. “They look so much lower because the way the fender sits on the tire. You create that illusion, that’s what it’s all about. Normally everything I build is super low. My thing is to get them as low as you can possibly get them.” The Bates front light is also another swap meet find. “ My thing is to try not to buy stuff out of the big catalogs for parts. I rather get a Harley part and modify it.”
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The second part of the story will continue with the 68 Sportster.