Pandemonium's Shovel

hen Paul Bucher decided it was time to do something with his stock swingarm 1968 FL it was going to have to be a low buck build. Although he wanted a hardtail, using the stock frame would save a major expense and some time, so he moved forward in that direction.

Enter Daniel “Dandemonium” Donley, proprietor of Pandemonium Custom Choppers, with whom Paul had collaborated on a few other builds previously. He was Paul’s ‘guy’ in the motorcycle business. He brought his idea to Daniel, and it was time to get this freak show on the road. The bike had been in the family for years, but the bike in its current form suffered from a violent shake at speed that would have to be addressed before they could proceed any further. On closer inspection when disassembling, they noticed the front end was an aftermarket which lead to the next conclusion after careful measurement that the bike had indeed been in a wreck destroying the original front end

Wand, unfortunately, bending the original frame significantly. They were at a crossroads; they could fix the original frame or just set it aside and get the hardtail frame that Paul originally wanted.Considering that the original frame was bent in the front section hardtailing the original frame didn’t make sense and straightening it was going to be pricey anyway. So, Paul decided to go with his original plan, and they agreed on a 30° Paughco wishbone hard-tail frame as the starting point of this build. With the frame situation sorted, it was time to address the other aspects of the bike, and the ‘had to have’ parts. The motor and tranny were fully operational with no burnt oil or leaks so those two components would stay. The stock 74” is running an Andrews “A” grind cam and an S&S Super E was used for reliability as were the points ignition. The motor was left uncomplicated making the engine and the trans simple and as ‘user-friendly’ as possible.

Paul wanted to retain the original electric starter but also wanted to run a 160 rear tire mounted on an 18” rim. This meant that Daniel had to get creative to clearance the chain in the limited room of the original closed primary. The stock inner primary was all cracked to hell and back, so a thicker Rivera Primo was used. The primary was cleverly offset slightly as was the transmission. With some ingenious machining, Daniel retrofit a 520 x-ring motocross chain onto the minimally offset sprockets. With everything aligned and tight, the chain is clearanced with no interference from the 160 tire and a still usable two piece original starter. A 4” under springer front end was used with a Dyna hubbed 4” rim. The hubcaps were made in-house at Pandemonium. Both the front and rear rims are 60 spoke tubeless DNA brand. Braking is provided by dual Brembo calipers mounted on a Pandemonium bracket. One caliper is operated by the DNA forward foot control and the other by the clean MotoIron hand controls. The rims were then fitted with the appropriate

Metzler rubber.

Finally, the oil tank was provided by Anything Goes Oil tanks and is fitted with an Anti-Gravity 16 cell that is rubber mounted to the frame. Above a Rich Phillips sprung seat was used to keep it comfy. A DNA headlight was used with a Pandemonium LED rear taillight finishing the rear, all wired together with cloth covered wiring. A Led Sled rear fender was used to cover the rear tire.

A little Frisco’d Sportster tank was used incorporating the original 1968 tank badges. This was no easy task and required Daniel to make tiny bungs that were recessed into the tank to allow the emblems to be screwed on like original. It’s small details like this that can make or break a bike.

The Sheetmetal was sent over to Mike at Visual Impact and covered with a red candy over silver micro-flake. Finally, the chroming was handled by MECLEC.

The bike has proved to be an

owner: Paul Bucher City/State: Ohio Builder: Pandemonium Custom Choppers year: 1968 Model: Custom Value: Time: ENGINE Year: 1968 Model: Shovelhead Builder: Ignition: Points Displacement: 74” Pistons: Stock Heads: Harley-Davidson Carb: S&S Super E/Wizard Six Cam: Andrews “A” Air Cleaner: TC Bros. Exhaust: Paughco Primary: Rivera Primo/Stock

TRANSMISSION Year: 1968 Make: Harley-Davidson Shifting: 4 Speed/Kick Start

FRAME make: Paughco Model: Wishbone rake: 30° stretch: None

forks type: Springer builder: extension: None triple trees: 4 Under

WHEELS Front: DNA Size: 21” Tire: Metzeler front brake: None rear: DNA Size: 18” Tire: Metzeler rear Brake: Pandemonium Dual Brembo

PAINT Painter: Visual Impact Color: Red Type: Flake graphics: chroming: MECLEC

ACCESSORIES Bars: Drag risers: 4” hand controls: MotoIron foot controls: DNA Gas Tank(s): Pandemonium Oil Tank: Anything Goes Custom Cycles Front fender: None rear Fender: Led Sled Customs Seat: Rich Phillips Headlight: DNA tail light: Pandemonium LED Speedo: Nope photographer: Kerri Schindler

efficient runner with the motor and tranny in its stock configuration. With the way it’s geared it’s an easy to start (electric or kick) and will tool along at 65 mph all day long reliably.

What Paul ended up with is a simple, reliable, hardtail Shovel that runs smooth and steady that didn’t break the bank. With its clean, classic lines, ease of operation and low maintenance this would be a bike that would fit in anybody’s stable and with the work from Daniel at Pandemonium Custom Choppers is now part of Paul’s.

Keep an eye out for all of Pandemonium’s unique builds. If you’re looking for assistance in a build or a complete build in the Ohio area hit up Dandemonium, you won’t regret it. Happy Motoring “GTP”