Here’s a look at the technical evolution of the engine and chassis. You also avoid major primary chain adjustments (i.e. Would a Knuckster be possible? Hence the nick-name "Ironhead". It is definately strange looking. Hell, even panheads had aluminum heads back in the 50's. Flathead, knucklehead, panhead, and in 1966, the shovelhead. No need for a ??? ya and the push rods are not coming to a v like the shovels on the iron. Iron head, of course, but it was shaped like a shovel, however; the term "shovelhead" refered to the next incarnation of the "panhead". I am pretty good at counting and by my tally the “pros” take the cake. I get kinda personal about my bikes, and build them for me. Year - Make - Model - Category - Engine - Posted Over 1 Month. A belt replacement can be done on the side of the road, if required. BTW, the change in rocker box style came in 1971 - a year before the 1000cc redesign. While we are on the subject. Coloney. Mr. Wolf, This is what I meant about age and location with nicknames, your in Washington Im in Michigan. The big difference between the two engines come from the introduction of self-adjusting hydraulic lifters, installed on the top of the valve pushrods. Each of these on their own isn’t a big deal and would be something that I would normally attempt to address. Thanks for the comment and cool website. – Panhead, 1948-65. This engine is not to be confused with the Sportster Evo – same name, different engine) You just might keep yourself from looking like one. stroker sets. It's OK to refer to an ironhead as "shovelhead", but it's not OK to call it a "shovelhead". 3) Less Maintenance: Whether you are running an open or closed primary, not having to worry about primary chain oil is a pleasure and it is one less place for oil to leak from. It would be great If I could simply cut off my ring gear and just change to a shorter 11mm belt with my current parts (4731-SK3), because I’m trying to do this as inexpensively as possible. You may have to register before you can post: click the register link above to proceed. Lets not jump on his a$$. Up to that time ALL production Sportsters were iron and most people simply called 'em XL's or Sportsters or girl's bikes,you know the rest. Panhead : 74 cubic inch displacement Aluminum alloy – Weight reduction Lower engine temperature Less noise and less maintenance required : Shovelhead: 82 cubic inch displacement Reduced oil leakage Lighter alloy, wider look 10% more power than Panhead I hear this one all the time from the anti-belt drive naysayers. The World's Happiest DIY Motorcycle Repair Blog, Riding a Motorcycle Versus Driving a Stick Shift Car, How To Identify The Mikuni Carburetor In Your Motorcycle, A Quick Guide To Motorcycle Chicken Strips, Metzeler ME 888 Vs. Michelin Commander II: Which Tire Is …. Additionally, I think having the inner primary removed provides easier access to certain components in the middle of the bike (shift linkage, speedometer cable, oil hoses, wiring etc.). I think he is putting the heads AND jugs from a shovel on the bottom cases of the sporty... Hey, how about the xlrtt made in the 1960s. head assemblies. To start viewing messages, select the forum that you want to visit from the selection below. then i explained that mine was a unit trans (though with my cut cam cover it isn't so obvious) instead of a separate tranny. think the lines going to the exhaust are scavenger /breather lines. I could never see … fwd controles, tank, hardtail, all needing a bit more than average inginuity to adapt to my aplication. Some Please Put this Thread in a Deep Dark Hole! only problem I had was I sold it. 6) Ground Clearance: Removing the outer primary cover gains some ground clearance. Sure as hell doesn't make it right, but it gives you an idea of how much ignorance is out there. Don't know if they still do. Here you go - a Shovelhead top end on a Sportster bottom end - the Shovster from Trock Cycles. But I don't turn down any help I can find. See Price. My question is: What system do I change over to, in order to make my drive open with no primary cases? Cool bike and still confuses many here. Obviously I must change the belt because I will have no tensioner, and my 99 tooth belt will flop all over the [;ace, right? HARLEY KNUCKLEHEAD FLATHEAD PANHEAD SHOVELHEAD SPORTSTER VINTAGE OIL GAUGES. There you have it – the pros and cons of a primary belt drive setup. Anyways, I see a primary belt drive in the Shovelhead’s not-so-distant future (I have actually gotten as far as narrowing it down to this kit made by BDL – seems like a good bang-for-the-buck). There are a lot of great benefits. Do a little research before you call someone an idiot. Harley enlarged the Shovelhead to 82 cubic inches, or 1,340 cc in 1978 before giving way to the Evo engine in 1984. A sportster is a sportster. 