Puglia's Resurrected PanShovel

fortunately, I’ve been around motorcycles my entire life. As far as styles go, I genuinely believe the type of bike on these pages is truly timeless. Whenever I see a clean chopper like this, I always note the little details, like the wiring. Is it routed nicely, are the connections done where they won’t cause a short or are the fork tubes scarred up from turning them in complete circles while sliding them up in the fork trees? Things like this make the difference between a clean build and a sloppy build. Well, no one can ever say Bruce Puglia does a sloppy build for sure.

Bruce is based out of North Reading, Massachusetts, and is the owner of this fine piece. He’s been building bikes since the mid-’70s, and he’s had a couple of features in other magazines along the way. This build actually started out the exact opposite of how Bruce usually starts a project. It was already a complete bike sitting in a shop near his house called East Coast Customs. The previous owner had initially had the bike built by a now-defunct shop called Killer Choppers. However, the bike wouldn’t start for various reasons, so it sat at East Coast Customs for over 2 years until Bruce convinced the shop owner to sell it to him.

Once the bike was his, he

Article By: Roadside Marty Photos By:Missi Shoemaker

was able to start building it into his vision. The first step was pulling the motor and sending it out to Scott Porges over at AMS in Framingham, MA, so he could work his magic. Scott found the motor had too large of a cam, and the magneto wasn’t timed right, which was primarily to blame for the engine not starting. An Andrews B Grind cam was slid into the cam chest, and since the motor is a healthy 98” stroker, he used an S&S Super G carb which really helps the gas flow. The pistons and heads are also of the S&S brand. Those beautiful shotgun pipes are courtesy of none other than Dave Perewitz and the crew at Cycle Fabrications out of Brockton, Massachusetts. They flow perfectly with the lines of this bike. The Cycle Fab crew also did the seat. The transmission is a 2004 Revtech four-speed that Bruce says does an okay job for now, but with the stroked motor, he’s always reaching for another gear, so he’s planning an upgrade to either a 5 speed or possibly even a 6 speed.

The frame dimensions are 12” up in the downtubes and 9” out in the backbone. The rake ends

up at 40 degrees, and I have to say they did a helluva job on it! The front end is an OEM 39mm Harley-Davidson that’s 6” over stock and sets the stance off nicely. A traditional Bates headlight keeps the road in view. The front wheel is a 21” rolling on an Avon Speedmaster tire with dual Performance Machine calipers. The rear wheel is a 16” with a Continental tire and another rear Performance Machine caliper. I’ve said before. I’ll say it again. I believe the perfect wheel combination for a proper chopper is a 21” front and a 16” rear wheel...change my mind!

That beautiful gloss black paint was laid down by Eric Silverio at Krazy Customs in Wilmington, Mass, using House of Kolor paint. All of the chroming was done by American Electroplating. My favorite part of this bike is the custom mid controls originally fabricated by Killer Choppers and include a very unique mounting system utilizing the bottom stress bar between the motor and transmission and really look very clean. The oil tank is another custom piece

Owner: Bruce Puglia City/State: N Reading, MA Builder: Killer Choppers/Owner Year: 2004 Model: Rigid Chop Value: Time: 1 Year

ENGINE Year: 2004 Model: S&S PanShovel Builder: Scotty Porges Ignition: Morris Mag/Goodson Cap Displacement: 98cu Pistons: S&S Heads: S&S Carb: S&S Super G Cam: Andrews B Grind Air Cleaner: S&S Exhaust: Perewtiz Shot Guns Primary: Open

TRANSMISSION Year: 2004 Make: Reutsch Shifting: Foot

FRAME Year: 2004 Model: Rigid Rake: 40 Degrees Stretch: 12 Up, 9 Out

Forks Builder: Harley-Davidson Type: 33mm Triple Trees: Narrow Glide Extension: 6”

WHEELS Front Wheel: Akron Size: 21” Tire: Avon Speedmaster Front Brake: Dual PM Rear Wheel: Size: 16” Tire: Continental Rear Brake: PM

PAINT Painter: Krazy Kustoms Color: Black Type: HOK Graphics: None Chroming: American Electroplating

ACCESSORIES Bars: Drag Risers: 6” Hand Controls: PM Foot Controls: Killer Choppers Gas Tank(s): Frisco Sportster Oil Tank: Killer Choppers Front fender: None Rear Fender: Trailer Seat: Perewitz Cycle Fab Headlight: Bates Tail light: Side Mount Speedo: None by Killer Choppers and is without a battery box because of the magneto. The Sportster tank was mounted in the traditional “Frisco” way, and a trailer fender was used for the rear. Bruce debuted this bike back at Daytona Beach Bike Week, but we couldn’t nail him down for a photoshoot until this Sturgis. He says he rode the bike all over Sturgis and the surrounding Black Hills with absolutely zero problems. I can attest to that. I saw Bruce and this bike all over Sturgis, where he won multiple awards at various shows. Thanks for letting us feature your bike, Bruce!!!

his month’s artist may come from Surabaya in the smaller island country of Indonesia, but his passion for motorcycles and art is larger than life. Since he was a child, Novito Yoga has loved creating art. He loved being able to bring to life the ideas he had in his head.

