Angry White Roy’s Shovelhead

We have a 1984 Shovelhead in the shop and have been unhappy with the primary system and the stock starter system. Then our Sturgis Shovel ran into some problems with the RevTech 5-speed with the kicker. It had something to do with the main-shaft and the angle of the tapered end.

Just recently, I ran across a BDL system designed to remove the stock chain primary and replace it with a belt and an Evo-style starter. I started to discuss it with Scott at BDL. I also mentioned it to Kent at Lucky Devil Metal Works in Houston, who is working on our Bonneville Salt Torpedo. He sent me these shots of this super clean Paughco framed chopper, a classic example. It also contains a BDL primary system mated to a Baker 6-in-a-4-speed transmission with a tapered main-shaft, connected to a 93-inch S&S saved Shovelhead engine. I was intrigued.

As it turns out, this bike is a very good example of how to save your Shovelhead and make it nearly as reliable as an Evo. Just as my investigative nature took over, Houston was hit with 7 inches of rain in four hours.

“I tried to reach out to the owner, Angry White Roy,” Kent said. “Then it dawned on me, he lives in the lower area of the city. I hope he’s cool.”

Kent recently moved his shop fortunately to higher ground, so we continued our effort to share this info with all the Shovel owners of the world.

“This project was set up with BDL’s 3-inch open belt dive system,” explained Kent. “It allows the use of a modern starter; however, I understand the client loves to show off his finely tuned machine by using the kick pedal most of the time.”

This bike was delivered as a mocked-up roller to Kent at Lucky Devil Metal Works. Roy explained what had been done so far. A new transmission and the semi-rebuilt engine were mated to a new stretched Paughco rigid frame and an 8-over 41mm glide held in place with Paughco trees and risers and bars.

This BDL system perfectly aligned the driveline and held a late model Spike Evo-styled starter back slightly and down to allow for the Paughco oil bag to be mounted securely without spacing issues.

In addition, the BDL inner primary replaced the stock exposed ball bearing race with a long-lasting, no-maintenance sealed bearing. In the past, if a guy was going to run anything without oil, he would be forced to grease the stock bearing, then frequently pull his clutch system to re-grease that damn bearing.

Affording a Shovel an Evo starter is a major improvement. Starting capacity is stronger. Those old goofy Shovel solenoids were constant problems. We have a tech on the site about adjusting and spacing the stock solenoid. If it’s not just right, it will fail to start. Plus, there are absolutely no issues with an Evo Starter.

Every 500 kit includes the very latest in clutch technology with BDL’s own patented BALL BEARING CLUTCH. The state of the art design offers up to 30% more contact surface, reduced lever pull, smother transition, super quiet operation and flawless clutch engagement. Instead of a 5 in a 4 Shovel, our special gear ratio allows the 4-speed to come of the line with power and affords great highway performance and mileage.
Available in Polished (not shown), Black (B) and Clear Anodize (CA).

Kent remounted the Paughco oil bag with some slight changes. He dropped the battery tray slightly to afford more space for a larger battery, and he made the oil bag mount solely to the frame and not the rear fender for a cleaner look.

We discussed Shovelhead and often Evo driveline alignment. We bolt the rear of the engine mounts down hard to see if any shims are needed in the front. Once shimmed and bolted to the front motor mounts, the solid BDL inner primary is bolted securely in place to the engine and the face of the trans. The Paughco trans mounting plate is bolted to the frame, but not the transmission.

At this point, Kent studied the position of the transmission for any shimming needs. I’ve seen some amazing positions. Sometimes, the rear of the trans is fine, but shimming is needed in the front.

“My test is with the billet BDL inner primary,” Kent said. “If the inner primary slips comfortably off the engine and transmission, nothing is stressed.”

Much of these notions come from the late Phil Ross of SuperMax Belt Drives, one of the original founders of belt drive technology. Belt drive alignment is critical. During this operation, installing the clutch and engine pulley require some tools.

BDL makes a fantastic tool for mounting the clutch and holding it perfectly in place during tightening. JIMS makes a tool for stock applications, and Kent machined an aluminum version for aluminum belt pulleys.

For all Big Twin 1980 to Present, H-D or aftermarket Transmission Pulleys including H-D 6-speed cruise Drive

Use to remove all final drive belt sprockets on Big Twins.

CAUTION: Nut is a left-hand thread on 5-speed. 6-speed Cruise Drive has right hand threads.

1. Refer to H-D Service Manual for specifications.
2. To remove nut, attach tool to sprocket and place handle of tool on top of
the pivot shaft, inboard of the bottom frame tube. On Cruise Drive, con
tact bottom of pivot shaft.
3. Snug up the thumbscrew to hold tool position on the sprocket.
4. When tightening nut, the handle of the tool will contact bottom of pivot
shaft on 5-speeds. For Cruise Drive 6-speed, handle should contact the top of pivot shaft. Tighten to H-D specifications using JIMS Sprocket Nut Tool No.94660-37A for and 5-speeds, or JIMS No.989 for any H-D 6- speed Cruise Drive transmissions.

While we are on the rear end of the driveline, we will mention the Baker N-1 drum, which allowed Roy to enjoy a comfortable jockey shifting experience. The N-1 puts neutral at the bottom of the shifting system, so it’s a breeze to find neutral securely in any suicide-clutch situation. Just shift to the end and you’re in neutral.

Cone-motor Shovelheads are very similar to Evos, minus internal top-end oiling and head configuration. I know that’s a simplification, but it’s close. When the engine arrived Roy said, “The lower end is cool; you just need to install the S&S 93-inch top end and rock.”

