Cone vs Flatside?
Harley ShovelheadDiscuss Cone vs Flatside? in the Classic Harley Motorcycles forums; What's the difference between the flatside and cone shovelheads?
I am told the earlier flatside is also called a Pan/Shovel, and that it is more desirable than the later cone ...
Baggerdad, let's look at the history of the Motor Company as a whole, and think this through. Each model of the overhead valve (OHV) engine was designed to be an improvement based on the preceding model. The Knuckle came first, with several design changes in it's reign. First, oldest & most valuable.
The Panhead was basically a Knucklehead with alloy aluminum heads, better
cooling, less weight on the cylinders, and a refined oil return system based
on gravity. For most of us, they're in our birth years and therefore desireable.
The next version was the 66-69 Shovelhead, still on basically the same lower
end, with improvements made all through the Panhead years; bigger stronger bearings, better oil feed to the top end, automatic advance timing, to name a few. These are also the last pre-AMF bikes. They are the model rising in value the quickest currently, since most of the Knuckles and Pans are already in collections, or the owners know what they have and ride them sparringly.
The early cone motors are from a difficult time in the motor company's history. AMF was in charge and demanded high production numbers from
machinery that was outdated & worn out. They pushed quantity over quality.
But..if there had been no AMF then, there would be no Harley-Davidson (as
we know it) today. IMHO
The cone motor did bring many improvements, an Alternator, the timing
mechanism (in the cone) was driven directly by the cam, not several gears
later, so timing was more controllable. Also those years brought Timken wheel bearings, and disc brakes. Owners still feel these bikes can ridden daily and for long distances when properly maintained.
So in the end, it's your preference. If you want a bike that draws attention
when you ride up, the older the more likely.
Baggerdad, let's look at the history of the Motor Company as a whole, and think this through. Each model of the overhead valve (OHV) engine was designed to be an improvement based on the preceding model. The Knuckle came first, with several design changes in it's reign. First, oldest & most valuable.
The Panhead was basically a Knucklehead with alloy aluminum heads, better
cooling, less weight on the cylinders, and a refined oil return system based
on gravity. For most of us, they're in our birth years and therefore desireable.
The next version was the 66-69 Shovelhead, still on basically the same lower
end, with improvements made all through the Panhead years; bigger stronger bearings, better oil feed to the top end, automatic advance timing, to name a few. These are also the last pre-AMF bikes. They are the model rising in value the quickest currently, since most of the Knuckles and Pans are already in collections, or the owners know what they have and ride them sparringly.
The early cone motors are from a difficult time in the motor company's history. AMF was in charge and demanded high production numbers from
machinery that was outdated & worn out. They pushed quantity over quality.
But..if there had been no AMF then, there would be no Harley-Davidson (as
we know it) today. IMHO
The cone motor did bring many improvements, an Alternator, the timing
mechanism (in the cone) was driven directly by the cam, not several gears
later, so timing was more controllable. Also those years brought Timken wheel bearings, and disc brakes. Owners still feel these bikes can ridden daily and for long distances when properly maintained.
So in the end, it's your preference. If you want a bike that draws attention
when you ride up, the older the more likely.
Great reply. Thanks for taking the time to lay this out for us all.
__________________ Ride An Old Harley Like It Was Meant To Be Ridden
The cone motor did bring many improvements, an Alternator, the timing
mechanism (in the cone) was driven directly by the cam, not several gears
later, so timing was more controllable. Also those years brought Timken wheel bearings, and disc brakes. Owners still feel these bikes can ridden daily and for long distances when properly maintained.
True enough but the cone motor also has its down-sides:
1. the motor is quite a bit wider, because of the timing being stuck on the end of the cam (adds about 0.75) and the alternator stuck behind the primary sprocket (adding about 0.5).
2. the alternator is in itself an improvement over a brushed DC generator, but (as all of us who've had to mess with them will know) sticking it behind the primary sprocket means it's a whole lot more work to get at compared with the two bolts that release your generator.
What they could have done was to replace the generator with an alternator designed to fit in the same position (which is what i've done with my '60 FL), and left the rest alone. Although the change incorporated some improvements it also saved the factory a lot of money, as the cases were a simpler casting & machining job, there was no train of timing gears to manufacture & install, and the exhaust front pipe got simpler too. But the only benefit to the owner, once he's got one, is the alternator which like i say can be sorted another way.
In case the original question was about prospective everyday use, know this: from '97 to '06 my '60 FL bobber was my only transport year round, for getting to work and everything, before i got my Evo XL for everyday so i could really give the bobber a good going over (now in progress). The only real issue i had was the generator which i messed with for a few months before getting the alternator conversion, and since then i had zero problems. The bike has a lot of other mod's (later wheels, disc brakes, belt primary, Shovel top end, S&S carb, etc.), but nothing too major, it's still basically a Pan/Shovel, and it did me fine.
__________________ MONTY Work to Ride, Ride to Work
p.s. And yes, i can make the comparison - the bike i had before the '60FL was a '79FX (cone-Shovel, of course), and i know which one i personally prefer ... i've still got the '60 haven't i?
__________________ MONTY Work to Ride, Ride to Work
Cone vs Flatside? 
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