It does make the picture less recycleable in a commercial context, which is why you see bike after bike photographed in a field with no apparent explanation of what it's doing there - obviously discounting it being a field bike, of course.

So it is with names. Someone called Tiny is almost certain to be big: it's been a tradition since the days of Little John, and it would be a very self-confident person of diminutive proportions to accept the label graciously - and a braver man than I to presuppose that it was actually the chosen name of the bloke in the corner rather than a wind-up to see just how low a blow the offended bloke could strike. Thankfully, Tiny is not tiny so there was every possibility that he'd be at least good-humoured about any such wind-ups.

Quietly spoken, and certainly good-humoured, Tiny is one half of the SHD team in Stoke-on-Trent, and this super-clean, exceptionally detailed but somehow understated Evo is his. It's tempting to think of it as a shop bike, but while it does serve to demonstrate their collective talents, it is very definitely Tiny's bike and no commercial compromises have been made in its creation. It also isn't an exercise in throwing money at a donor bike to see what comes out, but a carefully thought out, evolving whole concept.

A 1993 Softail Custom, Tiny picked it up as a stocker in '94 and quickly set about making it his own and it has seen a number of guises before arriving at the shape you see now, and shape has been an important element in its development. It is a shape that is intrinsically right, and has left its mark on a number of customers' bikes that flitted in and out on the gloriously sunny when I cajoled Tiny into wheeling it out for a shoot. Not that there are a lot of copy-cat replicas, just a general sense of commonly held ideas regarding style, as you'll see round any well-regarded shop anywhere in the world.

The style is clean, low and understated. Well, as understated as you can get with a flame job on the tank, but even that most traditional of custom paintjobs is perfectly suited to the style of the bike, and especially to the shape of the stretched tank. That the show is complemented by additional go is inevitable these days on these shores, but the temptation to make massive modifications was countered by a strong desire to retain rideability and reliability so all engine work was limited to making what was already there within the engine function within finer tolerances. Its not seen a dyno and it isn't likely to, because absolute performance was never the ultimate goal, but enough power is on tap to keep Tiny happy.

Mainstays of the bike as you see it now are an unmodified Softail frame running Progressive shocks for this year in place of the White Brothers lowering kit that he originally fitted, and subsequently lower than stock. The stock forks are held in SJP yokes and hold a stock 21-inch wheel arrested by a Harrison 6-pot. The back wheel has been relaced to a four-and-a-quarter-inch Akront rim to suit the 150 section Avon rear tyre which fits snugly beneath a Zodiac-sourced SuperGlide-style rear mudguard. The rear wheel, too, gets the attentions of Harrison with a 4-pot unit. The fuel tank probably has the greatest impact on the overall shape, especially the way it combines with the seat and mudguard to create a single flowing shape. It is a shape that works for me, emphasising the hardtail lines of the Softail frame, and made all the more sleek in this context by the smooth topped tank devoid of its trademark dash, and diminutive flush filler.

The speedo takes up residence on the handlebars in a MW bracket where it takes on digital form, is switchable for readouts in miles per hour or kilometres and turns into a clock when the engine is off. The conventional clock that sits atop the 'bars is a rev-counter, and the whole plot sits between the handlebar clamps looking very tidy indeed. I've seen these in the catalogues while working out an alternative way of equipping the Cyclone with a rev-counter but have never been quite sure just how it'd look, and while it wouldn't suit the lines of the Buell, it looks as though it was made for Tiny's Evo.

In fact, everything looks like it was made for the bike, which is a nice trick if you can do it. The only things to complete the job are a one-off rear number plate - you wondered what was missing, didn't you? - and the proper air-filter for street use: the velocity stack on the carb is all well and good for show but gets in the way and doesn't do the fuel mixture any favours. The sidemount plate has been developed specifically by SHD for the bike, as were choice bits of billet that you'll notice dotted around the place, and will comprise to show off their design skills - especially pertinent now as such finishing touches are fast becoming part and parcel of twenty-first century quality customs.

So, going back to context, what the hell does a brick wall have to do with anything? Err ... nothing more than plain background to shoot it against ... err ... ah, in order to keep the pictures as uncluttered as Tiny has managed to achieve with the bike itself. Phew, that was close!

Specifications

Owner:	Tiny
Make & Year:	1993 FXSTC Custom Softail
Engine:	1340cc Evolution, gas-flowed heads, Crane 316 Camshaft; Jims nose cone, lifters, lifter blocks; Crane pushrods. S&S oil pump, Crane Hi-4E ignition and S-Fire coil. Spyke starter and battery. S&S Super "E". Delkron-cased transmission with Jims internals
Exhaust:	SuperTrapp 2-1
Frame:	Stock 1993 Softail, lowered by 1.5-inches with Progressive adjustable shocks.
Forks:	Stock 1993 Harley-Davidson in SJP Yokes
Front Wheel:	21-inch Harley-Davidson. Avon 90/90 x 21 tyre
Front Brake:	Harrison Billet 6-pot calliper on Harrison floating disk; Goodrich hose
Rear Wheel:	Harley hub laced to 4.25-inch Akront 16-inch rim. Avon 150/80 x 16 tyre.
Rear Brake:	Harrison Billet 4-pot calliper on Harrison floating disk
Seat:	Le Pera
Petrol Tank:	Zodiac stretched steel tank with flush filler
Oil Tank:	Stock
Paint:	Black with flames: Miles Carter via SHD
Handlebars:	One-off with Ness grips, GMA controls.
Wiring:	Sad via SHD
Lights:	Arlen Ness
Stuff:	Zodiac rear mudguard. SJP forward controls, SHD switchgear. MW Speedo and rev counter.
Other details:	Build and engineering by SHD, 878 Leek Road, Hanley ST1 6AT