Kent has a code and a procedure he performs for each of his clients to insure the bike is truly running tops when his customer rides away. “I only get paid to do it once,” Kent pointed out.

In this case, he discovered a silicone coated main-shaft seal. “I don’t know why they didn’t replace the seal,” Kent said. His concern drove him to remove the cam cover and he discovered damage around the breather vent. They could have welded the cases, but chose to replace them with pure S&S replacement crankcases, and they ordered a high volume, low-pressure S&S oil pump.

Here’s info on S&S Replacement Cases:

With a little more funds, he would have replaced the lifters, cam followers, and pushrods and eliminated the separate top end oiling system. We both agreed about the 93-inch S&S configuration for a very fast, reliable, and well-balanced Shovelhead engine. There is a complete S&S 93-inch engine build tech on Bikernet.

Kent had the lower-end balanced and the pistons Teflon coated for durability. “It gets hot as hell around here,” said Kent.

The whole top end was S&S with the exception of the rocker boxes. S&S boxes are also a massive improvement, designed with two halves like Evos and they use Evo technology plus roller rockers, but Roy stuck with stock, which isn’t bad except for the chroming business. Stock boxes are porous castings and are tough to chrome.

“Once the battery was in place, we made a custom clutch lever to work with the foot clutch system,” Kent said. “Giving it a little length also gave it a bit of leverage over the clutch springs, improving foot-clutch control. Along with one of Bert’s N-1 shift drums, it is as good as it gets if you ask me.”

Kent also mounted the rear fender sorta like a front fender with the tab reaching the frame rails. He also trims many fenders with round stock to give them additional strength. He added another tab to the side-mounted license plate bracket for additional support, and extended the classic Paughco Shotgun pipes for the perfect fit.

This all-black puppy is as clean as they come, reliable and classic.

Regular Stuff

Owner: Angry White Roy

Bike Name: Black Betty

Builder: Lucky Devil Metal Works

City/state: Magnolia, Texas

Company Info:
Address: 38201 F.M. 1774 Suite # M4
Phone: 281-477-3590

Web site: www.luckydevilmetalworks.com
E-mail: metalfreaks@luckydevilmetalworks.com

Manufacturing

Fabrication: Kent Weeks

Welding: Kent

Machining: Kent

Engine

Year: 2012

Make: S&S and Harley Davidson

Model: Shovelhead Chopper

Displacement: 93-inch

Builder or Rebuilder: Lucky Devil Metal Works

Cases: S&S

Case finish: silver bead blast

Barrels: S&S

Bore: 3 5/8-inch

Pistons: S&S

Barrel finish: gloss black

Lower end: S&S

Stroke: 41/2-inch

Rods: S&S

Heads: S&S

Head finish: silver bead blast

Valves and springs: S&S

Pushrods: S&S

Cams: S&S 585

Lifters: solid

Carburetion: S&S E

Air cleaner: S&S

Exhaust: molested Paughco

Transmission

Year: 2012

Make: Baker Drivetrain

Gear configuration: 6-in-4-speed

Primary: BDL 3-inch open belt

Clutch: BDL

Final drive: Chain

Kicker: Baker

Frame

Year: 2012

Builder: Paughco

Style or Model: Swedish Style

Stretch: 8-inch

Rake: 40

Modifications: none

Front End

Make: Paughco

Model: 41mm

Year: 2012

Length: 12-over

Mods: none

Sheet metal

Tanks: Molested sporty tank

Fenders: custom-fabricated rear fender, trimmed with 3/16-inch round stock

Panels:

Oil tank: molested Paughco

Other:

Paint

Sheet metal: Black

Molding: Lucky Devil

Base coat: Dupont

Graphics: none

Frame: black

Molding: Lucky Devil

Base coat: Dupont

Graphics or art: none

Special effects: deep clear coat finish

Wheels

Front

Make: CCI

Size: 16-inch

Brake calipers: Performance machine

Brake rotor(s): CCI

Tire: Metzeler

Rear

Make: CCI

Size: 16-inch

Brake calipers: Performance machine

Brake rotor: CCI

Pulley: PBI aluminum sprocket

Tire: Metzeler

Controls

Foot controls: legends

Finish: Chrome

Master cylinder: legends

Brake lines: SS braided and coated

Handlebar controls: Performance Machine

Finish: Chrome

Clutch Cable: foot clutch

Brake Lines: stainless steel braided and coated

Shifting: hand shift (N1 shift drum)

Kickstand: CCI

Electrical

Ignition: Dyna S

Ignition switch: Keyed in the neck gusset

Coils: Accel

Regulator: CCI

Charging: Spike

Starter: Spike

Wiring: Lucky Devil

Harness: Custom

Headlight: Paughco

Taillight: CCI cat eye

Accessory lights: no

Electrical accessories: none

Switches: Nope

Battery: 12-volt

What’s Left?

Seat: customer supplied 

Mirror(s): CCI

Gas caps: CCI

Handlebars: Paughco

Grips: legends

Pegs: legends

Oil filter: Oil tank mounted ( Paughco )

Oil cooler: V-Twin

Oil lines: black braided

Fuel filter: CCI

Fuel Lines: S&S

Throttle: Performance Machine

Throttle cables: SS braided & Coated

Fasteners: Gardner W

Specialty items: Most of the work done was with the intention of keeping it clean and simple such as the tail light plate mount and custom rear fender

Comments: She is not a fancy girl but I had a hard time turning over to her owner!

Credits: As always, I give most of the credit to our clients for letting me help bring dreams like this to life. . . .and my wife for letting me spend so much time in the shop!