Flames and Glory at the Harley Homecoming

Article By: Marjorie Kleiman Photos By: Marjorie Kleiman & Karan Andrea

acquired my 1982 FXRS Shovelhead in 2017. Since then, I’d only ridden her locally, but I’d dreamed of taking her on a real road trip. So when I heard about i the Shovelhead Reunion that was taking place on June 26, it became my goal—to ride her the entire 850 miles to Milwaukee, the home of

Harley-Davidson.

My friend, Karan Andrea, joined me outside of Toledo on her 1974

FLH. I arrived at our designated meeting spot first, but not without some Shovelhead drama—my bike was seriously smoking where the regulator connects to the stator. Just as I neared our hotel, that smoke turned into flames shooting out of the case! I shut her down, let her cool off a bit, and then limped her into the parking lot.

As I stared at the charred remains of the regulator connector plug, Karan pulled up on her Atomic Shovel, and, true to form, she was fully equipped with every tool you could imagine. After picking up the necessary supplies from an auto parts store, she proceeded to solder some new connectors onto the wiring. As a final check, I started up the bike. We could see flames inside the case, which told us that the stator was, by now, toast.

Through the magic of social media, I found Thomas Orr, a kind soul from the volunteer group North American Biker Rescue. He towed my Shovel to Keyes Cycle Parts and Service in Toledo, a nearby shop that deals in Cycle Electric products. Thanks to Jim, aka Wrencher, who replaced both stator and regulator (nice to have a matching set!) in record time, and to Cycle Electric, a fine American manufacturer that goes above and beyond to help its customers.

While I stayed behind to tend to my ailing Shovel, Karan reluctantly continued on to Milwaukee, where she was able to partake in some of the Shovelhead Reunion pre-party activities. House of Harley-Davidson put on a party on Friday, June 25, with live music and beach vacation giveaways. House of Harley was also the official dealership for the Shovelhead Reunion merchandise, which helps support the event charity, the WeCare Fund. This was the dealership where Ron, the

promotor of the Reunion, bought his Shovelhead in the early ‘80s and is also a major sponsor for the Shovelhead Reunion.

Despite the Shovel drama, I made it to Milwaukee only a day later than planned and in just enough time to get to another pre-party Friday evening at the Bad Moon Saloon, where I met the man behind the Shovelhead Reunion, “Ronster” Ron Brefka. I asked him where he got the idea for the Reunion, and he explained, “My daily rider is my ’82 Shovelhead. I’ve had other bikes— Panhead, Knucklehead, a 1913 Harley Twin privateer racer—but my bike is my Shovelhead. I just ride it all the time. When I was growing up, all my friends and I had Shovelheads. As we got older and life happened, people started not having their Shovelheads out as much. So in 2008, I started a poker run, the Shovelheads Run, in Milwaukee, which got bigger and bigger every year. There’s been Knucklehead Reunions at the Harley-Davidson Museum, a Panhead reunion, so three years ago when I pitched the idea of a Shovelhead Reunion to Bill Davidson, Vice President of the Museum, his eyes got big and round, and he said, ‘We love that stuff, Ron!’ I’m always on my Shovelhead. I’ve had it from coast to coast. I drag raced it at the Milwaukee Mile, and the last two years, I raced it at the High Voltage AMA Grand National Championship in Wisconsin.

When I asked Ron about the WeCare Fund, he told me that he’s a five-year pancreatic cancer survivor, which is rare because 92 percent of people with this type of cancer pass away within five years. He described the WeCare Fund, which was started by Dr. Doug Evans, a worldrenowned cancer surgeon, and researcher at the Medical College of Wisconsin. WeCare was formed to fund medical care and research, and all the events Ron promotes benefit the non-profit. However, after five years in remission, Ron’s cancer spread to his liver, and Dr. Evans was instrumental in having Ron’s surgery approved even though most liver cancers are inoperable. Miraculously, Ron rode to Sturgis three weeks after his surgery! He laughs, “When you’re in that situation over and over again, and some friends say, ‘Hey man, let’s go to Sturgis!’ well, there might not be a Sturgis for me next year, so I went.” It was the same thing when the AMA

called a few years after Ron started promoting ice races at Milwaukee’s Wilson Park. They asked him to be the promoter for their Grand National Ice Racing Championship, and rather than taking time to consider the offer, Ron immediately said yes.

This year, 2021, was a special Shovelhead Reunion because it was the 55th anniversary of the Shovel, so Ron went all out. Along with the Friday pre-parties, there were two Shovelhead bike nights—one at the H-D Museum, a major sponsor of the Reunion, and the other at the Iron Horse Hotel, which is just down the street from the Museum.

It had been raining most of the week before the Reunion, but on Saturday morning, the weather cleared just before the start of the Shovelheads Run. It began at the Museum and took riders about 15 miles south to the Shovelhead Beer Garden at the Croatian Park in Franklin. The beer garden features a spacious property complete with a bar, food, and covered party pavilion. Between the bikes from the run and those already at the beer garden, I’d never seen so many Shovelheads gathering in one place, and it was a stunning sight to behold. There were pristine stockers, wild customs, bobbers, trikes—you name it, and someone had customized, restored, or preserved it.

Shovelhead riders ate and drank all day and into the evening while enjoying live music provided by two bands. And the field games were a riot! Later in the afternoon, first, second, and third-place prizes were awarded to the bike show winners in the stock and custom classes. First place in the custom class was awarded to Tyler Elliott from Pittsburgh for his ’75 Shovel, which he built himself. He did all the fabrication, paint, and more. Special awards were also presented to ’71 Shovels by the Chief Blackhawk Antique Motorcycle Club in honor of their 50th anniversary.

Despite Ron’s medical battles, he’s constantly on the go, promoting motorcycle events throughout the Milwaukee area. Four times in 2021, Ron promoted drag races at Milwaukee Mile Speedway. One race took place just a week before the Shovelhead Reunion. He also promotes the High Voltage Half Mile Motorcycle Races at Walworth County Fairgrounds. High Voltage started in 2016 as a vintage motorcycle and

chopper show to benefit cancer research, and in 2018, Ron, through High Voltage, brought back ice races to raise more charity dollars, as well as to bring motorcyclists together for fun and competition.

The ride home from this amazing weekend brought even more excitement to Karan and me. Her Shovel had been running poorly— spitting and stalling nearly all the way to Milwaukee, and it continued its bad behavior throughout the rainstorms that plagued us all the way back to Ohio. During one heavy downpour, while Karan’s bike was bucking and snorting, I had to use my hazard lights to warn cars following us that two old bikes were riding slower than the speed limit ( we had to pull off the highway several times because visibility was so poor), my flashers cut out completely. The next day, as Karan was leading us down the highway, her phone took a flying leap off the handlebars and smashed into smithereens. There was actually some good news too, —no more flames shot out of my Shovel. And since Karan had soldered a faulty connection to the GPS unit I’d mounted on my bars in between diagnostic sessions in that hotel parking lot on the way to Milwaukee, I was able to take over the lead without getting us lost!

We parted ways early the next morning, each of us heading to our respective homes. It was the first travel day that had no rain in the forecast, so I rode the 582 miles straight home from our hotel, which, due to construction zones and heavy traffic, took 14 hours. It was not a bad run for a 40-year-old Shovel. Karan made it home without further incident, other than her bike cutting out just as she reached her garage. Apparently, the Shovelhead gods were not pleased with us on that road trip. That said, we’re looking forward to more Shovelhead Reunions in the future, hopefully without any further drama. Watch for upcoming events at www.highvoltage414.com.