1972 was the first year for the ironhead (noted by the notch in the rocker cover plate. hate to point it out again, but that is a sportster quad cam...it just has the early smooth rockers on it. 4) Ease of Inspection & Access: Everything is out in the open for you to see. 66-FLB Electra Glide: 74ci Shovelhead OHV V-twin with hand-shifted four-speed transmission. When a belt breaks there is a lot less potential for catastrophic damage to the engine versus a primary chain. See Price. and the reason they had iron heads was very simple. What alloy? shovelhead, panhead, or knucklehead? A local Indie in Jacksonville NC rides a Shovester. My bike needs special wheel lifts just to get it high enough off the ground to then slide my Craftsman lift underneath the frame. ?head designation, it was just a Sportster, all the way to 1985. Additionally, an open belt setup allows the removal of at a minimum the outer primary cover and hardware. :frownthre i had this happpen at a bike night last week---guy swore mine was a shovel head, so i had to educate him. Nose cone. As you can tell, I have been investigating this a lot, but just can not find this little piece of info that I need, so I don’t go on a bogus mission trying a bunch of belts on for size ha ha. The longer I have them, the more character and stories they hold. From Sifton. Ask anyone with a belt drive, however, and they say it really isn’t an issue keeping there leg away from the belt. That name never caught on and the rest is history. The Shovel wasn't a cast iron head, The Sporty was ??? It is a one-stop shop for all your DIY motorcycle repair information needs. Maybe a little more research is needed on your end, but I'm not calling anyone names....:p. Has anyone actually compared shovel rocker boxes to sportys? I am with moon wolf I have never heard anyone call the Ironhead a Shovelhead either.I dont know how anyone could the 2 bikes are totally different. Something to keep in mind, however, is that belts have gotten much stronger in recent years. Wow, odd to see this old thread revived. Sportsters were the first to have that style of rocker boxes, in 1957. solid lifter conversion kits. i've never seen one but don't see why it couldn't be... i'll google it. 7) Looks Cool: Thought I was going to skip this one? 1966 motor is the motor in left pics. The 8mm belt has more teeth, but is actually a shorter belt??? I love her already and she still not road tested. 11/14/20 MD. This means less power is spent on turning these heavier items and transferred to the road. Old Guy gives a good guide, though, and I think 75PoPo knows what a Shovster is and is merely saying that it's existence will add to the confusion for the uninitiated--you know, a little bit of knowledge is a dangerous thing. Mileage Talks: How Many Miles Can Your Motorcycle Last? Photo: Meccum Auctions. Additionally, the sprockets that the chain wraps around are usually steel, while the belt pulleys are generally made of aluminum. I have to admit I like the shovelhead more, but that very well could be because I've owned it longer. You can also pack an extra belt and some tools if you are going on a long trip. Shovelhead US Forum If this is your first visit, be sure to check out the FAQ by clicking the link above. They are shaped, not surprisingly, like a peanut. Hope the pic posts... eheh this one comes from Portugal or so it looks by the flag eheheh. Pushrods Knucklehead Panhead Shovelhead 36-84. pushrod sets for solid and hydraulic lifters. fixed mount base. There has to be something to it besides a cool look, and there is no way I would spend the money on a primary belt drive without fully understanding the pros and cons first! So if somebody did this to you what would be the simplist way to explain the differences?? 