The word "why" is a question and answer within itself. Children will hound you to death with the word if you allow it, returning every answer you give with another "why?" But Johnny Muratti doesn't do "why?"...
I was thinking to myself the other day while trying to justify the sheer amount of cash I've blown on projects and other vehicles… why? What is it that drives us to wreak havoc on perfectly good machinery in order to transform it into something else?
I figured it's much easier and mentally safer to analyse somebody else's modifying background and accomplishments than your own, so I did just that – thinking about mates and relatives and acquaintances and the reasons why they do the things they do.
What I came up with was a broad mixture of answers, ranging from the deep satisfaction of creation by one's own hands, to the equally common motivation of just plain showing off. But then Johnny Muratti blew it all out of the water and completely shut me down with his totally 'who gives a shit' response of "why not?"
This said two things to me; one, grab a beer and a spanner instead next time I reckon I've got what it takes to join the BAU at Quantico, and two, there are some things that don't need a closer look, but plenty of things that do, such as Johnny's '70 Shovel.
If you're like me, you will have already eyeballed the pictures with a magnifying glass to soak up every little detail before hitting this part of the feature, and you'll no doubt be equally impressed with what this Melbournian has created out of his own garage.
Based on a custom rigid 8" up, 9" out, 50deg rake frame fab'd DIY style by Johnny, this tall and lean streeter has got personal touches to make it stand out from the norm all over; there is a copper seat pan, velocity stack, and primary accents – a material we just can't get enough of when it comes to custom bikes. And it suits no bike more than Johnny's, totally set-off against the flaked-up custom House of Kolor/Glasurit frame paint, but even more-so the flat black parts that kind of fly under the radar yet overall, complete the scene. An interesting combination to try to explain in words but sometimes you just need to go with gut instinct… and it's paid off big time with the black forward controls and motor announcing with authority that chrome is well and truly dead.
Beneath its black cloak, the twin is sporting just as much attitude, courtesy of a rebuild at the hands of Pedro who, using Harley cases, spruced the old 1200cc Shovel up with a new standard stroke crank, rods and forgies all courtesy of S&S. S&S also supplied the oil pump, pushrods, valve-train, manifold and carby.
YAP Racing provided a pair of heads for the cause, while a Crane Hi-4 ignition, custom exhaust and 9.5:1 comp ratio do their part in creating a healthy 85hp, just a wrist-flick away via Johnny's own custom 'bars and Arlen Ness grips and levers.
Revving out to roughly 5, 900rpm, the grunt is then force-fed to an '09 Jim's RSD 'box via a Primo belt primary and Primo clutch and once Johnny picks one of the 6 gears at his disposal, on to a chain drive to the fat 18x10" Radial rear rim and Avon rubber.
Up front a 23x3.75" Radial handles the curves, straddled by an 18" over DNA springer front end. By now I'd realised there was no need for questions regarding where the front fender, it's just, well... not there! Up back is a different story though, with the Johnny-built rear tin giving Matt Egan yet another blank canvas to prove just why he is the king of custom paintwork. The same beautiful detail carries through to the fuel and oil tanks, also both built by Johnny and painted up by Matt.
Carefully selected head and tail lamps from Crime Scene, along with an Arlen Ness rear master, round out the small touches, bringing two years of hard graft and grinding dust to a spectacular finish.
He's on the money though… With visions such as this floating around in your head, what more reason do you need to get out there and get on the tools?
