Tom Perrin is the kind of guy who just gets it. He lives in a 1930s bungalow on a tree-lined street, rides this here Shovelhead, drives an early '60s Cadillac, and has a doll of a wife. Though Tom makes the culmination of all these things look easy, this lifestyle does not come without a shitload of hard work and dedication to his occupation, family and friends. Tom learned this way of life from his hard-working father who is a real stand-up "paison" who transplanted from the right coast a few years before Tom was born. What Tom also picked up from his pops at an early age was the love of motorcycles. Back in the '70s his dad was always tinkering in the garage with both dirt bikes and Harleys showing Tom basic maintenance and other mechanical duties every motorcyclist should know. Lucky for him, this all went down smack dab in the middle of the golden age of choppers, so those Pans and Shovels were getting some major modifications at the hands of Tom's father.
Tom took a break from bikes for a while, but about a decade ago he built one of the nicest BSA bobbers, which was a predecessor to the current British invasion of bikes we see rolling around today. Tom loved the Beezer, but measuring up at well over 6-foot 4 inches tall, he looked like nothing short of a gorilla riding a tricycle every time he threw a leg over it.
One day Tom's friend and bike builder Dom Mingirulli called and said he knew of a good deal on a sweet Shovelhead engine and wondered if it was time for Tom to get some real-deal American steel under his heels. Tom thought about it and like a good husband he ran the idea by his wife Darlene. Seeing if he could by chance snatch the motor up for future build, Darlene being possibly the coolest wife in the world, told him not only to buy the motor, but that he should really start to build his second bike with all his leftover ideas that didn't work out from the BSA build.
When it came time to firm up his thoughts on the Shovelhead build, Tom remembered as a kid the bikes his dad built as well as the bikes ridden by local club members who hung out at the park Tom played Little League at on the weekends. He definitely wanted a traditionally-styled chopper, but nothing that said throwback. So Tom started with a combination of a Paughco frame that had a 35-degree rake and a 2-inch stretch coupled with a Paughco 6-over springer. Most of the other parts of the bike were either traded for his sizable stash of rare BSA and Trump parts, bought at the swap meet, or given to him by Dom or Rudy Rodriquez. The engine is basically stock with an S&S carb and a ton of hand-polishing. The drive duties are handled by a Primo primary and chain final drive, which is of course topped off with a jockey shift and a foot clutch. Rudy along with Jimmy White also helped Tom with getting the custom pipes properly cut, bent, welded and chromed. The tank Tom used came from an early Sporty that was Frisco'd then sent off along with the smoothed H-D fender to Wild Things Paint in La Habra, California. Bruce at Wild Things painted the tin gloss black with black cherry scallops that seem to only come out in direct sunlight. While the sheetmetal was at paint, Tom hand-polished all the aluminum himself, took what needed to be plated to Buena Park Chrome, then sent the frame and other bits to Porter Powdercoating for a bit of gloss black. We all know the stance of a bike is everything, so Tom went with a tried-and-true mix of wheels and rubber. The 21/16 inch combo rolls on an Avon Speedmaster up front and a Conti MT out back, which sets off the classic look, but can stave off near-death experiences at highway speeds.
Tom has had a few different riser and bar setups since the Shovel was originally built, but after much trial and error he has finally settled on the 6-inch risers and drag bars to complete the build.
This bike has been on the road for a few years now, and Tom can be seen cruising on his bike every time his demanding work schedule permits. He is dreaming up another homage to his father and the other men with beards and torches that time has forgotten in the form of a flaked and raked Honda-powered chopper. After two bikes with solo seats residing on them, the Honda will have a king-n-queen on it, so his ever-so-deserving old lady can hit the road and finally join the fun. SC