I know Indian Larry has been doing it, but I'm noticing them pop up a little more now. Anyone know what the whole idea is supposed to be here? Just for looks? Or is there some kind of function to it?

1st pic is an Knuckle/Pan by Indian Larry. 2nd is an Accurate Engineering Pan/Shovel build also from an Indian Larry build. 2nd is a Pan/Evo from Vulcan Engineering. Last one looks like a home built Pan/Shovel hybrid.







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I don't get it. Pan or Shovel top end on a Sporty is kinda neat. I've seen (in a mag or on the 'net, I forget which) an Ironhead Sporty top end on a WL bottom end & a Knuckle top on a UL bottom, which I thought were wicked cool.

 

Was called a Shovster , took some work and lot of machining to make that combo work . Most guys who went there did it for the looks they where problematic as all hell .


The oddball combo motors back in the day where done up by guys with serious skills just to be different for the show bikes while they ran they weren't practical at all because of the detuning needed to make early parts work with later , lotta one off stuff had to be done to make them run at all .

Todays repo look-a-like motors are all state of the art internals designed to look retro like that last pan motor pic , that's an S&S unit I believe but several places make them now is you have the $$$$$ ........

 

The original pan/shovel was just an easy improvement for an old panhead engine. Take a shovelhead top end(don't ask where it came from!), rig up an oil line for the overhead oil supply and bolt on. You got more power and a more reliable engine. Pretty common a long time ago. I had one. You could even use the generator shovel automatic advance distributor if you could find one. Quite an improvement in technology back then. What's a distributor? Oh never mind.

 

These machines are neat to look at,and you have to give these guys credit for building engines like these. Course they are not for everyone as are a lot of other modified V-Twins but the very thing that sets us all apart.