Skulls Galore Mystery Bike

I MET Shane at The Dubbo Bike Show. He’d just bought his first Harley-Davidson from a friend and was entering it in the show. As far as I know he didn’t win, but don’t take my word for it, I was pissed and hardly remember anything. I liked the bike, especially its paint job, so I arranged with Shane to shoot some photographs.

This bike wasn’t built by Shane. As a matter of fact, he doesn’t even know the history of the bike. He bought it from a friend who also bought it from someone else. So it’s kind of a mystery bike. If you know the bike’s history let us know and we will pass it on to Shane.

Shane owned a bike a while ago, a rice burner, but after an accident and a long spell in hospital, he was determined not to have any more bikes in the future. However, Shane’s palms started to itch when he saw the 1988 Softail. Despite it being an early Evo, it had just 25,000 km on the clock and plenty of goodies to display.

There are exactly 108 skulls over the bike. I know because Shane counted them while I was shooting the bike. Actually, the skulls were my inspiration for shooting the bike in a cemetery.

The engine was left stock except for the 10.5:1 compression pistons, EV3 cam, S&S E-series carby, and S&S oil pump. The ignition is Dyna single-fire and the bike sports a Dragway clutch. 

Both wheels are from Arlen Ness; the rear is 200 wide. Also from Arlen Ness are the twin headlights which not only give Shane better vision at night, but they make the bike look very sexy The front has been mildly raked and has four-inch-over forks.

Compared to the wilder custom jobs we feature in Ozbike, the changes to this bike are subtle. The original builder gave it a nice easy-going look and I would choose it any time for my daily ride.

Now, if you think that Shane will sit on his arse and not do any further customisation to the bike, you’re wrong! In the near future he plans to add some more skulls. Go Shane!

words & pics by George Lang