The shovelhead engine is a type of
V-twin engine that was
manufactured by the Harley
Davidson Motorcycle Company
between 1966
and 1984. The shovel head
engine was developed as a
refinement of other kinds of
v-twin engines that the company
had been producing since 1938,
including the Knucklehead engine
and the Panhead engine.
The design for the
shovel head engine is an offshoot
of the design of the Panhead
engine, only the shovelhead engine
includes more powerful cylinders
and pistons as well as a slightly
different look.
The shovelhead engine got its
name from the distinctive look
of the engine's rocker box covers.
These covers resemble the heads of
coal shovels, which is how the
shovel head got its name...
The Panhead engine
was originally developed to fit
Sportster choppers that were
designed in the mid-sixties. As
time went on, the Panhead lost its
appeal and went out of style as
the company Harley Davidson
developed bikes that required more
horsepower.
The shovel-head engines of the
sixties entered the scene with newly designed top
ends that were invented to give you more
acceleration and power. However, motorcycle
experts that deal in antique chopper parts say
that the weight of the new shovel head engine
detracted from the speed and power of certain
models in the sixties.
The weight of the shovel head
engine combined with its proximity to the ground affected
the steering of the bike. As the choppers
approached top speed, the shovelhead engine would
cause it to start weaving. This is probably as a
result of the shovel head engine being originally
designed as an engine for an outboard motor (a
motor for boats). It was a failure as a marine
engine…it did not function in water or in moist
air (very important for marine engines).
Minor changes that were made to
the shovel head engines in the 1970’s helped fix
some of the problems demonstrated by the much
heavier sixties shovel head model. Those who have
been following the history of Harley Davidson
products say that even these revisions did not
quite catch the shovelhead "up to
speed." As Harley Davidson was trying to
revise the model during the great energy crisis in
the 1970s, they had to stick by government
regulations that basically said choppers could
not have more than a top speed of 90 miles per
hour.
If the engine came with a feature
called the FLH Electra-Glide Package, it
was identified as a shovel head engine for police
bikes. This feature was also sometimes called the
Police Option as it made it easier for them to run
cars off the road. This was a skill that was often
also emulated by pranksters who road choppers at
the time.
The FLH Electra-Glide package also
enabled the engine to turn over longer while the
machine was in idle. However this feature also
made for a heavy bike that was not easy for the
average rider to maneuver or brake instantly.
Finding a harley shovelhead engine
with the original FLH Electra-Glide package is
very rare and is prized by motorcycle and chopper
part collectors. If you find a shovelhead engine
that includes this package you should snap it up
as it is worth a lot of money in the used chopper
parts market.
