Lil Ben's Pan Shovel

in everyone’s life, some rain must fall, as the saying goes. For if it is the good times that give us cause to celebrate, it is the hard times that test our mettle. Like most good stories the tale of this machine has it all, life at its best, unhappiness, love, and how we survive from day to day. With that being said, it all started with a phone call. I got a ring from my friend Boris (RIP) that he was getting ready to dump a bunch of his old parts including the drivetrain out of his Shovel-Pan chop. He was in a bit of a financial crunch and it was time to clear the 40 plus years of parts he had accumulated. But there was a catch in that Boris did not want to craigslist, eBay or swap meet the parts. It was to be sold only to righteous guys that we knew. When the day came that the large stash was whittled down to just a small assortment, he approached me about buying the engine and transmission out of his chop. I had just spent a chunk of money on a different Pan motor and tranny and it was just outside of my financial reach as well. So, I bent the ear of my friend and fellow Milwaukee bar explorer Ben Marx (aka Lil Ben) and told him of the possibility of this drivetrain he had been searching for becoming a reality. It wasn’t too hard to convince Boris that Ben was a good guy and would do the bike right. So, with a bit of Milwaukee justice juice flowing through our veins on a rainy cold day in Boris’ garage the deal was struck.

Ben spent a couple of weeks pulling the heart out of the beast and then it was time for phase 2. Ben had the heart now he needed the bones. Thanks to a chance meeting many years prior at BMR, Ben made fast friends with a fellow chopper jock named Jason Fergusson of Texas Bike Works, and through the years they stayed in touch. When it came time for Jason to update

the frame jig at his shop, he sent the old one up to Ben. They made a gentleman’s agreement that when the time came for Ben to learn how to realign a frame Jason would head up to help. So, a plane ticket was purchased, and up to the north, he came. Ben had a 53’ frame that he found for $200, but it was basically bent in an L. After a long two days, Ben and Jason got the frame back in order and put in the distinctive double hourglass downtubes and windowed neck. To show off all the beautiful welds, there was no molding or filling done. The frame was polished by Matt Drew and Lil Ben and then sent off to Waukesha Plating for the rich nickel finish

Originally Ben used the donor Shovel-Pan with a Super E carb, and it survived and thrived for almost four years. It is a simple machine with great lines and simplicity that can turn heads and impress the panties right off the ladies. One fine afternoon while Ben he decided to leave the shop a bit early, and while jamming over the Hoan bridge, he turned the head of a certain blonde hottie who couldn’t take her eyes and mind off the hairy maniac on that fine machine. And though these crazy kids didn’t know it at this time, their destinies would be twined together by this very machine. So much so that it was only two weeks before their wedding when most people would be worried about tuxes and flowers, Ben was pulling the top end off of his motor to get it wedding-ready. In fact, it was only a day before the celebration that he was fixing a gushing base gasket thanks to some last minute extra help from Charlie over at Competition Cycle to get it sealed and make the day right.

Let’s get back to the bike, starting at the front;

the narrow glide was a gift from Gold Rush alum, Rick Ness. After a trip to the cut hut, it was shaved cleaned and highly polished. The front wheel was relaced with a ball-shaped spool hub, and it gave the wheel that oh so cool look. Because Ben had only two handlebar dies, he had to make the best of the situation. He crafted the simple but effective control perches; they work so

well that others have copied the simple and effective design. The next thing we notice is the gas tank; it came to Ben in a swap of services, he traded welding up a seat pan to Byker Jym and the zero tunnel Wassel tank was his. He then sent it over to Kendall to get the heavy coat of smooth black in preparation for the work of Peej to accent the lines of that tank. Further back Ben made his

owner: Ben Marx City/State: Milwaukee, WI Builder: Owner year: 1957 Model: FL/Pan Time: Still Evolving value: Too Much For A Broke Guy

ENGINE Year: 1957 Model: FLH Builder: Owner Ignition: Stock Displacement: 74” With 10:1 Pistons Pistons: Stock Heads: Stock Carb: Linkert M74B Cam: Andrews Air Cleaner: Bird Deflector Exhaust: Stock W/ Flash Gordon Muffler Primary: 1.5” Rivera Primo

TRANSMISSION year: 1950 make: Harley-Davidson® Shifting: 4 Speed Backwards

FRAME year: 1953 make: Harley-Davidson® rake: Stock stretch: Stock

forks builder: Ownre Type: Sportster, Shaved/Cut Triple trees: Stock extension: None

WHEELS Front Wheel: Harley-Davidson® Size: 21” tire: Avon Speedmaster Front brake: Spool rear Wheel: Harley-Davidson® rear Wheel Size: 16” Tire: Avon Speedmaster Rear Brake: Mechanical Drum

PAINT Painter: Kendall Color: Black Deather type: graphics: Peej & Kruse chroming: None

