Dig This Blacked-Out Custom Shovelhead
This modern-looking bike is a bona-fide classic, powered by one of the all-time great Harley-Davidson engines.
Shovelheads are legendary in the Harley-Davidson community, and we don’t talk about them on H-D Forums enough. Today, we’ll do our part to fix that by sharing this awesome custom Shovelhead that we found on Hemmings.
The Harley-Davidson Shovelhead engine replaced the Panhead and was offered from 1966 to 1984. Since this engine dominated the AMF era, it’s received a somewhat warranted reputation for unreliability.
While it is an oil burner, a well-sorted Shovelhead is a strong runner. Aftermarket upgrades fixed many of the known issues in the years since its introduction. For every Shovelhead hater, there’s a whole handful of fans who love them.
Subtle, Yet Striking
Many Harley-Davidson fans came of age during the Shovelhead era. As a result, it remains a popular powerplant for customizers of all stripes, such as the motorcycle seen here.
If you caught this black-out beauty out of the corner of your eye, you might initially mistake it for something more modern. However, this is actually a 1978 model that’s been tastefully customized.
If you love the look of the new Softails but want the street cred of a classic Shovelhead, this is perfect. In fact, this bike is built on a Kraft Tech 34 degree Softail frame. It also appears to have a modern Fatboy-style front fork.
Other modern touches include height adjustable Legend Air Ride shocks and a six-speed transmission. The legendary Shovelhead engine had been upgraded with an S&S carburetor and air cleaner. Browsing the photos, you’ll also spot a custom 2-into-1 exhaust.
The big wire wheels, blacked-out trim, and retro-modern badging give this Shovelhead a modern look. The soul of this bike, however, is 100% classic.
The Shovelhead gets its name from the distinctive shape of its rocker covers. It’s appropriate that this distinctive feature represents some of the only chrome found on this bike. Whoever built it wanted the world to notice that it’s a Shovelhead.
Hundreds of thousands of Shovelheads were built during its 18 year run. We haven’t ever seen one that looks quite like this, though. If you’re smitten with this Shovelhead, you can buy it from Gateway Classic Cars in West Deptford, New Jersey for $27,000.
Photos: Hemmings
Join the HD Forums now!