Though he’s always been an artist, Novito has been working as an artist professionally since 2010, a total of 11 years which is incredible! He’s also taken that time creating art to involve himself more in the world of motorcycles where he absolutely fell in love. Because his passion for two wheels and creating beautiful

tthings he found himself quickly combining the two things he loves the most and hasn’t looked back. Yoga finds inspiration for his art in everything around him, especially motorcycles and cars. However, he is more drawn to motorcycles as he feels he’s able to express his art to its fullest. He also draws a special

Article By: Amelia “Killer” Rose

kind of inspiration from the people he meets and the smiles he sees when people see his work for the first time. It’s like a kid in a candy store! He loves knowing people are proud of his work and know him because of it.

His medium of choice varies based on the project but most of the time he prefers pinstriping paints and brushes for the various pieces he does. He’s worked on everything from helmets and gas tanks to fenders and even some jackets in the past! If it’s something he can get his hands on, he’ll try to make something out of it. Aside from pinstriping, Novito enjoys illustration, typography, classical painting, sign painting and really anything related to art on motorcycles. Knowing the diversity in which he is able to create art is amazing, but what is astounding is the fact that he is completely selftaught. Yoga has no formal training in any area of art.

For what sets him apart, he isn’t exactly sure, but he knows there is a certain kind of character with his work that can’t be matched by anyone. As he continues to create, Novito’s plans for the future are to look for new things to paint, to inspire, and to develop his work even further. All still in the world of motorcycles of course!

If you want to see more of Novito’s incredible pinstriping work, you can follow him on Instagram @novitoyoga or if you’re interested in potentially commissioning something from him, you can reach him at novitoyogaart@ gmail.com

Thanks so much for reading. Til’ next time!

• T45 • 3/8” Allen • 3/8” drive ratchet • Adjustable wrench • 3/4” socket • 3/16” socket • 5/16” socket • Blue Loctite • Red Loctite • Torque wrench (ft-lbs.)

n the past few issues of Cycle Source we’ve been upgrading Stella, my 1993 Sportster 883, the bike that inspired me to create MAD Maps, Motorcycle Adventure I

Maps. We tackled the performance with an RSD air cleaner, Freedom

Performance Outlaw exhaust, and

Pro-action shocks. Then we redid the handlebars and hand controls and upgraded all the cables with a set from Barnett. But we left one piece hanging… the brake line. This month we continue the installation with Colin Winter of

Motorious Speed Shop in San Bruno,

California, installing custom wheels, new rubber, and all the components needed to help the Sporty stop better than the squishy old stock system we took off. One of the fastest ways to upgrade the appearance of any motorcycle is to exchange the wheels. The process gets a bit sticky when you’re dealing with a bike more than 25 years old—it’s damn difficult to find custom wheels to fit a ’93 Sportster. Handmade bespoke wire wheels from Black Bike Wheels were deemed the ideal solution to this daunting situation. Not only did we swap out the heavy OEM cast units for these spoked beauties, we upped the diameter of the front rim from 18” to 21” to get a cool, custom look. Both replacement wheels are manufactured with lightweight 6061 forged aluminum rims that received a show-quality powder coat gloss black finish. They were drilled for 60 spokes rather than the standard 40 and hand laced and trued to aircraft quality aluminum CNC machined billet hubs using hand polished stainless-steel spokes and nipples. Both the front and rear were capped with Metzeler ME 888 Marathon Ultra tires for awesome handling with an extended tread life. Since we’re replacing tubeless cast wheels with spoked wheels, we had to confront the issue of inner tubes. Colin suggested a new, innovative product by CounterAct. It’s ReadyBalance,—an inner tube containing the company’s patented glass balancing beads pre-loaded inside the tube, eliminating the need for ugly external balancing weights that would detract from all the groovy-beauty we had worked so hard to attain. ReadyBalance promises decreased tire wear, less vibration, and an uptick in rider comfort. I am itching for this new riding experience on my Sporty!

