What’s bad ass, full of flames and pink all over?
If you’re into custom bikes and you’re on Instagram, chances are you’ve come across the awesome Belgium based Jana Junge and her Harley-Davidson Shovelhead chopper build. As an absolute bonafide ripper, Jana’s Instagram follows her and her chop while they go road trippin’ all over Europe making us dream of endless road and summer adventures with our mates …. Just a little piece of what everyone needs in the current world we’re living in.
We’ve been following Jana and her awesome build for a while now so we wanted to get the low down on how she designed and made her dreamy bike a reality!
Make sure you give Jana a follow to check out her adventures and get inspired by her awesome build below!
Where are you from and where are you based now:
I’m originally from Germany but I moved to Belgium 1½ years ago.
How long have you been riding for?
I’ve been riding for 6 years now.
What originally got you into motorcycles?
My mom was riding a lot when she was younger, but then stopped when my brother and I were born. Later she got a bike for Christmas again and took us for a ride and I loved it from that first second. Later, when I met my husband, he was going to buy his first bike and that made me finally get my licence.
What was your first ever bike?
My first bike was a Yamaha XJ 550. It was basically the cheapest running bike I could find.
Have you ever built a bike before the shovelhead?
I did! The first bike I built was actually my second bike - a Honda VT600 and it was going to be my first chopper. Then I got a stock ‘71 Ironhead called Bob, which we also completely rebuilt.
What made you go for a Harley Shovelhead engine for the build?
Cause I couldn’t afford a knucklehead, haha! I was looking for a big twin because my husband and I do lots of trips all over Europe so I needed something powerful. My previous bike, The Ironhead, was a super fun bike, but the Shovel now is running much smoother so it’s perfect for big trips.
Did you do drawings first / plan out the build or did you just go for it?
The plan for the build was already in my mind and I knew which parts I wanted to use. I also wanted to go for this colour already on the Ironhead, but there we had some problems to find a nice rigid frame so Bob ended up with a bolt on hardtail and I didn’t want to ‘waste’ the peach idea on it as it wasn’t what I wanted deep down. Now I’m super happy with how the Shovel turned out…. And I’m glad I saved the peach colour.
What parts still exist from the original stock bike?
When I bought the Shovel in Germany it was already a chopper, but from this I just kept the frame, engine, gearbox and oiltank.
“I did the paint job by myself. I had always wanted to try painting and during the lockdown I had the time to, so we turned our garage into a spray booth covered with foil and after watching a few YouTube videos I just gave it a go”.
Talk us through the full build (what you started with and how long the build took etc.)
In July on the way back from Bavaria where we bought the Shovel, we made a stop at a friend’s place to have a beer, so we took the bike outside the van and a few more friends came by to have a look at her. We talked things through that I wanted to change and so together we started to figure it out. My friend Markus had a 12” over springer front end laying around, so we drove to his place, picked up the springer and put it on the shovel straight away. It immediately looked 1000 times better than before. He also built a super nice frisco teardrop gastank for his Knucklehead, which he (luckily) stopped building due to other projects so I got this too. Until November I rode the bike like she was, except the springer, then I began ordering the first parts and then we started with the rebuild. The plan was to have her finished by April for the Assembly Chopper Show, so we had enough time to get all the parts together. The mouldings on the frame definitely took the longest. To do on the whole build. I always sew my own seats at a friend’s workshop, luckily I could show up again, pick a nice fake cobra leather and use his sewing machines.
What is the list of things that have been done to the bike (frame change, forks change, new bars, wheels etc? )
V-Twin frame, got mouldings over the weldings to have a smooth and clean look
12” over Samwel springer
21” high shoulder spoked by Spokeman_OG with a Lowbrow spool hub
Stay Wild Handlebars with internal throttle made by stuff from hell
Teardrop Gastank without visible mountings welded by stuff from hell
Fake cobra leather Seat
Sissybar with Prism Supply weld-on tail light
Who did your awesome paint job?
I did the paint job by myself, haha. I had always wanted to try painting and during the lockdown I had the time to, so we turned our garage into a spray booth covered with foil and after watching a few YouTube videos I just gave it a go. For the pinstriped flames on the gastank I did some practise on old tanks and helmets.
What was the best part of building your own bike?
Figuring out how things could work, finding the nicest solution and then to see how everything’s coming together, while spending time and having beers with my husband and friends.
What was the hardest or worst part of building you own bike?
I guess doing the moulding and grinding and moulding and grinding; this was the cause of most of the swearwords flying around.
Have you been on any road trips on the bike yet?
Last year before the rebuild we did small trips around Belgium and a two weeks trip to Wales and England, which was absolutely beautiful. Due to Coronavirus going on this year, I didn’t manage as many miles as planned on the Shovel so far. But I’m super happy we went to Sweden for two weeks to join the Fückersafari and used every free minute to take the bikes out.
Do you have any road trips planned in the future?
For this year we just planned small weekend trips in Belgium or to Luxembourg and Germany. Fingers crossed next year will be more trips possible and shows going on!
Any plans for another build any time soon?
For sure. But I’m gonna wait a bit and save some money, I know my Knucklehead is already waiting somewhere for me to come find it!
