Even though the custom bike world encourages originality, typically there are certain boundaries to what someone can do...
Jeff Wright is a straight-up freak. In his home town of Des Moines, IA, nobody gets what he does. Even though the custom bike world encourages originality, typically there are certain boundaries to what someone can do...a 1976 Shovel with sportbike controls, suspension, and brakes is typically considered coloring outside the lines.
Going for a '50s stripped-down bobber aesthetic-and starting with a '70s FL-while using the most modern performance parts available makes for one hell of an interesting blend. It all started with the JMC swingarm (the centerpiece of many '90s Pro Street FXRs). Jeff fit it to the stock frame and mounted up some insanely expensive Ohlins shocks. Gold and yellow signature hues of the rear suspension influenced the look of the rest of the machine, with anodized Sun Rims, a one-off gas cap, and touch of gold leaf on the tank drawing the colors through the rest of the bike.
There's also an understated "holey" theme to the bike as well, with parts of the frame and several of the integrated mounts sporting some drilled-out sections. The front fork tubes were plated with titanium nitrite, which not only cuts down on stiction, but also ties in with the other black parts of the bike as well. Believe it or not, the whole frontend is stock Harley-Davidson issue, but ground, welded, and powdercoated into the look it has now. In fact, many of the pieces on the bike are modified stock parts, while the aftermarket stuff is anything but your typical billet bonanza. The headlight is from the original AMF Shovel, cut-down, smoothed, and powdercoated. The dual Morris Magneto setup is from Goblin Millworks, while the covers are from Chopper Dave's Casting Company.