Greetings!
But, in spite of Evel's and Elvis' potent charisma, I doubt the Big Twin riders wanted to switch to little Sportsters. The image was that although the "little" Sportster was okay for a rider's first motorcyle, REAL MEN rode the Big Twin.
Decades ago, motorcycle machinists decided to combine the best of both worlds: The compact size of the Sportster with the larger displacement of the Big Twin. Hybrid engines were produced on a one-off basis.
The crankcases were machined to accept the larger cylinders of the big engine, and although I'm not sure if the crankshaft and flywheels were swapped, the big engine heads looked very unusual on the Sportster cases. When a Panhead cylinders and heads were used the engine was called a Panster, if it was a Shovelhead top end, it was called a Shovster. To me and many others, this configuration was as good as it got. I personally believe the Panster hybrid was the most attractive motorcycle engine ever made. The clean lines of the Pan rocker covers on top made it look expansive and potent and it seemed to blend the two most desirable qualities of the Harley engines into one: Large displacement along with a compact and lightweight overall size. Unfortunately, this modification was extremely expensive to perform so the application was very rare. I never saw a Panster or Shovster in person, so to speak. Only in magazines.
The appeal of this hybrid engine lets us make a couple of assumptions:
True, they look stunning when done right, but I think I can make a Sportster look just as stunning for less money and with less weight and fewer parts.
There's only one drawback to using the Sportster for this international project and that is the money they bring on sale day. The Big Twin sells for more money than the Sportster -period. Unfortunately, although a Sportster costs less to buy, many of the parts used for a Sportster chopper cost the same as they would for a Big Twin chopper. We're keeping a close accounting of expenses on this project so we'll be able to report just what our investment was.
Hey! I just thought of something: if we disclose our expenses in this blog and then offer the completed bike for sale, the wise buyer would have access to this blog (and we want him to) and see just how much money was invested. I hope this full disclosure blog turns out to be a good idea.
**A postscript about Evel Knievel. He worked for a time in the small Washington State town of Sunnyside, on the east of the Cascade mountains. It's the town where my wife was born and went to school. It's been said that he worked for Don Pomeroy selling motorcycles and that Don taught him how to ride standing up on the seat and how to do a wheelie (riding on the rear wheel only). The building that was the motorcycle store where he worked at that time is now owned by my wife and I (Where Evel worked). It is for sale at the time of this writing. You could own the building yourself if you email me and send me a check for $500K. I'll be standing outside by the mailbox.
Doug
I sure hope I don't upset any hard-core Harley owners with this post. I have a much different perspective of the brand now than I did 30 years ago. It used to be a clear division: Sportster owners/riders and The "Big Twin" owners/riders. As I see it there were a few factors that contributed to the division and made the Sportster the poor cousin to the "74" as it was called. Here's a Shovelhead engine and I think it's totally beautiful.
- The Big Twin, with the prefix: FL in the serial number sequence, had a higher displacement engine at 1,200cc. The Sportster only had 900cc. :(
- The Big Twin was used for decades by local police departments in the US and elsewhere, as well as by the US military. Thousands of military veterans and policemen became fans of the Big Twin because it was (is) powerful and exciting.
- The Big Twin design incorporated a non-unit engine/transmission. The engine bolted into the frame ahead of the transmission, connected by a chain and proper tension was adjusted using a transmission plate that slid forward (closer) or backward in the frame. The non-unit construction required a longer frame, more pieces and more weight.
- The Sportster was, and still is, a unit construction which is lighter and more compact, making for a lighter and visually-smaller motorcycle.
- The military and police departments in the US didn't use Sportsters for their fleet vehicles, opting instead for the more intimidating Big Twin.
- A popular folk hero, Evel Knievel** (http://evelknievel.com/), made a name for himself in the '70s by jumping his motorcycle over cars, trucks, busses and even the Snake River Canyon. His exclusive choice of rides: the Harley-Davidson Sportster.
Decades ago, motorcycle machinists decided to combine the best of both worlds: The compact size of the Sportster with the larger displacement of the Big Twin. Hybrid engines were produced on a one-off basis.
The crankcases were machined to accept the larger cylinders of the big engine, and although I'm not sure if the crankshaft and flywheels were swapped, the big engine heads looked very unusual on the Sportster cases. When a Panhead cylinders and heads were used the engine was called a Panster, if it was a Shovelhead top end, it was called a Shovster. To me and many others, this configuration was as good as it got. I personally believe the Panster hybrid was the most attractive motorcycle engine ever made. The clean lines of the Pan rocker covers on top made it look expansive and potent and it seemed to blend the two most desirable qualities of the Harley engines into one: Large displacement along with a compact and lightweight overall size. Unfortunately, this modification was extremely expensive to perform so the application was very rare. I never saw a Panster or Shovster in person, so to speak. Only in magazines.The appeal of this hybrid engine lets us make a couple of assumptions:
- If the larger, more powerful engine was produced in a smaller package it would satisfy the majority of riders,and
- if so, why would Harley-Davidson produce an engine that is less than 1,200cc in displacement?
There's only one drawback to using the Sportster for this international project and that is the money they bring on sale day. The Big Twin sells for more money than the Sportster -period. Unfortunately, although a Sportster costs less to buy, many of the parts used for a Sportster chopper cost the same as they would for a Big Twin chopper. We're keeping a close accounting of expenses on this project so we'll be able to report just what our investment was.
Hey! I just thought of something: if we disclose our expenses in this blog and then offer the completed bike for sale, the wise buyer would have access to this blog (and we want him to) and see just how much money was invested. I hope this full disclosure blog turns out to be a good idea.
**A postscript about Evel Knievel. He worked for a time in the small Washington State town of Sunnyside, on the east of the Cascade mountains. It's the town where my wife was born and went to school. It's been said that he worked for Don Pomeroy selling motorcycles and that Don taught him how to ride standing up on the seat and how to do a wheelie (riding on the rear wheel only). The building that was the motorcycle store where he worked at that time is now owned by my wife and I (Where Evel worked). It is for sale at the time of this writing. You could own the building yourself if you email me and send me a check for $500K. I'll be standing outside by the mailbox.
Doug
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