Harley Davidson Panhead Engine: What Is So Special About It?

Harley Davidson is known to make wonders. This American national motorcycle brand has become so big, thanks to the iconic designs and engineering marvels. One such great example and a part of the company’s heritage is the Harley Davidson Panhead Engine.

Most young riders who have recently become a part of the Harley community only know the Milwaukee-Eight and Revolution Max engines. However, the company has a great story. They don’t know that the legacy started from the Harley-Davidson Panhead engine. It was a revolutionary design of its time.

Continue reading this article to learn everything about the Harley Panhead engine and what makes it so special.

The first and foremost thing that comes to everybody’s mind is Why is it called a Panhead engine? The reason why it is called a Panhead engine is because of the shape of its rocker or valve covers, which look like the shape of a cooking pan. As a result, this popular Harley engine is nicknamed the “Panhead” engine. Due to being a widely used name for this Harley engine type, it is now formally termed as the Harley Davidson Panhead engine.

All of Harley's famous engines, such as the Panhead, Knucklehead, Shovelhead, and Flathead, were named after their engine rocker covers’ design and shape.

The Peanhead engine was first made by Harley in 1948, and it replaced the Harley Knucklehead engine. It was built in two sizes, including 61 cu-in (999.6 cc) and 74 cu-in (1212.6 cc). Like all Harley engines the company has produced so far, the H-D Panhead engine is also a twin-cylinder V-Twin engine, having two valves per cylinder and a Pushrod design. It was carried on untill 1965 when it was replaced by the Harley Shovelhead engine.

The Harley Davidson Panhead engine was well-known enough to be used and featured in many motorcycle-based movies. It was first used in the movie Easy Rider in 1969. The famous Captain America’s chopper bike, ridden by Peter Fonda in the movie, used the Harley Panhead engine.

No, the Harley Davidson Panhead engine was discontinued in 1965. However, owing to their popularity, they are still among the top choices of many custom bike builders. It is still being used in many custom-made chopper bikes with the same iconic panhead-style engine rocker covers on large engines of varying size. These custom builders make so many changes to the Panhead engine design to make it relevant in today’s world. The engine performance is upgraded to ensure it maintains both a classic and modern vibe.

Owing to their popularity and relevancy in the custom bike market, you can still find the Harley Davidson Panhead engine for sale. If you are a Harley custom chopper lover, there is no better option than the improved Panhead engine. You can also buy Harley Davidson Panhead engine cases if you want to ensure a vintage-style Panhead look.

The Harley-Davidson Panhead engine was highly inspired by its predecessor, the Harley Knucklehead engine. The Panhead engine maintained the bottom-end crank design and the same transmission as installed in the Harley Knucklehead.

As we all know, cooling has always been a major concern in air-cooled engines, especially when it comes to old motors. On the Panhead engines, engineers tried to improve their cooling efficiency by introducing the aluminum alloy engine head and cylinder, replacing the iron ones.

The new pan-shaped engine rocker and valve cover design ensured overcoming leakage problems in the previous engine design. To ensure better engine performance, the Harley Panhead engine also received a new oil pump for a better oil flow and lubrication.

It was the time when the engine technology was not perfect. Efforts were being made to somehow reduce the severe engine problems and to provide riders with something more effective. Though the Harley Davidson Panhead engine was meant to overcome most of the Knucklehead issues, it had several problems initially.

Though the use of the aluminum alloy engine cylinder and head ensured better cooling, they were believed to expand due to heating. Another design flaw with the Harley-Davidson Panhead engine was the placement of the valves at the top of the engine. It increased the risk of wear and tear due to the lack of lubrication.

As the problem was identified, Harley engineers made the changes by moving the hydraulic tappets to the crankcase to ensure better lubrication. It successfully overcame the wear and tear issue of the Harley Davidson Panhead engine.

The Harley-Davidson Panhead engine saw many upgrades over time. However, due to poor sales, it came to an end in 1965 and was replaced by the Harley Shovelhead engine.

A mini Harley Davidson Panhead engine is not a functional Harley engine. It is a miniature version of the Panhead engine that is more of a decorative and collectible item for Harley fans. It is an exact replica of the full-sized version of the Harley Panhead engine, often used in Harley toys and miniature Harley versions.

Though the mini Harley-Davidson Panhead engine versions are decorative and used in toys, they can replicate the sound of a Harley Panhead motorbike.

The Harley-Davidson Panhead engine was available in two different sizes, including 61 cu-in and 74 cu-in, making them produce around 50-55 hp. Considering these power figures, the Harley bikes with Panhead engines can attain a top speed of around 100 mph.

Knucklehead is a popular term used for a particular Harley engine type. The name Harley ‘Knucklehead’ engine is derived from the shape of its engine rocker covers that look like the knuckles of a fist.

Similarly, the reason behind the name Harley ‘Shovelhead’ engine is because of the resemblance of its engine rocker covers, also known as valve covers, with the shape of the shovel’s blade. When viewed from the side, it looks exactly like a coal shovel’s blade.

The Harley Flathead engine is distinguished by its flat cylinder head style, due to which it is referred to as the Flathead engine. The reason why the cylinder head is flat in a Flathead engine is that it doesn’t include the valves and valve-train parts. Hence, maintaining a flat cylinder head design.