hey out there--we recently bought 2 new harleys for restoration one of them being a 47 panhead and the other a 52. i was told that the 47 was a transition year and if it is truly a 47(which it is stamped on the engine) that it is worth alot of money. my questions is how much? we arent going to sell it, we are just curious as to how valueable this really is. any feedback is appreciated.

I've never heard of a '47 Pan,only Knucks maybe its' an early '48 mfg in '47.
This guy is quite knowledgeable on the old stuff and does restorations and appraisals.
I'm sure he could awswer your question.

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First year for Panhead was 1948.

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Are you sure it is not a 47 knuckle lower and mated with a later model upper pan? I saw one built up that way. As mentioned above, 48 was the first year for the pan. Pans when introduced were something of an updated, modernized and sanitized knuckle with a lot of parts, ideas and components carried over from kncukles. The essential difference was obviously the top end.

A couple of other things you might want to check. Value goes with originality. HD date-coded a great many parts. There should be casting numbers on things like the frame that will give you a good idea of its year. If it is original, the cylinders, heads, tranny cover and tranny case should have a date-code cast into them.

There are two essential books that can be a tremendous help for your pans. One is Harley Davidson Panheads by Greg Field. The other is How to Restore Your Harley Davidson by Bruce Palmer. I think these two books are essential "must haves" for any pan owner, which you are now (Congrats!). Field's book covers changes from 48 to 65 and has a lot of pics that can help a pan owner get it right. Palmer's book covers the essentials of identification of parts, assembly and disassembly through 1964.


Got any pics you folks can post. Would love to see them

They, ( harley-davivson,inc.) made 3 1947 Panheads for the 1948 Detroit auto show...If you in fact have one of these mythical machines you should be able to set your own price, as H-D does not know where they ended up...shoreage i suspect somewhere until the time they were forgotten and then relocated to a night watchman's garage...only a theory ( about the night watchman)...Vintagehd

Sounds like someone dropped a Pan top on a stamped Knuck bottom end. Not too unusual. Got any photos?

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