w
hen I first spotted Shadd Reed’s 45 at Willie’s ChopperTime d u r i n g Biketoberfest, I was blown away by all the details on this little race bike. The stance, the style, the raw metal… it’s an all-around cool bike. Then to see this bike go around the New Smyrna Speedway during Sons of Speed…. all I can say is wow!
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February ‘22 - March ‘22 - CYCLE SOURCE MAGAZINE
Shadd specifically built this bike to race in Billy Lane’s Sons of Speed, and he did so not having any background in racing. He’d never raced anything before the October 2021 event. Shadd started by making the frame first. From there, he then built up the 45 motor. He wouldn’t tell me everything that went into that, but he did say he “flowed it out” and installed better bearings in it.
Most everything on the bike is handmade, including the primary housing. The tanks are polished cast tanks that came raw and without mounting tabs. After the first few rounds on the track, Reed swapped out front ends because he didn’t like the way the original one handled. When I asked him what he thought about his first racing experience, Shadd said that at first, it was scary, then exciting, and so intense. He will
