Shovelution question?
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Joined: Apr 2009
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They're aftermarket cases and that is good news! So is the splined shaft Evo five speed with the Denso starter. That's a sweet drivetrain and if either of my Shovel four speeds chit the bed I will replace them with that same late Evo Softail transmission and primary drive. Whoever built that Shovel knew what they were doing and I would rather have that setup than either of my perfectly good stock '78 and '82 Shovel drivetrains. The aftermarket Shovel cases make it a bottom breather so no worries there.
There is nothing desirable about stock Evo cases (or stock cone Shovel cases which had their share of cracks on the left side bearing race area) and since the bottom end between the two is the same for practical purposes (dealer mechs often used Evo crankshafts in their Shovels for convenience) there is nothing to be gained by building a Shovelution today vs just bolting a Shovel engine into an Evo which if you use a splined shaft trans/Denso starter era Evo gets you a much better drivetrain. Even a very bored machinist has better options but if someone wanted heavy duty aftermarket Shovel cases and had an Evo set (Delkron, S&S etc) they scored cheap I could see doing it yourself if you have machine tool access. If you have to pay someone the turn-key solution is S&S instead. The Denso starters properly maintained make a kicker a waste of time unless you just like the ritual (or are a hipster who thinks its manly, but kicking customer bikes for years ended any delusions on that score for me long ago) but Baker sell a nice kit if you must. You can, and I did, put Baker gears and ratchet into an old Custom Crap kicker kit (and threw away the bendy Chinesium kicker arm too, they bend under normal use) but it wasn't worth moving to my later five speed when I upgraded. The Evo tappet setup is a common upgrade to Shovels so that's a good thing.
There is nothing desirable about stock Evo cases (or stock cone Shovel cases which had their share of cracks on the left side bearing race area) and since the bottom end between the two is the same for practical purposes (dealer mechs often used Evo crankshafts in their Shovels for convenience) there is nothing to be gained by building a Shovelution today vs just bolting a Shovel engine into an Evo which if you use a splined shaft trans/Denso starter era Evo gets you a much better drivetrain. Even a very bored machinist has better options but if someone wanted heavy duty aftermarket Shovel cases and had an Evo set (Delkron, S&S etc) they scored cheap I could see doing it yourself if you have machine tool access. If you have to pay someone the turn-key solution is S&S instead. The Denso starters properly maintained make a kicker a waste of time unless you just like the ritual (or are a hipster who thinks its manly, but kicking customer bikes for years ended any delusions on that score for me long ago) but Baker sell a nice kit if you must. You can, and I did, put Baker gears and ratchet into an old Custom Crap kicker kit (and threw away the bendy Chinesium kicker arm too, they bend under normal use) but it wasn't worth moving to my later five speed when I upgraded. The Evo tappet setup is a common upgrade to Shovels so that's a good thing.
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Joined: Jan 2014
Posts: 85
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From: korea
I also have been searching for the same qustion for several year with my 91 softail .
I had riden shovels for more than 10 years before evo. and want to hear that sound with more reliability again.
I ve been told some evo bottom shovel top harleys were made and around.
Here is shovelution video in which the maker says [in reply section] early evos with crank case breather
is easy to install shovel top on.
I wonder if pre- 92 evo flywheels have the same flywheels as those 'heavy' shovelhead flywheels.
I hope these videos will raise the topic again
I had riden shovels for more than 10 years before evo. and want to hear that sound with more reliability again.
I ve been told some evo bottom shovel top harleys were made and around.
Here is shovelution video in which the maker says [in reply section] early evos with crank case breather
is easy to install shovel top on.
I wonder if pre- 92 evo flywheels have the same flywheels as those 'heavy' shovelhead flywheels.
I hope these videos will raise the topic again
Last edited by 97HS; Sep 30, 2020 at 10:18 PM.
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bottom, breather, cases, end, evo, frame, harley, late, model, put, reliability, shovelhead, shovelution, ss, top