Many braking systems in the early 1990s were anemic at best, inspiring little to no rider confidence, especially during panic stops (I frequently slid through red lights and stop signs.) This led to the proliferation of many aftermarket brake manufacturers. Leading the pack for years, both in performance and styling, has been Hawg Halters. We enlisted the company in the Sporty’s resurrection and it supplied a 6-piston front brake caliper for the bike’s left lower fork and a 4-pot differential bore rear caliper kit. Going for the Full Monty, we switched out the inadequate stock brake rotors for a pair (front and back) of Twin Power 11.5” diameter, full-floating, black mesh-style brake rotors. And in keeping with the theme “black is the new chrome,” we finished the install off with a Barnett Stealth Black front brake line.

Colin preps the new 7/16”-14 hexhead bolts with red loctite. New bolts are always recommended for the drive pulley and brake rotors since threads are often distorted after torquing.

Then he threads each of the five bolts and heavy flat washers to mount the freshly powder coated pulley to the rear wheel hub Colin places the rear brake rotor/hub adapter (centering ring) with the wide shoulder toward the wheel.

The rotor bolts are filthy after years of road grime and brake dust polluting them. Colin sands them down with 320 sandpaper to remove the dirt and then polishes and buffs them using a lathe and a polishing wheel.

Colin aligns the rear rotor to the hub using the centering ring provided with the brake rotor.

He applies Red Loctite to each bolt and uses a T45 to tighten the bolts in an alternating star pattern. He uses a 3/8” drive torque wrench to torque the bolts to 45 ft-lbs. 13. Colin sets the assembled wheel in place, threads the belt onto the pulley and admires his work. He wipes the axle clean and then applies a light coat of anti-seize.

Colin makes sure that the wheel spacers and bracket for the rear caliper are in their proper location. Next he gently slides the lubricated axle through the right side of the swingarm through the hub until it protrudes through the opposite side. Colin adds a washer and castle axle nut by hand to the left side, then tightens it with a 15/16” socket. He torques it to 65 ft-lbs.

Colin slides the HHI rear caliper over the brake disc positioning the rotor between the brake pads. He applies a dab of Blue Loctite to the two HHI chrome button head bolts and attaches the caliper to the bracket. He uses a 7/32” hex wrench to tighten them, being certain the caliper is in proper alignment with the rotor. (A quick spin of the wheel and you will hear if anything is rubbing, an indication of misalignment.) The use of shims may be required to achieve proper positioning—we didn’t need to use any.

caliper kit, Colin hooked up the rear brake line in preparation for bleeding. Using a 9/16” socket, Colin tightens the caliper’s banjo bolt to 21-25 ftlbs., crushing the copper sealing washers into place.

Colin mounts the rotor to the front wheel using the centering ring, a new set of hardware, and a touch of blue threadlock on each bolt. He snugs the five low profile button-head bolts to 20 ft-lbs. using a 3/16” Allen wrench.

Colin cleans and coats the front axle with anti-seize and spears it through both sides of the Sporster’s lower fork legs and the front wheel assembly. Colin reinstalls a split lock washer and axle nut. He uses a 3/4” socket to torque the axle nut to 55 ft-lbs. Colin then tightens the pinch screw nut using a 9/16” wrench and a 5/16” Allen to 25 ft-lbs.

Colin slides the HHI front caliper over the rotor and uses a 7/32” Allen wrench to attach the new hardware, making sure to align the unit with the supplied shims. Colin then attaches the banjo fittings to the front calipers making sure to use new copper washers and tightens the banjo bolt to 21-25 ft-lbs Colin then attaches the brake lines to the banjo bolts by threading them on and using a 3/8” wrench to tighten.

Colin repeats the last two steps to attach banjo fitting and brake lines to master cylinder in preparation for adding fluid and bleeding the brakes. He uses a TK Allen wrench to open the master cylinder cap. Then Colin fills the master cylinder with DOT 5 brake fluid from an unopened container. bleeder to remove all the air bubbles.

Wow—the Black Bike Wheels really give the Sportster a new custom look!

Cycle - Sources Barnett Clutches & Cables BarnettCluthes.com

Black Bike Wheels BlackBikeWheels.com

CounterAct Ready-Balanced Tubes CounterActBalancing.com

Hawg Halters, Inc. HawgHalters.com

Metzeler Metzeler.com

Twin Power TwinPower-usa.com

Motorious Speed Shop 908 San Mateo Avenue San Bruno, CA, 94066 650/952-1129 Instagram@MotoriousSpeedShop

MAD Maps Motorcycle Adventure Maps www.madmaps.com