2) Better Power Conversion & Responsiveness: As noted above, the steel sprockets are getting replaced with aluminum pulleys. yes and then there is the joke about a bike assembled with the help of a haynes manual all the parts are in the wrong place. Glad I could help. Ground clearance is definitely a factor that isn’t always considered. Look at the lines comming from the black part I would say that this is modified with an EFI system of some sort and that black part is a fuel pump.But it doesnt look like its electronicly ran but some how runs off the cams or some other shaft. Possibly some kind of home made power adder like a Turbo or Ram Induction. Also, theoretically, the shock absorbing properties of the belt itself should put less stress on the rest of the motor. I would like to see a Panster though. So now you know why I started thinking about a primary belt drive setup (and are probably like, “jeez man, get on with it”). Dew. Can't get by without the Clymer along with the FM. See Details on Ebay The heads don’t look anything like a shovel and for years I just had to memorize what it looked like. You drink Soda I drink Pop, we both really drink Pepsi Cola. The Shovelhead Harley began producing the Shovelhead in 1966. View Full Version : ironhead or shovelhead?`. Just ride the bike and smile, Its all Good!! A peanut tank is a very distinct style that was wildly popular in the sixties and seventies; they were the chopper tank du jour. I don’t do them on classic restorations but love them on customs. Nobody is an Idiot except those who want to argue over such a simple thing. I will post the details of the installation and the pictures once available. I went to the factory twice for training, and attended many service seminars. HappyWrench.com over the course of the past 2.5 years has grown to 4.5k+ visitors a month and is a top ranked Google site for DIY motorcycle repair (click here to see more). Well I have/had the same problem, multiple times, multiple bikes – so I can totally relate. Austin, Texas. For me, it comes down to how I feel like ridin' for the day. (First 61 cubic inches; later 74 cubic inches) – Shovelhead, 1966-84 (74 cubic inches; later 80 cubic inches) – Blockhead, 1984-99 (All Blockheads have the same displacement of 80 cubic inches; they are also called Evolution or Evo. It actually looks like the lines going to the rocker boxes are connected to the exhaust, but why I have no idea. Well, I didn’t. i tried to clarify the difference to him but i have had this happen to me befrore since alot of the "bikers" think they know everything. Taper light. Bdl 2 8mm Primary Belt Drives Harley Panhead Shovelhead Kick Start 1955/1984 47. Here we go with this again :) Actually Sportsters in the 1950's and 60's WERE shovelheads in the strictest technical sense. The purpose of the Panhead design was to … I ran across a master mechanic, in Oahu, Hawaii, at Pro Street, who recently produced the first Choppers Only Show in Wakiki. I don't know why, but people who don't know the difference between a Shovel and an Ironhead really piss me off. Check out the HappyWrench Motorcycle Repair Link Database. 1) Power-to-Weight Ratio Gains: These are huge. i pointed out the straight pushrod tube configuration & explained that that was because there were four cams unlike the single cam of a shovel, so the push rods didn't have to cross. Like the Knuckle and the Panhead before it, the first year Shovelhead was the same engine as its predecessor. These are just nicknames and as such may vary by location or age. I was waiting for someone to bring out the Shovester. By the way, calling a Sportster tank a peanut tank is wrong, too, at least to these ancient ears. :laugh :laugh, sorry for opening this can of worms! Pre-Evo Sportsters have cast Iron cylinder heads. had 1974 fx 3 in belt drive chopper no problems . Drive assembly. Besides, you might p*** off a "shovelhead" owner who doesn't want the term "shovelhead" associated with a girls bike. Sportsters have always had cast iron heads, shovelheads have always had aluminum heads. I had a bike shop in the early seventies and my Sportster since '69 and never once heard the term "Shovelhead" applied to a Sportster (although I now see it on eBay all the time). The BT shovelhead was introduced for the 1966 model year,not 1968. Back when I was Young many folks called Sportsters "Shovelhead Sportys"we all know what they mean is Ironhead, but that is a newer term for the old Sporty. 4) Heat Buildup: This is a fact, but obviously can be compensated for by running the belt drive open or with a ventilated primary cover if you wish to partially enclose. I was in a dealership in the 70s and 80s. The top of the rockerboxes resemble the curve of a shovel, hence the name. BIGBLUEBOWTIE >>>>> i am just completing a 75 xlch Great Bike and definately worth the hassles you will inevidably,<