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| Easyrider's
Account Of The History Of The Panhead Page 2 |
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and
longer life. The three horizontal chevrons were replaced with
one pair of larger stainless steel chevrons on the rear fender.
Exhaust pipes were chrome plated for the first time. The engine
cam was improved with ramps to take up deflection in the valve
gear. The cam was now made in two parts, the drive gear and cam
body, and pressed together. Press-in sockets on OHV rocker arm
forgings were eliminated by machining them into the new one-piece
rocker arm. The front safety guard was made as a continuous tube
with the top mounting plate welded onto it. A clevis on the shifter
rod end at the transmission eliminated the bent rod end connection
type used since the mid-1930s. The exhaust pipe port clamp was
redesigned and had a shoulder flange to permit a more secure hold
on the exhaust pipe. Taillamp wires were rerouted in the vicinity
of the oil tank to prevent wear on the tank edge. |
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| 1952-FIRST
YEAR FOR FOOT SHIFT, HAND CLUTCH |
| A
new foot shift, hand clutch assembly was added to lessen the hand
lever pressure required to disengage the clutch. The booster is
nicknamed the "Mousetrap". |
| The
inner primary chain guard was modified to accommodate the shifter
rod and lever. Hand shift, foot clutch was still offered but was
not interchanged one for the other once the motorcycle was supplied.
Low tone mufflers were a new offering with back pressure reduced
for an increase in horsepower. Frame improvements resulted in the
seat bar, tank, and motor mounting bracket being reinforced by widening
and redesign. The toolbox, top-to-bottom frame strap mount was eliminated.
It was replaced by a 6 1/2 inch bracket welded to the lower right
rear frame member. Exhaust valves were "parcolubrized"
to draw oil to the stern. Tread contour on Goodyear and Firestone
5 X 16 tires was widened. A unique front fender emblem was a pair
of "Deluxe-OHV" nameplates attached to models signifying
the Deluxe accessory group on the motorcycle. This is the last year
for the hydraulic unit attatched to the end of the pushrod. |
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| 1953-LAST
YEAR OF THE EL 61-CUBIC-INCH PANHEAD ENGINE |
| A
revolutionary engine offering was the new rotating exhaust valves
with caps and an improved hydraulic valve lifter installed inside
the tappet body. The 61-inch OHV Panhead was dropped from the engine
offering. The '53 was still supplied with either foot or hand shift.
The engine cylinder return oil was drained through the cylinder
wall below the piston skirt when it was in the open position. The
lower oil scraper ring was made of flivible and comfortable heat
treated steel. The years 1853 and early '54 only find the oil pump
fitted with new guided, sheave ended check and relief valves with
three cornered wedges. An easily accessible removable screen filter
was installed under a round cap in the late '52 engine case in the
valve lifter oil line. The Deluxe Solo group offered a new inline
external oil filter. |
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| 1954-GOLDEN
ANNIVERSARY |
| Harley-Davidson's
50 year anniversary was celebrated with the Golden Anniversary Model.
An immediate obvious change the beautiful 50th Anniversary gold-colored
medallion gracing the top of the front fender. A new two-tone paint
scheme was introduced with the tanks painted one color and the fenders
another. The gas tank script emblem was retained but the underline
was dropped. Late '54 witnessed the introduction of the new, thick
aluminum reinforcing rings on the pan covers. |
| The
Jubilee horn take center stage with it's chrome bell electric diaphram
unit mounted on one side of the engine and it's distinctive trumpet
horn on the other. New worm and pinch gears are straight forward
taper fitted and keyed to the shaft. No noise emanated from this
absolutely tight fit. On the gear shifter lever shaft and in the
end of the gear shifter foot lever and the earlier style serrations
were dropped in favor of a smooth contact surface with a reinforced
foot lever pinched with 5/16th bolt and nut. A new gear shifter
heel lever was offered as an accessory. First year for a retrofit
Big Twin compensating sprocket that interchanged back to 1936. A
new oil pressure switch was installed on the engine. The faster
action throttle was a result of the new handlebar pioneered on the
KH model. Piston type valves replaced the obsolete type in the bypass
regulation position in the oil pump. The last year for the tombstone
taillamp was '54. New, quick removal saddlebags made of Royalite
plastic make their introductory bow. |
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| 1955-FIRST
FLH, SWEEPING LINES |
| The
sweeping lines produced an identification that was both modern and
harmonized with the action-styled design of the 74-inch OHV rigid
frame. The introduction year for the new FLH model with 8:1 compression
was 1955. A new medallion finished in bright chrome topped the front
fender. It emphasized the V-type engine and the letters FL identified
the model. Distinctive new V-enhanced nameplates took center stage
on the gas tanks. The frame front downtubes returned to straight
from the bow shaped downtubes introduced in 1948. A new rectangular
lamp made of stamped steel construction was mounted on the hinged
portion of the rear fender. A license bracket independant of the
taillamp mounted directly above it with a hooked slide to adjust
to any size plate and eliminate vibration. An all new streamlined
front chain guard accommodated an all new compensating sprocket.
The chain cover and clutch booster cover were now cadmium plated. |
| New
finned aluminum cast reinforcing rocker cover (Panhead) rings were
secured with 6-hex head cap screws. Cylinder base gaskets were now
made from a heat resistant, synthetic HYCAR rubber impregnated asbestos.
A new O-ring and clamp intake manifold replaced the old plumbers
nut manifold in use since the teens. Timken bearings were featured
on the sprocket shaft. The left crankcase wall was stengthened for
rigidity to carry the Timken bearing. The new pinion shaft main
bearing was of the closed end type with one set of 13 long rollers.
New 4620 nickel moly steel was....continued
on page3 |