ACCESSORIES Bars: Owner risers: hand controls: Barnett foot controls: Stock Rocker Gas Tank(s): Wassel Zero Tunnel Front fender: None rear Fender: V-Twin,Narrowed Seat: Pierce St Seat Co. Oil Tank: Stock Headlight: Ayers Rectangle tail light: Ayers Repop W/ Glass Lens Speedo: None

the seat pan and sissy bar out of a hunk of stainless he was able to scrounge. Luckily, he got it right on the first try because he didn’t have the dough to do it again! Then he sent it over to Adam at THE place in Milwaukee to get proper upholstery done, Pierce Street Seats; he wrapped it in the rich leather that has held up excellent and still looks fantastic after all these years. The rear fender is a V Twin special that Ben cut, narrowed and reprofiled with the help of Willard and Miller High Life, to fit correctly around the stock rear mechanical wheel that was provided by Pete Matthews. Pete was also the source for the rocker clutch setup, the floorboards, as well as the Pan heads that now reside on this fine machine. Once all this work was done, it took only seven wires to light the fires and move the tires. And move it does! In fact, Ben beat this little Pan all the way to Sturgis a couple of years ago to celebrate its 75th anniversary.

Ben would like to say thanks to a slew of people that made this bike happen. First and foremost, his wife Lori and son Ryder for putting up with the BS and long hours away. Charlie for all the help with the mechanical work, Kendall, Kruse, and Peej for the paint and striping. Jump for his insights and skills. Jason for his tireless help, Teach, Budda, Phil, Waukesha Plating, Adam at Pierce St, Milwaukee Mike, Miller High Life and of course Boris, although he is gone, a small part of him is still riding with us as we explore the back roads and alleys of our neck of the woods and Ben will be doing it on Hard Times!

Article By: Xavier Muriel

reetings Brothers and Sisters!!!! Man, is it me or is this year just flying by? It seems like it was yesterday I was writing about Daytona Bike Week and all its attractions. It’s almost Thanksgiving again, and I remember the flight home from the east coast after the last show of 2016. I was thinking that I might wanna take 2017 off to enjoy some down time and do some serious riding and work on my S&S build. I remember having this crazy idea that I might get bored. Ha! Man was I way off!!!! This year has been filled with more bike events and races than I ever imagined. I’m so Grateful to have been able to have done so much this year that sometimes like the road; it’s all a blur... I’ve done exactly what I had wished for. I spent the year with so many friends and family; I feel my life has been blessed with memories that I will never forget.

At the very top of that list was being an invited as a builder to the inaugural “In Motion’’ show at this year’s Lone Star Rally in Galveston Texas. Now, you must excuse me as I’m a very, very proud Texan, and like most things in Texas it was HUGE. I’ve been away from the events in Texas for a long time and was so excited to see that the Lone Star State can still throw a party. Even

gafter the horrible hurricane that caused so much devastation, the people of my home state didn’t let it crash the party. So, to all my Brothers and Sisters in Texas, my hat is off to ya, you make me proud. Now let me paint a picture for you about this build off. First off, to say that the builders that were invited were among the nation’s best is an understatement in itself. These are the industry’s leading guys who have been doing this for quite a while and have many accolades to prove it. As a guy who has been not only inspired as well as coached by some of these pros to be asked to stand toe to toe with them was, well let’s just say I ran the gamete of every emotion possible from concern to outright giddiness! As I had hoped, not only for the building sake for the human sake of it, every one of them showed exceptional kindness and support.

There’s always an heir of competition with these things; it’s no different than being on a huge Festival with tons of amazing bands that are all out to play their best. I honestly can say that there were more ohhhs and ahhhs at each other’s creations than there were funny vibes. That was incredibly refreshing and cool. Each builder had to ride his bike on a shakedown ride, and not just a little put down the alley; we had to ride the suckers. There were no glorified paperweights here... Riding in that pack on something that I had built pretty much by myself was one of the most gratifying moments of my life. When a few of the builders couldn’t make it on time for the ride in, I actually felt and saw the sadness in the rest of us. We were just a bunch of guys proud of what we had created, but also proud to be in such great company.

Three days and nights of inspecting each other’s bike with a fine-tooth comb and being amazed at some of the details was incredible. I had never met some of the guys before this, but by the end of the 4-day event, I felt like I had known many of them for years. Not gonna lie, I was a lil sad when we all had to return to life as we know it. Congrats to Donny Loos of Don’s Custom Cycles who took home the big dude and great hang to boot.

After all the festivities were done, and it was time to pack up I sat for a moment and reflected on what it took to get there. And let me tell you there was more than one time that I thought I wasn’t gonna make it. As a matter of fact, at 1 am the night before I was to leave but still not ready, I was talking to a brother, and I said to him ‘’this is what it feels like, that moment that you’re faced with failure or the will to push through.’’ I’ve had that feeling many times with my music and touring but never to the very last second when it came to a bike commitment. Like many of the guys I’ve learned from, as I sat, I reflected how grateful I was that I chose to push through. Who knows, maybe next time it will be different, but for this time I did it, and it made the whole thing that much more memorable.

I got all the bugs worked out and took her for her break in miles today, on Veterans Day. As I rode through

Texas Hill Country, I thought about how thankful I am for all who have and are serving, especially my Father.

I imagined him watching me take her on her maiden voyage, smiling and saying that’s my boy. Until next time be kind to one another and especially yourself...

God Bless and Safe Riding

X.